Partner Powell ‘Gee’ Ogletree, Jr. Named to Mississippi IHL Boards of Trustees

Adams and Reese Jackson partner and forestry team leader Powell “Gee” Ogletree, Jr., was one of four new appointees to the Mississippi State Institutions of Higher Learning’s (IHL) Board of Trustees. Ogletree and the other new board members will begin their nine-year terms on May 8.

The Board of Trustees is the constitutional governing body of the Mississippi State IHL and is responsible for the policy and financial oversight of the eight public institutions of higher learning in the state. The 12-member board is appointed from each of the three Mississippi Supreme Court districts with four members from each district.

“I am honored to be asked by Governor [Phil] Bryant to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Institutions of Higher Learning in the State of Mississippi,” Ogletree said in a state-issued press release. “Our state’s eight district, mission-driven universities create a strong public university system designed to meet the higher education needs of Mississippians and enhance their quality of life. I look forward to working collaboratively with the board members and IHL staff in pursuing excellence in quality instruction, research and service as we continue to improve affordable higher education in Mississippi.”

Ogletree joined Adams and Reese in 1997 and coordinated the firm’s real estate work throughout Mississippi. His practice focuses primarily in the areas of real estate, title insurance, economic development, forestry, natural resources, zoning, environmental and business matters. Ogletree has a diverse knowledge of and practical experience in real estate, finance and development.

Active in the American Bar Association, Ogletree has served on the Council of the Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, and served two terms as Chair of the Forest Resources Committee that included development of a forestry educational tool for classroom teaching. He is general counsel for the Mississippi Forestry Association and the Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association, and is also an adjunct professor at Mississippi College School of Law, teaching Real Estate Finance and Development.

Ogletree has been active in the firm’s management, having previously served as Chair of the Adams and Reese Executive Committee, practice group leader for transactions and corporate advisory services, and as Partner In Charge of the Jackson office. He is AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, has earned the Distinguished Service Award from the Mississippi Bar Association and the Professionalism Award from the Hinds County Bar Association, and was named to the Hall of Fame by the University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association.

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (by BL Rankings, LLC) in energy law, litigation-real estate, natural resources law and timber law since 2005, Ogletree has been recognized by Chambers USA and Mid-South Super Lawyers® (by Thomson Reuters) for his work in the field of real estate.