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November 3, 2025
Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph told new law students that determination and education matter more than finances and family history in pursuit of a career in law.
In a candid question and answer session at Mississippi College School of Law in Jackson on Oct. 30, Chief Justice Randolph told more than 40 first-year law students that his first glimpses at law offices and a courtroom came from collecting payments for his paper route when he was about 8. He recalled watching the defense lawyer character Perry Mason on TV and thinking that world was unattainable. His father was a construction worker with a third grade education. Two brothers dropped out of high school. No one in his family had ever gone to college.
He got an offer of a football scholarship to a small college, but ended up at The Ohio State University. Money ran out after two quarters. He dropped out to work, then returned the next fall. In January the following year, 1966, he volunteered to join the U.S. Army because he had no money and no job. In the second leg of his training, he was sent to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi to train as an air traffic controller. There he met his soon-to-be wife. They were married in November 1966, eight days before he shipped out. His orders were for posting in Okinawa. He landed in Saigon. He was 19.
He recalled the sound of mortar fire on the first night in Vietnam. He hadn’t been issued a helmet or a weapon, so he used a mattress for cover. He recalled throughout his combat tour the sound of mortars and not knowing where the incoming fire would land. Soldiers would wonder aloud whether it “had their name on it.” Some years later, he visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. He recalled reading names on the wall until he came to that of another “Michael Randolph,” with a different middle initial. “I dropped to my knees and thanked the Lord that it didn’t have my name on it….The people that died and gave their blood did it for you all.”
He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1967. “I got back and decided that after seeing the rockets and bombs dropping, that maybe it was time to get serious about college,” he said.
He graduated from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in 1972. They moved to his wife’s home state, where he pursued his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law. He managed the law school bookstore to help pay his way. During law school, he received an appointment as a Reserve officer in the United States Navy, Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He is a graduate of the Naval Justice School in Newport, Rhode Island.
“I thought that I was going to have a one-man practice in a small town,” he said. While his own legal career didn’t work out that way, he urges law students and young lawyers to consider a small town practice because Mississippi has “legal deserts” where people needing legal services have to travel to larger cities to find help.
“Small town attorneys make a pretty good living, but everybody is afraid of small towns,” he said.
He reminded students that it’s not all about the money. “Sometimes you take cases that you don’t make money on.” With a longtime law practice on the Gulf Coast, one of his practice areas was admiralty law. He recalled a case in which injured seamen successfully challenged “maintenance and cure” payments and obtained higher “maintenance” payments. “We didn’t make much money, but we changed the law in the Gulf,” he said.
He offered a bit of advice based on his early practice, starting with job interviews. “Be yourself. You can’t be somebody else. When you start interviewing, be yourself and be prepared for anything.”
Practicing law requires knowing the facts of one’s cases better than anyone else, and means representing people in life-changing matters. “You always have to act in the client’s best interests,” he said. Lawyers need to be fit emotionally, physically and spiritually, because the very demanding work can take a toll. The intensity of a law practice also requires balancing work with family obligations.
He said that he is guided by the U.S. and Mississippi Constitutions, Mississippi Rules of Court and the Holy Bible.
In all of his public speeches, the Chief Justice professes his faith. “I’m not ashamed to say it and if you don’t believe, it’s OK.” He rereads the Bible each year, as he has done for the past 31 years. He repeated an oft quoted passage in Exodus in which Jethro tells his son-in-law Moses to seek out men who fear God, are trustworthy and hate dishonest gain.
He told the students to consider why they are pursuing a law degree. “You decide why you are here. What is it about your life that put you here?”
Chief Justice Randolph told the students that when then-Governor Haley Barbour first approached him with an offer of appointment to the state’s highest court, he turned down the prospect of government service. He was a very successful lawyer who tried cases in 14 states, piloted to court appearances around the country in a private plane.
He reconsidered the offer because he thought that he could make a difference. He recalled the birth of his first grandchild in August 2003 and talking to his wife about prospects for the future. He recalled saying, “If we don’t get faith-based people in courts throughout our land, then all of us are going to lose what we have.”
He is the state’s current longest serving Justice, having served for more than 21 years. He took the oath of office as a Justice of the Supreme Court on April 23, 2004. He became Chief Justice on Feb. 1, 2019.
Dean John P. Anderson said, “Chief Justice Randolph has had a extraordinary career – from his service to our nation in Vietnam, to his wide-ranging and successful private practice, to his current role as the leader of our state’s highest court. It was a tremendous blessing for our students to get to learn about all of his experiences firsthand!”
Dean Anderson said, “What impressed me most about the Chief Justice is that, in addition to answering every question from the audience, he took the time to shake the hand and speak to every student and faculty member individually. He has a generous heart, a love for the law, and a love for the Lord. This was an amazing opportunity for our students!”
Law student J.D. Cain of Meridian is in the National Guard and wants to become a JAG officer. He enjoyed hearing of Chief Justice Randolph’s military experience and his faith. “Keep your faith first and always do your best for your country, and it will serve you,” he said.
Student Angelica Walters of Shreveport, Louisiana, said, “It made me appreciate our veterans more. My grandfather served in Vietnam. It also encouraged me. It made me feel that I’m in the right place. It doesn’t matter where you come from, but where you are going.”
Student Lajada James of Belzoni said it was good to be reminded of the obligations of a lawyer. “Sometimes it is bigger than the money. We need to give back.” She said, “I admire how he took us along with his journey. It doesn’t matter how you start, but how you finish.”
Photos are attached for your consideration. Captions:
Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph speaks to students at Mississippi College School of Law on Oct. 30.
Chief Justice Mike Randolph, at left, answers a question posed by Dean John P. Anderson, at right, at Mississippi College School of Law on Oct. 30.
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