MC Law Celebrates Professor John Anderson

MC Law Professor John Anderson

Mississippi College Law School professor John Anderson is a shining example of scholarship on the Jackson campus.

In 2018, Cambridge Press published his book “Insider Trading: Law, Ethics and Reform” that speaks to changing the system. Now the MC Law professor is at work as co-author of a textbook on white-collar crime. It’s due to be released in 2021.

Anderson loves teaching. “Engaging with students is the most important (and best) part of my job,” he says. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s been “so impressed with our students’ ability to adapt” with online classes earlier in 2020 and wearing masks this fall.

“As lawyers, our students will have to overcome many unexpected challenges in protecting the interests of clients. The reality is that, in litigation and other areas of the law, things rarely go according to plan. The pandemic has given our students an opportunity to learn this early, and they are rising to the challenge!”

The Madison County resident feels blessed to teach at MC Law. “As a Christian law school, we are called to serve our students and put them first. This has been Dean Patricia Bennett’s vision from day one, and I am very proud to be part of this mission.”

MC Law leaders admire John Anderson’s hard work. He holds the J. Will Young Endowed Chair named for the late attorney with a storied career in Mississippi. MC Law created the chair in 1984 thanks to a generous gift from J. Will Young and his family. The recipient receives financial support to encourage scholarly activities. Candidates are also evaluated on service and teaching successes.

A World War II Navy veteran and former Jackson police officer, J. Will Young was a graduate of the Jackson School of Law (now MC Law). The lifelong Jacksonian was counsel to Young, Williams, Henderson & Fuselier, P.A., and an investor. He died in December 1996 at age 90.

John Anderson is an excellent choice to hold the endowed chair, colleagues say.

“Professor Anderson is an inspiring professor and an incredible scholar. Students love his classes,” says Dean Bennett. “He shows his commitment to students and they appreciate him. I am grateful that he is a professor at MC Law.”

“He brings a wealth of knowledge and a national reputation in his field,” says Professor Matt Steffey. “He’s committed to teaching and to service. That’s a great fit for MC Law.”

Professor Anderson “brings an enthusiasm to his classroom teaching which inspires his students to comprehend and relate to the material,” says MC Law Dean Emeritus Jim Rosenblatt. “He is the consummate law school professor.”

In May 2019, MC leaders honored Anderson as the university’s distinguished professor of the year. His expertise stretches from constitutional law to international human rights. He’s just as knowledgeable about insider trading law, white-collar crime, and contracts.

Professor Anderson earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley. He received a master's and a doctorate in the field at the University of Virginia. He’s a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law. Anderson was first recognized as the MC Law Professor of the Year in 2018-19.

Away from MC Law, Anderson is active in Mission Mississippi. For more than 25 years, the Jackson-based group seeks to develop relationships across racial lines to enhance their communities.

Whether writing books on insider trading or white-collar crime, Anderson thanks MC Law leaders for making it possible. “I would not be able to complete these book projects (or my many articles and blog posts) without the school’s support. And I am grateful for that.”

At the same time, Anderson stays focused on teaching duties on the East Griffith Street campus. “Our devotion to our students is not an advertising strategy – it is our culture.”

John Anderson is devoted to his family and church. He and his wife, Jaime, are the parents of three children. Their two daughters are active in music and dance. John coaches his son’s tournament baseball team. The Andersons attend Madison United Methodist Church.