Our firm’s rich history began in 1895 when William Hamilton Watkins became the twentieth lawyer at the Jackson bar. The influential career of Will Watkins spanned sixty-four years, during which he argued over twenty cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Pat H. Eager, Jr., joined Will Watkins in 1916 and practiced with the firm until his death in 1976. Pat Eager was recognized as a premier trial lawyer who served as president of the International Association of Defense Counsel (1943-1944) and who was Mississippi’s initial invitee into the American College of Trial Lawyers. Two of Will Watkins’s children joined the firm in the 1930s.

Thomas H. Watkins (1933-1994) achieved a national reputation in the representation of corporate and governmental clients. Elizabeth Watkins Hulen (1934-1977) earned a place in history in 1956 when she became the first woman from Mississippi to argue before the Supreme Court of the United States. After more than a century, several members of Will Watkins’s family continue to leave their marks on the firm, including his grandson, Bill Goodman (1953 to present), great grandson, Will Goodman (1977 to present) and great-great grandson, Clifford Ammons, Jr. (2008 to present).

Equally remarkable are the accomplishments of literally scores of others who, by their high character and exceptional abilities, have sustained Watkins & Eager’s heritage as a truly preeminent law firm.