Partner
M. Denise Fondren is a founding partner of Hickman Fondren, PLLC which has offices in Macon and Oxford, MS. Denise serves as the partner in charge of the firm’s Oxford office as well as the firm’s managing partner, in this role she oversees the day to day operation and human resource needs for both of the firm’s offices.
Denise focuses her practice primarily on family law and criminal law matters but assists and advises her clients in a wide range of other legal matters. She also serves as a Public Defender for Oxford Municipal Court as well as the Lafayette County Circuit Court.
Denise earned her Juris Doctorate from The University of Mississippi School of Law in May 2017 and was admitted to The Mississippi Bar in September 2017. She also holds two Bachelors of Business Administration degrees from The University of Mississippi in Managerial Finance and Banking & Finance. She is a 2003 graduate of J.Z. George High School in North Carrollton, MS. She currently lives in Oxford, MS but Vaiden, MS is home.
She currently serves as a Bar Commissioner for The Mississippi Bar, District 3 Director of the Lafayette County Democratic Party, and Director of the Young Lawyers Division of The Mississippi Bar. Denise is also a member of the University of Mississippi School of Law Alumni Diversity Council as well as the Diversity Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of The Mississippi Bar.
Prior to private practice she served as Staff Attorney for the Earlene Gardner Victims Assistance Project at North Mississippi Rural Legal Services (NMRLS) in Oxford, MS. In this role, she provided legal assistance and support to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in twenty-seven northern Mississippi counties. She worked closely with other service providers and community agencies to ensure victims were heard and assisted. For her work as Staff Attorney, in September on 2018, she received the Purple for Peace Legal Community Award.
She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated where she serves as President of the graduate chapter in Oxford. She attends and serves on the finance committee at South Hopewell M.B. Church in Oxford. Most notable, she is the mother of a beautiful daughter, Jamari Fondren. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and watching college football.
Partner
Rod Hickman is a founding partner of Hickman Fondren, PLLC which has offices in Macon and Oxford, MS. Rod focuses his practice on personal injury, employment and workers compensation matters. However, Rod assists and advises clients on a wide range of legal matters from family law to employment law.
Rod is a native of Shuqualak, MS and a 2007 graduate of Noxubee County High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mississippi and his J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law, graduating magna cum laude. While earning his J.D., Rod served as an Associate Articles Editor for the Mississippi Law Journal, a member of the Moot Court Board and he also served two terms on the executive board of the National Black Law Students Association. Rod was honored as the 2017 Outstanding Student at the University of Mississippi School of Law and was also recipient of the Dean’s Distinguished Leader Award two of the University of Mississippi Law School’s highest honors. Rod is currently the chairman of the University of Mississippi School of Law Alumni Diversity Council.
Prior to the start of Hickman Fondren, Rod worked as an Associate Attorney at one of Mississippi’s leading law firms where his practice focused primarily on employment law and premises liability litigation.
In August of 2019, Rod was elected as the first Black County Prosecutor for Noxubee County, Mississippi. He is also the youngest elected official in Noxubee County. In January of 2020, he was appointed municipal prosecutor for the Town of Shuqualak, MS, his home town. Rod also serves as an adjunct prelaw professor at Tougaloo College in Jackson, MS as well as The W in Columbus, MS
Rod is very active in his community from coaching mock trial teams to providing mentorship. He is a member of the Magnolia Bar Association where he currently serves as co-chair of the Young Lawyers Division. Rod is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated where he currently serves as the parliamentarian of the Pi Sigma Lambda Chapter and Deputy General Counsel for the Southern Region of Alpha Phi Alpha and he is also active in the Mississippi Alpha Network where he serves as Chief Dean of Membership Development.
Rod’s greatest joy is being the father of Ari Elizabeth Hickman. She keeps him busy with an assorted array of activities.