Our Basileus

Attorney Shirley C. Byers owns and practices at Byers Law Firm, LLC, located in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She is an elected official currently serving as the Marshall County Prosecutor, making history as the first African American and the first woman to hold this position. Additionally, she was the first female and African American to serve as the City Attorney for Holly Springs from July 2013 to July 2021. Attorney Byers also served as the City Attorney for the Town of Byhalia, Mississippi, from 2023 to 2024. She is now the City Attorney for the Town of Potts Camp, Mississippi.

Attorney Byers earned a Juris Doctor in Law from the University of Mississippi Law Center, a master's degree in Public Administration with a focus on Finance from the University of Mississippi, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi. She attended public schools in Holly Springs, Mississippi, and graduated from Holly Springs High School.

Attorney Byers is an experienced judge who served as a Circuit Judge for Mississippi's Fourth Circuit Court District, which includes Washington, Sunflower, and Leflore counties. She was the first African American and the first woman to hold that position in the Fourth District, Sub-District 2. Her legal career also includes roles as an Associate at the Colom Law Firm, PLLC, in Columbus, Mississippi; an Associate at McTeer & Associates in Greenville, Mississippi; an Assistant Public Defender in Washington County, Mississippi; and a Law Clerk in the office of the State Supreme Court for Justice Reuben V. Anderson in Jackson, Mississippi.

A lifelong member of the NAACP, she serves on the Executive Board of the Marshall County branch; a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, having served as Graduate Advisor and member of the National Constitution Committee; and a member of Omicron Alpha Omega Chapter, where she serves as President (2025-2027) and Vice President (2021-2023). She is also a member of The Links, Incorporated, and a life member of the Tougaloo College National Alumni Association, where she is an inductee into the 2023 Hall of Fame.

Attorney Byers proudly represents Mississippi as a fourth-generation resident of Marshall County and the daughter of Mr. H. W. Byers, Sr., and Mrs. Estelle Adams Byers. She embodies the pride of Mississippi, Marshall County, and Holly Springs.