General Counsel

Onetta Starling Whitley, Esq., General Counsel

As General Counsel, Onetta Starling Whitley manages the efficient operation of the Division of General Counsel and serves as the University’s lead in‐house attorney. Whitley formerly served as deputy attorney general for the State of Mississippi, where she was the first woman and second African American to hold the position. She served as deputy for Attorneys General Mike Moore and Jim Hood.  In addition to being a member of the management team, she served as chief of the office’s State Government Licensing and Regulatory Division providing legal representation, including but not limited to, general counsel and advice, representing agency staff in administrative hearings related to licensure, employee discipline and equal opportunity employment compliance.

After retiring from state service in 2020, Whitley joined the W T Consultants governmental relations team advocating for the legislative and governmental interests of a variety of government, nonprofit, and corporate clients as a registered lobbyist.

Whitley received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Tougaloo College and her Juris Doctor degree from Mississippi College School of Law. Whitley says that above all, her best job is being “MeMaw” to Lela, Caleb and Allen.

LaShundra Jackson-Winters, Esq., Associate General and Title IX Coordinator

LaShundra Jackson-Winters serves as Associate General Counsel for Jackson State University.  Attorney Jackson-Winters graduated from Tougaloo College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and earned her Juris Doctor degree from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  She is licensed to practice law in all federal and state courts in the State of Mississippi.  She is also licensed to practice law in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Prior to joining Jackson State University’s Division of General Counsel, she was a Deputy City Prosecutor in Jackson, Mississippi where she prosecuted misdemeanor crimes in Municipal Court.  After serving as a City Prosecutor, she served the City of Jackson as a Deputy City Attorney in the Civil Litigation Division.  As a civil litigator, she not only directed and participated in defending the City of Jackson, its employees, elected officials, or agents but she also assisted in drafting ordinances, resolutions, and City policies.  Attorney Jackson-Winters is a native of Jackson, Mississippi.  She is married to Sean Adam Winters and they are the proud parents of two children: Aislynn and Sean Wesley.

Monica Davis Allen, Esq., Associate General Counsel

BIO COMING SOON

BIO COMING SOON

Tiffany Houston Dockins, Director of Legal Operations / Equal Employment Opportunity Officer

Tiffany, a New Orleans native and proud graduate of Jackson State University, has worked in the Division of General Counsel since 2007 and has over twenty-five years of experience as a Paralegal, Investigator and Case Manager for various Plaintiff and Defense law firms throughout the Jackson Metropolitan area, including The Cochran Firm and Forman Perry Watkins Krutz and Tardy. Currently as Director of Legal Operations for Jackson State, she manages and serves as the litigation liaison, internal case manager, legal business operations and contracts specialist, and policy archivists. She also handles FOIA requests, document production and responses to subpoenas.

Tiffany also serves as the University’s Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, conducting investigations of alleged employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, age, disability, or national origin.  She assists the University to ensure compliance with its Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Policies and is responsible for responding to charges of alleged employment discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  This past recipient of the “Jacksonian Professionalism Award” truly adores her “Dear Ole College Home”. She has three sons, Travis, Drew and Josh, is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and a member of St. Therese Catholic Church, Jackson, Mississippi.

Monica L. Donaldson, Paralegal