UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law
Law Student Spotlight
Tonisha Cox — Destined to be an Advocate
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for leaders “It’s important fession in the legal pro ering to listen to diff pen views and to o for students opportunities als from and profession ,” Toni said. diverse groups idating “It can be intim ice and to to find your vo m personal talk. I know fro experience.”
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Tonisha “Toni” Cox, was fated to come to Arkansas. She was at the top of her class at her high school in East St. Louis, Illinois, and working at a college fair when she ran into Chris Robinson, a recruiter from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He noticed that she was dressed in black and gold. “He caught my attention because I was shopping for colleges,” Toni said. “I’d had several acceptances, but I believed I was worth more than those schools were offering.” The recruiter agreed. He offered Toni a full academic scholarship, and she became a Golden Lion. The move to Arkansas was a leap of faith she’s never regretted. “I love the hospitality in the South. Everyone is so nice,” Toni said. “And the food is amazing. Every week UAPB had Fried Chicken Wednesdays and Fried Fish Fridays. I couldn’t get enough.” Toni majored in political science because she believed it was the best path to law school. Though Toni didn’t know any attorneys, she’d always known she wanted to be one. She has a very personal motivation. “I grew up in a city full of crime, misdeeds, and corruption. I’ve seen people mistreated by the justice system.” Toni said. “I couldn’t help but wonder if the outcome would have been different for a lot of people if they had a better advocate.” While Toni was studying at UAPB, she also interned at the Law Office of Danyelle Walker. Danyelle, herself a Bowen grad, was very supportive throughout the application process. “Danyelle never pushed me in one direction, but she had so many good things to say about Bowen,” Toni said. “Her personal touch helped me put Bowen in the top three schools I was considering.” That personal touch continued through Toni’s application process. “There was a comment from my personal statement in my communications with Bowen that let me know the admissions committee had read it and paid attention to me,” she said. “It was such an intimate connection.”
Accepted Students’ Day carried through on that connection. “The speakers were inspiring and open about sharing their experiences,” Toni said. “Bowen also offered support programs, like the Student Success Teams and the mentorship program, that other schools didn’t. From the moment I received my acceptance packet, Bowen made me feel like I was part of a community that valued my success.” Since beginning her studies, Toni has found that her favorite classes are the ones the have immediate practical impact, like Civil Procedure, and tie into her passion for advocacy, like Lawyering Skills. She also enjoyed Torts. “I loved reading those cases!” she laughs. Toni has clerked with firms such as Wright Lindsey & Jennings and The Friday Firm and with government offices such as the Attorney General’s Civil Department and the Pulaski County Attorney’s office. She has also completed an externship at the Arkansas Public Defender Commission. The experiences have taught her that she’s better suited for the courtroom instead of the office. She put that preference to work this year, serving on both Bowen’s and the Black Law Students Association’s Trial Teams. It was her first experience competing. “Both teams were such rewarding experiences,” Toni said. “I was able to apply what I’d learned throughout law school and build my confidence. I’m even more determined to be a litigator.” Her teams did well, too. Her national competition team reached the semi-finals of the King of the Hill competition, and her BLSA team reached the semi-finals of the Constance Baker Motley competition. However, Toni has also enjoyed the non-academic side of Bowen. One of her favorite activities is the law school’s Stress Less Fest, a day of relaxing self-care activities at the end of each semester. “That work/life balance is so important, Page 2 of 2
and it’s great that the school recognizes that and fosters it,” she said. “My family loves that the school does this for us.” Toni has other activities that help keep her balanced. Travel has helped her stay focused. During Covid, she relieved the monotony of Zoom classes by taking small trips to escape her home. Those trips also helped her cope with the loss of her grandmother in the fall of 2020. Last spring, just before finals, she went to Tulum, Mexico, and studied for exams pool-side. When Toni is at home, she spends time with her friends and plays with her Pekingese puppy, Mr. Brown. “He’s a major stress reliever,” Toni said, laughing. “He’s always happy to see me, and he’s my audience for my trial team rehearsals. He’s a great listener.” This year, Toni was the recipient of the Arkansas Bar Commission on Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship, which was also sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division. Her essay dealt with the culture shock she experienced as a former HBCU student attending a non-HBCU law school. “Every school I had attended was historically black,” she explained. “To get to Bowen and see fewer faces like mine was a definite moment for me.” Toni’s suggested solutions included reaching out to undergraduates to assure them that law school is attainable and working with law firms to improve and promote diversity in their organizations and in the profession. “It’s important for leaders in the legal profession to listen to differing views and to open opportunities for students and professionals from diverse groups,” Toni said. “It can be intimidating to find your voice and to talk. I know from personal experience.” One thing that hasn’t been intimidating is her job search. After graduation in May, Toni will return home to East St. Louis to study for the bar exam--but she’s taking it in Pennsylvania. She already has a job waiting for her with the Philadelphia
District Attorney’s office. “I had been interviewing and applying at several different places,” Toni explained. “And the Philadelphia job came up in a Google search. I decided to try it and see what happened.” Her interview was the day of the UAPB/UA football game. Three weeks later, the district attorney offered her the job. Almost like it was fate.
University of Arkansas School of Law
Law Student Spotlight
Meet Grant and Taylor Spillers
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“The faculty, students and staff of the School of Law have enjoyed three years of interaction with Grant and Taylor, and wish them the best of luck with their respective bar exams and future endeavors. Although they are close, a little friendly sibling rivalry is likely to serve them well as they embark on their legal careers.”
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The brother and sister duo of Grant and Taylor Spillers graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law at the commencement ceremony held May 14. They crossed the stage, one after the other, to be hooded and receive diplomas. Commencement was the culmination of three years of hard work and service complicated by the pandemic. Yet they persevered for a strong showing at the finish line. Grant graduated cum laude and Taylor magna cum laude. Both are leaders and they leave the school a better place than they found it. They weathered the challenges of law school with creativity and resolve and they treasure the experience of completing the journey together. Grant and Taylor are almost two years apart in age. Grant is the oldest. They grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, and both came to the University of Arkansas for undergraduate school, although Grant attended Johnson County Community College in Overland Park for one year to play baseball. “We were both competitive growing up, but for different reasons,” Grant said. “I was known for athletics, and my sister was known for academics. Even though she always beat me out in grades, I always felt pushed to keep up.” Grant transferred to the U of A and earned a BSBA in marketing from the Sam M. Walton College of Business in 2018. He frequently made the dean’s and chancellor’s lists. He was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and served as the 2017-18 head of philanthropy for the Interfraternity Council. Taylor, a Phi Beta Kappa, earned a BA, with honors, from the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences in 2019, and graduated summa cum laude. She was named to the dean’s list for all eight semesters and the chancellor’s list seven out of eight semesters. She was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha.
“Grant and I sure did our fair share of bickering growing up,” Taylor said. “It probably wasn’t until late-college and especially early law school that we put aside any competitiveness and really became best friends. Now we study together, hang out in the same friend group, etc. I’m going to be really sad come August when I move to Kansas City and he moves to Denver. It will be the first time we’ve really lived in separate cities.” The pair held two of the most respected, and demanding, 3L leadership roles at the School of Law this past year. Grant was selected as chair of the Board of Advocates (BOA) and Taylor editor-in-chief of the Arkansas Law Review. The BOA is responsible for organizing and running the school’s internal competitions that lead to the selection of moot court, trial and client advocacy competition traveling teams for regional and national competitions. To be selected for the board, students must be active in the competitions during their 2L year, and the chair is selected by the previous year’s chair. The fast-moving annual schedule includes the William H. Sutton Barrister’s Union Trial Competition, the Ben J. Altheimer Moot Court Competition, the Negotiations Competition, and the many preliminary rounds leading up to each championship round. Planning and running the competitions involves the coordination of dozens of dedicated volunteers and many moving parts. Board members are responsible for every aspect of the competitions including volunteer recruitment, scheduling personnel and rooms, arranging meals, marketing and publicity, developing competition scenarios, and writing thank you notes. The program allows students to hone courtroom and negotiation skills in front of practicing judges and lawyers. The pandemic added a new wrinkle to the 2020-21 Page 2 of 2
program as competitions had to be conducted as virtual events. “I enjoyed creating competitions with a fantastic team,” Grant said. “I loved competing in the competitions during my 2L year and felt that the competitions helped me take the material I was learning in class and apply it to a real-world situation. As chair, I also learned that delegating work to other teammates is essential when carrying out large-scale competitions.” As editor-in-chief of the Arkansas Law Review, Taylor learned to make firm, often tough decisions while maintaining flexibility. “I loved getting to see the publications come to fruition after working so hard with everyone to select the articles and set a lengthy publication schedule. The challenge was that there was always something to do or fix whether it be changing a deadline or solving an editing issue. It all surely kept me busy!” Taylor, who loves to do anything crafty, enjoyed working on the team that designed the color scheme and décor for the new Tracey and Steve Caple Arkansas Law Review Office. She and her team had the added pleasure of producing the journal’s 75th volume and working with two former editors, Steve Caple and Erron Smith, to commemorate the milestone. Most of all, she enjoyed the sense of community that comes from working with a group of talented and hardworking peers to produce a journal that is an integral part of the Arkansas legal community and a resource to lawyers and researchers across the country. As staff editor of the journal in her 2L year, Taylor had the unique experience of working with a team, virtually, to produce a volume. Both Grant and Taylor have benefited from the generosity of the state’s bench and bar. As chair of the Board of Advocates, Grant was the
recipient of the H. Maurice Mitchell Leaders in Law Scholarship funded by Mitchell Williams Selig Gates and Woodyard PLLC and as a Rule XV student attorney at the Washington County Prosecutors Office, he had the opportunity to observe and work with local attorneys. He also clerked at the Niblock Law Firm the summer before his 3L year. As editor-in-chief of the Arkansas Law Review, Taylor received the Rose Law Firm Scholarship, created by the firm in 1980 to support the editor-in-chief of the publication. She is also a Pearson Fellow, having received scholarship support from the Charles Thomas and Mary Alice Pearson Scholarship Fund. During law school she clerked at the Odom Law Firm, Kutak Rock LLP and Mitchell, Williams Selig Gates & Woodyard. All three experiences allowed for professional growth. The faculty, students and staff of the School of Law have enjoyed three years of interaction with Grant and Taylor, and wish them the best of luck with their respective bar exams and future endeavors. Although they are close, a little friendly sibling rivalry is likely to serve them well as they embark on their legal careers.