Now is the time.

The ABA Retirement Funds Program (“Program”) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan designed specifically to address the retirement needs of the legal community. The Program is structured to provide affordable pricing whether you are a sole practitioner or a large corporate firm.

We have leveraged our size to bring together some of the most respected financial services providers in the retirement industry. Through the unique culture created between the ABA Retirement Funds Program and our Program partners we aspire to help every law firm, lawyer, and legal professional secure their financial future.

and not responsible for one another’s products and services.

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2023 Arkansas High School Mock Trial Competition

Thank you to all of the volunteers who made the competition a success.

On Saturday, March 4, 2023, Conway High School defeated Springdale Har-Ber High School in the Championship Round of the Arkansas High School Mock Trial Competition. Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Dan Kemp presided over the final round. Pictured above from left to right: Scoring judges Edward Oglesby, Joe Kolb, Chief Justice Dan Kemp, Danyelle Walker, Jamie Huffman Jones and Margaret Dobson.

Conway High will represent Arkansas at the 2023 National High School Mock Trial Championship, to be held in Little Rock May 18-20. Springdale Har-Ber High may also be asked to attend if an additional team is needed. We appreciate the members of the Mock Trial Committee as well as all of the volunteers who served as judges at regional and state competition. Volunteers are still needed to judge the National Championship. For more information, visit littlerock2023.nhsmtc.org and click on the Volunteer link.

Mock Trial Committee

Anthony L. McMullen (Chair)

Beverly I. Brister

Robert S. Coleman, Jr.

Margaret King Davis

Amy Freedman

Sarah E. Greenwood

Adrienne Morris Griffis

Michael B. Heister

Johnathan D. Horton

Lori D. Howard

Christopher M. Hussein

Adam Donner Jackson

Melanie Ann Maddox

Gabriel D. Mallard

William C. Mann, III

Richard Bryant Marshall

Judge Mary Spencer McGowan

Barrett S. Moore

Ashley Elizabeth Norman

Constance Brown Phillips

Natalie Elizabeth Ramm

Casey Nicole Richmond

Jordan Brown Tinsley

Timothy F. Watson, Jr.

Matthew D. Wells

Nicole Marie Winters

Volunteer Judges

Elizabeth Armstrong

Kate Atkinson

Judge Stephanie Barrett

Kandice Bell

Tyler Benson

Stephen Christian Bilheimer

Nathan Bogart

Caitlyn Brainerd

Beverly Brister

Kelsey Broaddrick

Evelyn Brooks

Karie A. Bryan

Katie Butler

Stephanie Chamberlin

Brian Clary

Robert Coleman

Alec Comerford

Cory Crawford

Jeannie Denniston

Margaret Dobson

Whitney Doolittle

Camille Edmison

Shannon L. Fant

Katie Freeman

Brooke Gasaway

Tammy Gattis

Sarah Greenwood

Ginny Greer

Alex Harper

Denise Reid Hoggard

Glen Hoggard

Marianne Hudson

Michelle Jaskolski

Judge Shawn J. Johnson

Michael Johnson

Tony Jones

Michael Kaiser

Amanda Kennedy

Mircha King

Joy Momin

Kirby Mouser

Rosalind Mouser

Lisa Parks

David M. Powell

Marshall Prettyman

Dixie M. Quinn Nelson

Mason Reynolds

Ezra Smith

Katie Sparrow

Maurice Taggart

Judge Joanna Taylor

Andrew Thornton

Jeremy Wann

Judge Diane Warren

Timothy F. Watson, Jr.

Peyton Watts

Judge Karen Whatley

Stacy Williams

On March 29, 2023, the schools of Hempstead County sent their Fifth Graders to participate in the Hope Lions Club “Liberty Day” Event hosted by the University of Arkansas at Hope-Texarkana. Throughout the day the students learned about the Constitution and the underlying values of freedom upon which our government is based. The students heard from former Supreme Court Justice Jim Gunter, local Hope attorney Blake Montgomery, professors at UAHT, and teachers. The day started with a viewing of “The Grand Experiment—Democracy in Motion” produced by the Arkansas Bar Association which outlined our state’s government and judiciary.

You Can Help with Civics Education

The Arkansas Bar Association released the “The Grand Experiment— Democracy in Motion,” on Constitution Day in 2021 to help educate Arkansas students and the public about the importance of the Constitution and the rule of law in the United States in honor of Constitution Day. Please consider showing the video at your local clubs or schools. The video is available at: https://youtu.be/ qSdr-bueyJs.

Accolades

The UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law honored five faculty members as the winners of the 2023 Faculty Excellence Award: andré cummings, Nick Kahn-Fogel, Suzanne Penn, Kelly Terry, and Aaron Schwabach Bryan Hosto, a Little Rock Attorney with Hosto & Buchan, PLLC and Real Estate Broker with The Haybar Group, has been named a member of Fifty for the Future.

Appointments And Elections

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has named Colin Crawford as the next dean of the William H. Bowen School of Law, effective July 1, 2023.

Word About Town

Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus, P.C. announced that attorneys Brett W. Taylor and Mary E. Buckley have been promoted from associates to directors of the firm. Wright Lindsey Jennings announced the launch of a new mediation practice, WLJ Resolution, led by partners Scott Irby in Northwest Arkansas and Rodney Moore in Little Rock. Rose Law Firm announced the hiring of Chris McNulty and Austin Reed. Ledly Jennings announced the opening of L. Jennings Law PLLC in Little Rock and Magnolia. McGlinchey Stafford announced that Gary L. Pate has joined the firm’s Enterprise Litigation and Investigations section as a member (partner) in the Houston office.

ArkBar President-Elect Margaret Dobson and ArkBar President-Elect Designee Kristin Pawlik continued their leadership journeys at the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Bar Leadership Institute held in Chicago March 15-17, 2023. Pictured from left, back row: ArkBar Executive Director Karen K. Hutchins, Kristin Pawlik, Margaret Dobson; front row: ABA President-Elect Mary Smith and ABA President Deborah EnixRoss.

Board of Trustees Elections

Ballots for the 2023 ArkBar elections were counted on March 20, 2023, in the contested race for positions on the Association’s Board of Trustees in District B9-B15. The successful candidates are listed below. We also want to welcome the new Trustees who were elected without the need of a ballot. Those members are listed below as well.

Congratulations to the following candidates elected without the need of a ballot:

District A1: William Marshall Prettyman and Lindsey Charles Vechick; District A2, A3: Christopher M. Hussein; District C7: Robert G. Bridewell

The successful candidates from District B9-B15 are as follows: Randall L. Bynum, Thomas M. Carpenter, Bob Edwards, John Andrew Ellis, Michael Kenneth Goswami, Jim Jackson, Jamie Huffman Jones, Victoria Leigh, Molly McNulty, Meredith Strong Moore and John Ogles.

Thank you to all the candidates for their willingness to serve and lead our Association.

125th Anniversary Celebration

This year, the Association will celebrate its 125th anniversary at the association’s Annual Meeting, June 14-16, 2023, in Hot Springs. Our theme, “Building for the Future: A World of Opportunities,” speaks to our vision of a better future— not only for the association, but more importantly, for the clients our members serve. We will kick off this year’s meeting with a special 125th Anniversary Celebration to honor our past. The event will be held Wednesday June 14th at the Oaklawn Casino Resort. Enjoy cocktails with colleagues, a silent auction, dinner, the Arkansas Bar Association and Arkansas Bar Foundation Joint Awards ceremony, special guests, and dancing. Tickets are available for anyone regardless of whether you are attending the Annual Meeting and must be purchased by May 23rd.