Attorney at Law

I was born and raised in Conway, Ark. I attended the Methodist Church, was involved in the Boy Scouts, played whatever sport or hunted and fished whatever critters were in season. I mowed yards, collected pop bottles and played pool or poker. Then, I started working at 15 and worked pretty much full time through college and law school. I was a retail clerk, worked at grocery stores, summer stock theatre, welding, as ski binding technician and then as a law clerk.

I graduated from Conway High in 1975 and Hendrix College in 1979. Then I headed to the University of Arkansas Fayetteville Law School 1983. In law school, I oversaw the student Legal Clinic and Prison Project organizations and was President Phi Alpha Delta frat. Other professional milestones were Bar admissions: Arkansas 1983, US Federal District Court 1985, US Supreme Court 1988.

After cutting my teeth in the Public Defender’s Office for about 2 years, I founded a firm with a couple of others in the mid-’80s. There I handled major crimes, multimillion-dollar commercial transactions, personal injury, estates, family law, small business, real estate; you name it. I had a great run for 30 something years with Partners and a team that is still going strong. As I approached 62 for some reason, I took a deep dive in deciding what to do with the time that was left. Do I travel, golf, garden and the like? Sounds okay. Do I run for Judge, go into Children’s Advocacy, sell real estate, open a drive-in movie theatre, do volunteer work? Doesn’t seem too bad. I thought hard about my options and took counsel with family, friends, and colleagues. Kevin Hickey was one.

I’ve known Kevin for years and admired the work he and his firm has done. He is smart, skilled, conscientious and has put together a likeminded team with a vision. As Kevin and I talked that day I realized that I still love practicing law. The give and take of dealing with lawyers, judges, juries and, most of all, working with the Client. What Kevin proposed left me with no management duties, no overhead responsibility, no marketing decisions, none of the countless, critical things one does to keep a firm moving forward but has nothing to do with actually practicing. My one and only job here would be to represent the Client. Bingo! Jackpot! Now you’re talking baby!

Here’s the thing, no client in my experience ever came to me because they wanted to be there. If you are going to a lawyer it is because you have a very real problem, often a crisis. The Chinese word for crisis is two symbols, one for danger, the other for opportunity. What I get to do for a living, is learn what it is you are facing, then use the right tools at the right time to avoid the dangerous path and move forward toward opportunity. I’ve done this a long time and the most rewarding part of the job is knowing I’ve helped someone get through the rough spots in life.

Come see me when you need to. If you’re all in, I’m all in.