Jim L. Julian 2010-2011 Arkansas Bar Association President By Anna Hubbard
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orn, raised and educated in Arkansas, newly elected President of the Arkansas Bar Association Jim Julian has devoted his life to improving his community and his profession. His goal this year is to encourage other lawyers to join his efforts in making a difference in the community. “As highly educated and trained people, we have many talents we can contribute to the betterment of our communities,” Jim said during his investiture on June 11, 2010, at the Association’s Annual Meeting in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Jim believes that lawyers are obligated to serve the community by participating in public service, serving on non-profit and civic boards, and donating hours to pro bono work. “As lawyers, we have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the lives of others and to our communities at large. As professionals, we owe an obligation to those who are in need of our services but whose situation in life deprives them of the ability to seek out our assistance.” The youngest of three siblings, Jim was raised in Osceola where his father, John Julian, still lives. In 1976, Jim earned a political science degree from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. He minored in history, a subject he continues to study informally by reading as much nonfiction as he can get his hands on. “History books are much more interesting than any fiction that can be conjured up by a novelist,” Jim said. “One of my favorite books is Rising Tide, an account of the great flood of 1927 and the devastation it wrought in the lower Mississippi River delta. Having grown up in those areas, the book made all of the old stories my dad had told me about the flood come to life.” Jim graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1979 where he met his wife of 30 years, Patti, who was a year behind him in law school. Patti and Jim are fortunate to live on one of the beautiful lakes in the Lakewood neighborhood of North Little Rock. Patti works as a campaign political consultant, an interest she comes by honestly. Her father Dave Roberts served as a state representative for over 20 years. Like Jim, Patti is actively involved in the commu-
nity. She serves on the North Little Rock Sewer Commission and on the Board of Potluck, Arkansas’s only food rescue organization. Their daughter Katy graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville this May. Jim’s first job out of law school was with a small law firm in West Memphis, where he practiced civil litigation and a “healthy dose” of criminal defense work. In 1983, he moved to Central Arkansas to work for Arkansas Power & Light Company (AP&L) doing condemnation work for the legal department. With AP&L’s blessing, he joined House, Holmes & Jewell, the firm that was providing outside legal counsel for AP&L in 1984. He and his current partners Larry Chisenhall and Chuck Nestrud formed their current firm in January of 1989, where Jim is head of litigation. “I enjoy trial work,” Jim said. “To be honest, I don’t like the prep work as much as trial work. I couldn’t imagine doing other areas of law work.” Longtime partners Larry Chisenhall and Chuck Nestrud know Jim better than most people other than Patti. “Jim and I both grew up in Osceola, although we did not know each other at the time,” Larry said. “Jim was a number of years younger than me, but you really wouldn’t know that by looking at us together.” “It really seems like Jim has been around for most of my life,” Larry added. “While he and I rarely try cases together, his analytical abiliVol. 45 No. 3/Summer 2010 The Arkansas Lawyer
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