Association News
Oyez! Oyez!
Jim Simpson of Little Rock is the new Association President-Elect Designee
ACCOLADES Shane Bridgforth of Ramsay, Bridgforth, Robinson & Raley in Pine Bluff was awarded the 2011 Jefferson County VOCALS Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. APPOINTMENTS AND ELECTIONS Hon. Ralph Wilson, Jr., Circuit Judge in the Second Judicial District, was sworn in as President of the Judicial Council. Howard Slinkard of Rogers was reappointed to the Board of Trustees of Arkansas State University. Ed Koon of Sheridan was appointed circuit judge for the Second Division of the Seventh Judicial District. Searcy W. Harrell, Jr., was appointed circuit judge for the Fourth Division of the 13th Judicial District. John S. Kitterman was named to the advisory board of BancorpSouth in Little Rock. Don Hollingsworth has been re-elected to the Health Policy Board of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. WORD ABOUT TOWN Friday, Eldredge & Clark announced that J. Shepherd “Shep” Russell III will succeed Byron Eiseman as Chairman of the Management Committee. Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow PLLC, recently announced that Michael N. Shannon has become a Managing Member. Bilenda Harris-Ritter and George P. Ritter announced the opening of Ritter Law, a partnership, at 406B Edgewood Drive, Maumelle. Jeffery Weber and Thomas Burns announced the opening of their firm, Weber & Burns PLLC, located at 23251 Interstate 30 South, Bryant. Kimberly Morse Canova of the Sexton & Canova Law Firm in Fayetteville has opened a satellite office in Van Buren at 2711 Oak Lane #B. Rebecca Adelman announced the opening of the Resolution Resource Center of the Mid-South (RRC) located at the Memphis Central Station on South Main Street in downtown Memphis. Williams & Hutchinson LLP a law firm comprised of attorneys, Ronald A. Williams, Timothy C. Hutchinson and Bryan Vernetti have moved their offices to 4201 West New Hope Road, Suite 202, Rogers. Send Oyez information to: ahubbard@arkbar.com.
2012 Leadership Academy Congratulations to the 20 attorneys who have been selected to participate in the 2012 Arkansas Bar Association Leadership Academy. The 2011-2012 class brings together a diverse group of attorneys from across the state who have been identified as emerging leaders. Participants attended the Opening Retreat in January and will attend three additional sessions that focus on different areas of leadership. John T. Adams S. Renee Brida Cory D. Childs Joel M. DiPippa Sonya J. Dodson Tessica C. Dooley Joseph W. Ghormley Lauren White Hamilton William M. Jones Kathryn Reynolds Kelley
Shelly Hogan Koehler Jessica Middleton-Kurylo Angelia Esparza Muldoon Kevin O’Dwyer Erin S. O’Leary Andrew M. Parker Melissa N. Sawyer Patrick L. Spivey Shannon Holloway Vaughan Jessica S. Yarbrough
Jim Simpson was recently elected the new Arkansas Bar Association president-elect designee. Simpson is a partner at Friday, Eldredge & Clark in Little Rock where he heads the firm’s General Litigation Practice Group. Simpson graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock cum laude in 1974 and from the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville in 1977. He has been an active member of the Arkansas Bar Association since being admitted to the bar, including serving as chair of the Young Lawyers Section. He served 11 years in the House of Delegates (tenured), six years on the Board of Governors, two years as Parliamentarian, and finally as Chair of the Annual Meeting in Hot Springs. He has also served as chair and a member of several committees and task forces. Most recently he has been a part of the faculty of the Arkansas Professional Practicum attended by all our newest lawyers. Simpson will become president of the Association in June 2013 during the Association’s Annual Meeting. As president-elect designee, he begins the Association’s four-year leadership track. He will become president-elect at the 2012 meeting, president in 2013, and immediate past president in 2014.
Vol. 47 No. 1/Winter 2012 The Arkansas Lawyer
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