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In this time and age it is vitally important that new lawyers have access to the advice and counsel of experienced practitioners. We tend to see more and more new admittees come out of law school, pass the bar and go into practice by themselves or in very small firm environments. Those people need the guidance and help of a mentor to assist
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with things that are vital to their ability to survive in today’s legal services marketplace.
Investiture above top: The Little Rock Airforce Honor Guard performs a posting of the colors before the investiture; above middle: Chief Justice Jim Hannah administers the oath of office to Tom; above bottom: Chief Justice Jim Hannah, Linda and Tom 12
The Arkansas Lawyer
www.arkbar.com
The volunteer mentoring program will connect experienced lawyers with new attorneys. The program will build upon the limited program that has been in place for a couple of years through the Arkansas Supreme Court Professional Practicum program of professionalism for new attorneys. “I think with the Association committing to this, publicizing this and structuring this we can provide a viable program,” Tom said. “This is not a bar program that is going to impact the budget in any significant way. It is just a matter of lawyers setting aside a little bit of their time to help young people starting in the profession.” Tom met his wife, Linda, when he was a senior in college. Linda is a long-time educator with beginnings as a math teacher in Jonesboro public schools, service as a faculty member at Arkansas State University, and now a math professor at Northwest Florida State College. For the past two years, she and Tom “commute” to and from their Miramar Beach home during the academic year. He said he suspects “she has the better end of the deal.” Tom and Linda are proud parents of two sons, Drew (31) and Derek (27), and proud grandparents of Reese (3) and Hank (2). Drew is the “family business man,” a graduate of the University of Tennessee with an MBA, and is married to Andrea who is a family law practitioner. They live in Tennessee with their two children. Derek graduated this May from Boston College School of Law and is preparing to take the bar exam this summer. Tom “was bitten by the bar bug early on” and has been active in the Association since earning his license. He has served multiple terms in the House of Delegates and was a member of the Executive Council. He is currently a member of the Association’s Board of Governors and has served as chair of the Probate and Trust Law Section and the Section of Taxation. He has been honored with the Charles L. Carpenter Award for his exemplary service to the Association. In addition, Tom is a long-time Sustaining Member of the Association and a Sustaining Fellow of the Arkansas Bar Foundation. A general practitioner in the early years, Tom now focuses his practice in the areas of business law, corporations, taxation, trusts and estates. His firm currently has 17 attorneys and is ranked the 15th largest law firm in Arkansas. Tom is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel where he serves on the College’s Professional Responsibility Committee and is the past Arkansas State Chair. He is a past president of the Craighead County Bar Association. Tom’s professionalism and volunteerism extend outside of the legal