know-how and a lot of trips to city hall for practical advice the practice and Marshall survived. The elder Shackleford was defeated for re-election in 1949 by a margin of 64 votes but the Shacklefords weren't out of public life for long. Marshall, )r .. was elected to the state House of Represen tatives in 1950 and to the Senate in 1952 where he remained until 1961. As a legislator Marshall championed the creation, funding and staffing of the Legislative Council to assure continuity in the legislative process between sessions. "He was a good man and a good senator. He supported a more active role for the legislature in planning for the future of the state," Marcus Halbrook, director of the Legislative CounciL says about Marshall. From 1957 to 1959 Marshall was chairman of the Legislative Council and in that role was instrumental in securing adequate, reliable appropriations for the University of Arkansas Medical Center. Marshall also sponsored legislation to address the rapid pollution of the natural waterways through the disposal of salt water discharged during oil production - an environmental problem that was at the time unique to South Arkansas. Halbrook says that Marshall's bill provided an economically feasible solution to the problem and served as a forerunner to much later legislation aimed at protecting streams and the environment. On behalf of the Arkansas Bar Association he sponsored measures to improve
the legal system including the Uniform Commercial Code, the Insurance Code. comparative negli-
gence and modern rules for discovery, depositions and appeals. Marshailleft the Senate to run a hotly contested and narrowly lost campaign for prosecuting attorney. Both Marshall and Dennis see the loss as a blessing, however. "We have remarked many, many times that it was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. We could devote our full efforts to the law practice and we have done that ever since," Dennis says. Dennis joined the firm in 1958, having finished law school after an interruption for service as a
helicopter pilot in the Air Force in
Dennis L. Shackleford, Iohn Marshall Shackleford, Ir., and S. Hubert Mayes, Ir .. pictured in 1985.
helped open courtrooms to all media to report on trials. He also chaired the Law School Committee that analyzed the current status and future needs of legal
Korea. Dennis has stayed clear of the political arena. However, while developing his practice as a trial attorney - specializing in products liability and medical malpractice - he has been a very active member of the bar. Dennis has served on, and in many cases chaired. innumerable
education in Arkansas and re-
committees. In recent years he
has chaired the committee on Cameras in the Courtroom that
ported its findings to University of Arkansas President Ray Thornton. For their work, Shackleford and the committee were commended by the House of Delegates in September, 1985. As president of the Arkansas Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Shackleford has joined the Association in its push for mandatory continuing legal January 1986/Arkansas Lawyer/13