Above: Suzanne on the big screen during her swearing-in speech; Top left: Steve and Suzanne; Bottom left: Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Dan Kemp administered the oath of office to Suzanne. Photos by Mike Pirnique.
nicates well. I admire her ability to absorb information quickly and apply her criticalthinking skills toward solving the problem, whatever it may be. These are the characteristics that make her a great lawyer. Being a lawyer is about solving problems for your clients and no one does it better than Suzanne. Although she is tenacious in fighting for her clients and her beliefs, she has the maturity to see the approach needed to get the best result. She works tirelessly for her clients and her community. I continue to see her doing great things not only in her profession, but also for the good of this community.” James Smith echos Harwell’s endorsements. “I think the primary reason that I am such a big fan of Suzanne as a person, a friend and a lawyer is because she is genuine and interested,” Smith said. “She’s very serious and means business when it comes to advocating on behalf of her client and her community, yet she is kind and generous– and objective. She’s a client pleaser because of her pleasant demeanor yet she also obtains the confidence of her peers and clients because of her obvious intellect and willing to go to great lengths to be fully prepared for any court proceeding.” “Suzanne really is an elegant leader; she understands business and garners respect and confidence because she earns it,” he added. “She’s a consummate professional
and a genuinely kind person who exhibits empathy and understands the way life works and the role the law plays in the current environment. You won’t ever catch her unprepared or ill-informed and you can rest assured that she has the Arkansas Bar’s best interest in mind.” Suzanne is committed to service to the Bar and the legal profession. She has served on the Board of Governors and House of Delegates and numerous committees including the Professional Ethics, Jurisprudence and Law Reform, Long Range Planning, 2020 Commission, Task Force on Professional Liability Insurance and the Lawyers Helping Lawyers Committee, where she served as chair. She is a Fellow in the Arkansas Bar Foundation. She served as chair of the Governance Committee in 2016 where she played an active role in establishing a strategic plan with goals for moving the association forward. During her swearing-in speech, Suzanne introduced some of the changes ahead for the bar association. “We have been taking a look at how we operate as an association. The practice of law has been changing rapidly. The bar association has invested heavily in being sure that we are keeping pace with technology to be sure that our members have at their fingertips what they need for communication and research tools. We also have been looking at how we are structured
in terms of moving forward as an association in the future. “The way that we have been structured in terms of our governing bodies has been in place for roughly 50 years. We’ve had to take a hard look at how it functions in order for the association to be most effective and efficient. As we’ve asked some of these tough questions and done the research there’s been some pretty strong indications that we need to make some changes. Returning again to Issue 1. One of the things that absolutely will not change for the Arkansas Bar Association is the fact that we, within our state, are the ones who can stand up and be the most vocal about our support for the judiciary and the rule of law. “I am asking each and every one of you to stand up for the rule of law. Do not let them demonize lawyers in the process. We are the ones who people reach out to when there is an injustice and when people need help seeking recourse in the courts. Issue 1 is about denying people that opportunity. We need your help. We need your engagement in the association. We have an exciting year ahead. I hope you will all join me.”
Vol. 53 No. 3/Summer 2018 The Arkansas Lawyer
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