K. COLEMAN WESTBROOK, JR. Friday, Eldredge & Clark 501-376-2011 400 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 2000 Little Rock, AR 72201 WILLIAM DIXON HAUGHT Haught & Wade 501-375-5257 111 Center Street, Ste. 1320 Little Rock, AR 72201 JOHN COGAN WADE Haught & Wade 501-375-5257 111 Center Street, Ste. 1320 Little Rock, AR 72201
JENNIFER R. PIERCE Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard 501-688-8800 425 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 1800 Little Rock, AR 72201 ANTHONY A. HILLIARD Ramsay, Bridgforth, Robinson & Raley 870-535-9000 Simmons First National Bank Building, 11th Floor P.O. Box 8509 Pine Bluff, AR 71611-8509 STEVE BAUMAN Rose Law Firm 501-375-9131 120 East Fourth Street Little Rock, AR 72201-2893
JOHN C. LESSEL John C. Lessel 501-954-9000 11601 Pleasant Ridge Road Little Rock, AR 72212
C. BRANTLY BUCK Rose Law Firm 501-375-9131 120 East Fourth Street Little Rock, AR 72201-2893
JOSEPH HICKEY Joseph Hickey 870-862-3478 100 West Cedar, Ste. B El Dorado, AR 71730 DAVID A. SMITH Kutak Rock 501-975-3000 124 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 2000 Little Rock, AR 72201-3740 TRAV BAXTER Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard 501-688-8800 425 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 1800 Little Rock, AR 72201
ADAM H. CROW Rose Law Firm 501-375-9131 120 East Fourth Street Little Rock, AR 72201-2893 W. WILSON JONES Rose Law Firm 501-375-9131 120 East Fourth Street Little Rock, AR 72201-2893 DAN C. YOUNG Rose Law Firm 501-375-9131 120 East Fourth Street Little Rock, AR 72201-2893
CREDIT
The Best Lawyers in America© is published by BL Rankings, LLC d/b/a Best Lawyers and Co., LLC, Aiken, S.C. and can be ordered directly from the publisher. For information call 803-648-0300; write 237 Park Ave., SW, Suite 101, Aiken, S.C. 29801; email info@bestlawyers.com; or visit bestlawyers.com. An online subscription to Best Lawyers® is available at bestlawyers.com.
DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT
BL Rankings, LLC d/b/a Best Lawyers and Co., LLC has used its best efforts in assembling material for this list but does not warrant that the information contained herein is complete or accurate, and does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. All listed attorneys have been verified as being members in good standing with their respective state bar associations as of July 1, 2018, where that information is publicly available. Consumers should contact their state bar association for verification and additional information prior to securing legal services of any attorney.
UTILITIES LAW
EDDIE H. WALKER, JR. Walker, Shock & Harp 479-783-7600 400 North Sixth Street P.O. Box 998 Fort Smith, AR 72902-0998
VENTURE CAPITAL LAW
PHILLIP J. WELLS Wells & Wells 870-782-4084 225 South Church Street Jonesboro, AR 72401 GREGORY GILES Moore, Giles & Matteson 870-774-5191 1206 North State Line Ave. Texarkana, AR 71854
SCOTT C. TROTTER Trotter Law Firm 501-353-1069 425 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 216 Little Rock, AR 72201 H. WATT GREGORY III Kutak Rock 501-975-3000 124 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 2000 Little Rock, AR 72201-3740
WATER LAW
WALTER G. WRIGHT, JR. Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard 501-688-8800 425 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 1800 Little Rock, AR 72201 BRIAN ROSENTHAL Rose Law Firm 501-375-9131 120 East Fourth Street Little Rock, AR 72201-2893
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW - CLAIMANTS
PHILIP M. WILSON Philip M. Wilson Law 501-374-4000 1501 North University Ave., Ste. 255 Little Rock, AR 72207-5276 LAURA BETH YORK Rainwater, Holt & Sexton 501-868-2500 801 Technology Drive Little Rock, AR 72223
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW - EMPLOYERS
KENNETH J. KIEKLAK Ken Kieklak, Attorney at Law 479-251-7767 3900 North Front Street, Ste. 103 Fayetteville, AR 72703
TOD C. BASSETT Bassett Law Firm 479-521-9996 221 North College Ave. P.O. Box 3618 Fayetteville, AR 72702-3618
JASON M. HATFIELD Law Office of Jason M. Hatfield 479-361-3575 1025 E. Don Tyson Pkway Springdale, AR 72764
CURTIS L. NEBBEN Bassett Law Firm 479-521-9996 221 North College Ave. P.O. Box 3618 Fayetteville, AR 72702-3618
The method used to compile Best Lawyers remains unchanged since the first edition was compiled more than 30 years ago. Lawyers are chosen for inclusion based solely on the vote of their peers. Listings cannot be bought, and no purchase is required to be included. In this regard, Best Lawyers remains the gold standard of reliability and integrity in lawyer ratings.
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Voting lawyers were provided this general guideline for determining if a nominee should be listed among “the best”: “If you had a close
ARKANSAS TIMES
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R. SCOTT ZUERKER Ledbetter Cogbill Arnold & Harrison 479-782-7294 622 Parker Ave. P.O. Box 185 Fort Smith, AR 72902-0185 RANDY P. MURPHY Anderson, Murphy & Hopkins 501-372-1887 400 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 2400 Little Rock, AR 72201-4851 FRANK B. NEWELL Barber Law Firm 501-372-6175 425 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 3400 Little Rock, AR 72201 MICHAEL J. DENNIS Bridges Law Firm 870-534-5532 315 East Eighth Ave. P.O. Box 7808 Pine Bluff, AR 71611
JOSEPH H. PURVIS Dover Dixon Horne 501-375-9151 425 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 3700 Little Rock, AR 72201 GUY ALTON WADE Friday, Eldredge & Clark 501-376-2011 400 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 2000 Little Rock, AR 72201 BRIAN H. RATCLIFF PPGMR Law 870-862-5523 100 East Church Street P.O. Box 1718 El Dorado, AR 71731-1718 MICHAEL E. RYBURN Ryburn Law Firm 501-228-8100 650 South Shackleford, Ste. 231 Little Rock, AR 72211 JOHN D. DAVIS Wright Lindsey & Jennings 501-371-0808 200 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 2300 Little Rock, AR 72201-3699 LEE J. MULDROW Wright Lindsey & Jennings 501-371-0808 200 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 2300 Little Rock, AR 72201-3699
METHODOLOGY FOR BEST LAWYERS®
Copyright 2019 by BL Rankings, LLC d/b/a Best Lawyers and Co., LLC, Aiken, S.C. All rights reserved. This list, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission. No commercial use of this list may be made without permission of BL Rankings, LLC d/b/a Best Lawyers and Co., LLC No fees may be charged, directly or indirectly, for the use of this list without permission.
NOVEMBER 2, 2017
JAMES A. ARNOLD II Ledbetter Cogbill Arnold & Harrison 479-782-7294 622 Parker Ave. P.O. Box 185 Fort Smith, AR 72902-0185
BETTY J. HARDY Coplin & Hardy 501-707-0300 One Union Plaza 124 West Capitol Ave., Ste. 1850 Little Rock, AR 72201
This list is excerpted from the 2019 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, the pre-eminent referral guide to the legal profession in the United States. Published since 1983, Best Lawyers lists attorneys in 145 specialties, representing all 50 states, who have been chosen through an exhaustive survey in which thousands of the nation’s top lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. The 2019 edition of Best Lawyers is based on more than 7.8 million evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.
The nomination pool for the 2019 edition consisted of all lawyers whose names appeared in the previous edition of Best Lawyers, lawyers who were nominated since the previous survey, and new nominees solicited from listed attorneys. In general, lawyers were asked to vote only on nominees in their own specialty in their own jurisdiction. Lawyers in closely related specialties were asked to vote across specialties, as were lawyers in smaller jurisdictions. Where specialties are national or international in nature, lawyers were asked to vote nationally as well as locally. Voting lawyers were also given an opportunity to offer more detailed comments on nominees. Each year, half of the voting pool receives fax or email ballots; the other half is polled by phone.
20
CONSTANCE G. CLARK Davis, Clark, Butt, Carithers & Taylor 479-521-7600 19 East Mountain Street P.O. Box 1688 Fayetteville, AR 72702-1688
friend or relative who needed a real estate lawyer (for example), and you could not handle the case yourself, to whom would you refer them?” All votes and comments were solicited with a guarantee of confidentiality — a critical factor in the viability and validity of Best Lawyers’ surveys. To ensure the rigor of the selection process, lawyers were urged to use only their highest standards when voting, and to evaluate each nominee based only on his or her individual merits. The additional comments were used to make more accurate comparisons between voting patterns and weight votes accordingly. Best Lawyers uses various methodological tools to identify and correct for anomalies in both the nomination and voting process. Ultimately, of course, a lawyer’s inclusion is based on the subjective judgments of his or her fellow attorneys. While it is true that the lists may at times disproportionately reward visibility or popularity, the breadth of the survey, the candor of the respondents, and the sophistication of the polling methodology largely correct for any biases. For all these reasons, Best Lawyers lists continue to represent the most reliable, accurate and useful guide to the best lawyers in the United States available anywhere.