Research Corner

AAC RESEARCH CORNER

The AAC law clerk program: moving county government forward and developing attorneys

The Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) provides information and advice to Arkansas’ 75 counties. The advice addresses inquiries as to the interpretation and application of laws and the navigation of legal challenges. AAC also lobbies the Arkansas General Assembly and Governor to adopt laws and funding necessary for more effective county government. As per Ark. Code § 14-20-107, the mission of AAC is to continually study ways and means to improve county government in Arkansas.

In 2010, AAC Executive Director Chris Villines conceived and launched the AAC law clerk program. The program started with two law clerks, but it has now grown to five. The clerks have been helpful, both internally at AAC and for county officials. The program also is beneficial for the clerks because they receive broad base experience in county and state government. In their work, clerks are exposed to the legislative process, to litigation, and in the interpretation and application of laws, regulations and best practices. These developing law students are then able to discover where their passions and talents lie. Several former clerks have chosen to move into careers in county and state government.

A law clerks’ main role is to provide legal research. Clerks are law students who work at AAC part time while attending law school. The work allows them to put their developing research skills into practice. Law clerks have been instrumental in researching numerous projects at AAC, including those related to elections laws, ambulance services, floodplain management, jail overcrowding, 911 emergency dispatch centers, fine collection, county special funds, legislative audit matters, and the day-today operations of county government. AAC law clerks have researched a litany of laws, identified issues and helped chart the legal options for decision-makers in county government.

AAC hired Lindsey Bailey, who now serves as legal counsel, as a law clerk after her first year of law school. While a clerk, she helped prepare motions and briefs. She even presented an oral argument at a circuit court hearing as a Rule 15 certified law student. She also worked various subrogation cases for the AAC Risk Management Fund (AACRMF) seeking damages from wrongdoers. Impressively, she also acted as lead counsel in a jury trial while she had just recently passed the bar exam. She recently reflected on her experience.

“Ultimately, I found that my passion was not with litigation or preparing court documents, but with the policy advocacy and education that the AAC offered. I enjoyed preparing educational guidance and seminars for county officials, such as updating the County Fine Collection Guidebook, and organizing a seminar to instruct county officials on new, innovative ways to collect outstanding fines owed to the county and optimize their collections,” she said. “Another experience I enjoyed that few law clerks get the chance to practice was presenting a bill and testifying before legislative committees in order to help county government operate more efficiently. After discovering that county official education and policy advocacy was my passion, I was fortunate enough that the AAC Executive Director Chris Villines and my supervising attorney, Mark Whitmore, AAC Chief Counsel, believed in me enough to let me work on policy issues full time. Since then I have worked closely with the Arkansas Association of Quorum Courts, the Arkansas Assessors Association, and the Arkansas County Clerks Association, ensuring that their county office policies and implementations are as efficient, uniform, and fair as possible. I still enjoy that I learn something new every day, and that no two days are the same — county government is always evolving. Thanks to the law clerk program, I get to be a part of that.”

AACRMF offers three separate lines of self-insurance coverage: property, auto and general liability. Under each of the separate self-insurance agreements, RMF provides the appropriate legal assistance, both as a matter of defending claims against member counties and subrogating claims to recover losses suffered by the county or by RMF. Additionally, RMF provides a number of member benefits, including codification of ordinances.

Brandy McAllister serves as in-house counsel for AACRMF, but she started with AAC as a law clerk. Through that time and into the present, McAllister has worked on the codification of ordinances. Now, while she heads up legal issues for RMF, she also oversees two law clerks who aide the codification process by keeping a database of county ordinances up to date, as well as by typing ordinances into a format that is usable for the codification program. Their time spent helps to keep the codification program in constant motion. Additionally, they assist adjusters on restitution requests when applicable and provide legal research to general county questions

Jessica Fontenot AAC Law Clerk

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and to litigation specific inquiries.

This year, the AAC hired Colin Jorgensen as litigation counsel. Jorgenson, formerly of the state Attorney General’s Office, now represents some AACRMF counties in court.

Jorgensen is part of the litigation team assembled by the AAC to represent the AAC, the AACRMF, the AACWCT and the majority of Arkansas counties in opioid litigation. Various cases have been filed in state and federal court against opioid manufacturers and distributors. The objective of the litigation is to seek damages to mitigate the cost the opioid crisis has imposed on Arkansas and the ongoing cost to clean it up. This is by no means the first government lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, but it is the first of its kind. Dozens of cities, counties, and states have filed claims against these corporations, but the Arkansas Municipal League (ARML) and AAC are teaming up with litigators to represent local governments across the state of Arkansas. This tactic will ensure that county interests are not overlooked among the dozens of big-city lawsuits. The opioid crisis has taken a toll on local governments. Law enforcement must now be prepared to respond to emergency overdose situations, including carrying the expensive medication Naloxone, which is used to stop the effects of an opioid overdose. Courts and jails are busy addressing drug crimes, and jail space is being used for detox situations. Monetary damages recovered from this lawsuit will go directly to address these problems by establishing treatment centers, educating the public, and training law enforcement to recognize and respond to situations involving drugs.

Blake Gary, a law clerk on the policymaking side of AAC, has contributed to several projects. He has worked on Amendment 98, dealing with medical marijuana, and has been researching the current system of emergency preparedness in Arkansas. Since September, he has worked with AAC Governmental Affairs Director Josh Curtis to improve the 9-1-1 systems in

Arkansas. The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) and the Office of Emergency Communications (OEC) assisted AAC in developing a plan to help Arkansas implement Next Generation 9-1-1 technology. This is a system that will be able to receive text messages, photos, and videos, and also pinpoint the exact location of a 9-1-1 call. AAC is confident this new system will be more effective and cost efficient for the state of Arkansas. Former law clerk Sarah Giammo helped to reAlaw clerk’s main role is to provide legal research. Clerks are law students who work at AAC part form floodplain management policy in Arkansas. Recent, record floods have created loss of life time while attending law school. The work allows them and substantial property damage. She helped to put their developing research skills into practice. Law study existing laws and the laws of other states, clerks have been instrumental in researching numerous and to provide viable solutions for legislation. projects at AAC, including those related to election laws, The legislation Giammo helped create provides ambulance services, floodplain management, jail over- county judges necessary crowding, 9-1-1 emergency dispatch centers, fine colleclegal authority to fill vacancies on levee boards. tion, county special funds, legislative audit matters, and Giammo also worked with the County Judges’ the day-to-day operations of county government. Association of Arkansas (CJAA) to gain passage of legislation increasing the minimum threshold at which public improvement construction contracts must take bids. That threshold rose from $20,000 to $35,000. House Bill 1595 sponsored by Rep. Mike Holcomb and Sen. Ronald Caldwell, enacted as Act 725 of 2017, assists counties in efficiently accessing contractors for small construction projects and reduces the costs of those projects. The act increased the minimum bid level to be commensurate with inflation and in line with surrounding states. With the implementation of Act 725, counties can contract with contractors for small projects faster and more efficiently. Former law clerk Kevin Liang joined the AAC as a part-time policy clerk in Spring 2014. Liang started his clerkship by revising and editing multiple county procedural manuals. With the experience he obtained from updating laws and researching policies, Liang quickly learned about the legislative process and laws impacting county government. He eventually specialized in ethics for county government officials, emergency medical services policy, and annexation for counties. Liang presented

his findings to the Judges’ Association on multiple occasions, helped compile the 2016 Arkansas County Compliance Guide, contributed in drafting the Index of County Government Acts, and drafted the 2016 Ambulance Services Guidebook and the 2016 Annexation Guidebook.

Liang said he is thankful for the stellar clerkship program at the AAC, and he believes the skills and experiences obtained through the program continue to help him in his current role as counsel at the Auditor of State’s office.

I started with AAC as a law clerk in August 2017. My first project has been to update legislation regarding the disposition of unclaimed bodies in Arkansas. The number of unclaimed bodies has grown in recent years, creating issues for both county coroners and the Department of Human Services (DHS), as many of these situations involve people in Adult Protective Custody. My research has involved comparing disposition procedures of other states to those of Arkansas, as well as meeting with coroners and DHS officials to determine the viability of solutions. One option we considered is to donate unclaimed bodies to a new Osteopathic medical school in Fayetteville. However, the law pertaining to the duties of parties when a body goes unclaimed is unclear. Therefore, my project has included drafting amending legislation to clarify the duties.

I also have worked on enhancing training for coroners. Legislation for this issue is tricky because coroners are constitutional officers whose requirements cannot be changed without a constitutional amendment. Additional training will not only ensure coroners are current on techniques, but it also will help protect these public servants from potential lawsuits. It will protect the coroner system, as there is a national push toward more centralized statewide medical examiner systems.

Another ongoing project has been to add qualifications for the position of sheriff. The only current requirement is a sheriff must be a qualified elector, and because this is a constitutional office, adding more qualifications will require a constitutional amendment. I started by comparing sheriffs’ qualifications in the other 49 states, and I drafted a resolution to amend the Arkansas Constitution to include these requirements, such as education and experience levels. These requirements will ensure all sheriffs are prepared for the job — and assure the public their sheriffs are ready to serve. This is an issue the sheriff’s will continue to explore and discuss.

AAC is a tight-knit office that embodies the small-town spirit of Arkansas. The clerkship program has allowed me to explore my love for local government, and it has been a great supplement to my law school experience. I already have learned so much in the few months I have been here, and I am grateful that I get to stay a little longer.