Business: Arnwine, Hardy and Umbreit Attorneys at LawTerrea Arnwine (R), Iller Hardy(L) and Le Bertha Umbreit (M)Address: 5777 S. Rural Road ,Suite 5Tempe, Arizona 85283Phone: 480-820-0400Experience: 20 years + (Collectively)<strong>The</strong> all women African American law firm of Arnwine, Hardy and Umbreit is a relativelynew practice and is the only all African American woman law firm in the state ofArizona. <strong>The</strong> firm seeks to operate in a holistic manner. One that not only clears theirclient, but also educates them on their rights and the processes of the law as itpertains to each individual case. In an article written by Becky Pallack of the Arizona DailyStar (February, 2004) in the United States, women comprise approximately 30 percent ofall lawyers nationwide and statewide according to the 2002 Bureau of Labor Statistics andState Bar of Arizona. Just 30 years ago that percentage rate was only three percent.In what areas of law does your company focus?(Arnwine) My primary focus is criminal defense. I’ve worked as the Deputy Mohave County Attorney, ChiefPrivate Prosecutor and Assistant City Attorney for the City of Kingman, Arizona and as a Tribal Attorney for theColorado River Indian Tribe. I now focus on criminal defense law. As a criminal defense lawyer, involvement in theclient’s case over and above being simply their representative in court is essential. At Arnwine, Hardy and Umbreit,everything we do is with the client’s best interest in mind. With that, we seek to educate our clients as well asrepresent them in a court of law.Indexcontinued on the next page26 www.THEEBONYCACTUS.com Vol. 3 No. 18 December 2004
Continued from the previous page(Umbreit) I’m currently working in AmericanImmigration. Law is exciting and one person canmake a difference. My background is in social workand psychology. I’ve found that the legal professionallows one to be a social worker of sorts and anadvocate. Making a difference is what we are allabout.(Hardy) I practice family, bankruptcy and businesslaw. Learning the law can be a rigorous battle. Unlikethe old adage “what you don’t know won’t hurt you,” Irealized early on that in the law profession, what youdon’t know will kill you. One of the things I’ve come torealize is that I can become involved in nearly everyaspect of my client’s business life and day to dayoperations. For instance, we assist clients with thelegal issues many entrepreneurs face during a newbusiness start up. I can attend a client’s grandopening or witness them put up their first billboard.That’s exciting. Being a lawyer is more than provingwho’s right or wrong, innocent or guilty, it’s aboutbuilding relationships.What does it take today to pass theBar?(Arnwine) I didn’t have the use of the Internetduring my studies for the Bar. My studies were allmanual. In terms of how difficult it is to pass the Bar, Ibelieve it’s far more difficult to pass for older studentswith family than for students who have less familyobligations. As a candidate for the Bar, settingadequate study time was imperative. Developing aclear and regular schedule for studying was a greatway for me to structure my learning.(Umbreit) <strong>The</strong> Bar is not thesame as it was many yearsago. I did some research anddiscovered that the contentand format of the Bar is fardifferent today than is wassay, ten years ago. <strong>The</strong>content was simpler then thannow. Today, the Bar questionsare more complex and seem tocross-over various issues ofthe day. Back then, forinstance, one could identify ifa question pertained toconstitutional law. In myopinion, that is not the casetoday. Overall, the process isdifferent.(Hardy) Preparing to take theBar, simply put is extremelyintense no matter how it’sapproached. It’s constant content understanding, reviewand practice, practice, practice.Is there a trend in respect to smallbusinesses using the services of a lawfirm?(Hardy) Yes. Small business has shown some growth innumbers as to folks who recognize they need to beknowledgeable in the area of law if their business is toflourish. Many owners of small business manage most oftheir day to day activities. In the past, these people rarelywould have considered what would happen to the business ifthey were to become incapacitated. However, recently we’venoticed that more small business people are recognizing thatthey need a plan. No matter if it’s regarding a succession,developing a will or setting into motion the procedure forincorporating a power of attorney, the trend is that theservices a law firm such as ours can provide have become aintricate part of the planning and development of a smallbusiness. We feel that if the public is educated then they’llfeel more empowered to make wise decision about theirbusiness and quite possible other issues in their lives.<strong>The</strong> law is there to assist people not only when and if troublearises, but before such happens. We’d like to educate ourclients, for example, before a contract dispute ever arises.In the coming year, we will seek to present more seminarsand workshops on various subject matter (wills, power ofattorney, etc). Having a good understanding of businessissues, agreements, contracts and various legalities makesfor smoother sailing, especially for the small businessowner. TECIndexwww.THEEBONYCACTUS.com Vol. 3 No. 18 December 200427
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