2022 University of Arkansas School of Law Awards Dinner Booklet

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
SCHOOL OF LAW AND
LAW ALUMNI SOCIETY
THE LAW ALUMNI SOCIETY
AWARDS
AWARDS
DINNER
DINNER
April 9, 2022
April 9, 2022
Recognizing the 2021 and 2022
Law Recognizing Alumni Society the Award 2021 and Recipients 2022
Law Alumni Society Award
Recipients

Program
Welcome
Interim Dean Alena Allen and President Kristin Pawlik
Commitment to Justice – Early Career Award
Nikki Baker-Limore and West Doss
Public Service Award
Margaret Foster
Break
Career Champion Awards
Suzanne Clark
Break
Gayle Pettus Pontz Awards
Josie Bates
Veterans Award
Shawn Johnson
Commitment to Justice Award
Robert Edwards and Shawn Johnson
Closing
Interim Dean Alena Allen and President Kristin Pawlik

Law Alumni Society
Event Sponsors
Board of Directors
President
Vice President
Kristin Pawlik (’99) Blake Pennington (‘08)
Members at Large
Nikki Baker-Limore (’02) Bob Balfe (’94)
Jana Carter (’99) Suzanne Clark (’08)
Committee Chair
Lance Cox (’98) Robert Edwards (’72)
Margaret Foster (’88)
Committee Chair
Mieka Hatcher (’96)
Hadley Hindmarsh (’07) Torri Jacobus (’05)
Gary Jefferson (’72) Shawn Johnson (’04)
Katie Rose Martin (’19) John Martin (’80)
Jeff Pence (’72) Kelvin Stroud (’18)
Tennille Webb (’10) Brice White (’09)

Mr. Dalton
Person
2022 Commitment to Justice Early
Career Award Recipient
Dalton Person is a 2016 graduate of
the University of Arkansas School of
Law. Person graduated magna cum
laude, finishing in the top-five percent of his class. During
law school, he was the managing editor of the Arkansas Law
Review, served as a judicial extern for Senior U.S. District Judge
Robert T. Dawson, and was a legal research
and writing teaching assistant. Prior to attending law school,
Person earned his Bachelor of Science from the
University of Chicago in 2013.
Person joined the firm of Jones Jackson Moll in 2017 following
a term clerkship with U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes, III.
His practice includes commercial litigation, commercial
transactions, business organizations, contracts, real estate and
employment law. He advises small businesses and individuals
alike in the initial organization and ongoing
operations of their businesses.
Person serves as a board member for Fort Smith Public
Schools, Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, United
Way of Fort Smith, First United Methodist Church of Fort Smith
and Fort Smith Boys and Girls Club. He is actively involved
in the Sebastian County Bar Association and served as the
president of the organization in 2020-2021. In 2019, he was
named a 20 in their 20’s by Arkansas Business and a Fast 15
by Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. He was a member of
Leadership Fort Smith in 2018.
Mr. KenDrell
Collins
2022 Commitment to Justice Early
Career Award Recipient
KenDrell Collins works to create an
Arkansas that is more just and more
equitable. He serves as a trial attorney
at the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern
District of Arkansas, which aims to ensure that no person
is disadvantaged simply because of their inability to afford
private legal counsel. Collins grew up in Osceola, Arkansas,
and moved to Little Rock in 2011. There he earned a degree
in economics at UA Little Rock and minored in writing. He
graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in
2018. During law school, he served as a summer fellow at the
NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York City
and a summer fellow with the Rural Summer Legal Corps.
Additionally, he has played an integral role in the School of
Law’s Constitution Days program in Osceola and serves on the
Dean’s Executive Advisory Board.
Prior to becoming an Assistant Federal Defender, he worked as
an associate at a private immigration law firm where he was
an advocate for immigrant rights.
Collins was appointed to the Arkansas Sentencing Commission
by Governor Asa Hutchinson in August 2021. He is a board
member for the New Leaders Council, where he currently
serves as Co-Chair for the Institute/Curriculum Committee and
was a Fellow in 2020. Collins also serves as a board member for
the Dunbar Historic Neighborhood Association. He was named
as a Dowline Emerging Leader for 2019-2020.

Ms. Alayna
Farris
2021 Commitment to Justice
Early Career Award Recipient
Alayna Farris, a citizen of the
Cherokee Nation, joined the Office
of the Cherokee Nation Attorney
General in October 2016 where she serves as Assistant Attorney
General. She provides in-house counsel duties for the
Nation, along with representing the tribe in federal, state and
tribal courts. She is also an advocate for the
Indian Child Welfare Act.
Farris received her Juris Doctor from the School of Law in 2016.
While in law school, Farris clerked for the Native American
Rights Fund, more commonly known as NARF, and the
Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office. As a clerk for
NARF, she focused on protecting tribal natural resources and
promoting Native American human rights. While at NARF,
Farris was selected as one of the recipients of the Siletz Grant
due to her “tireless work ethic and [her]
voluminous work product.”
Prior to entering law school, Farris worked for the Cherokee
Nation Indian Child Welfare program as a child welfare
specialist. She advocated for the rights of Cherokee children in
state courts. Her passion for protecting the rights of Cherokee
children and her tribe began here and led her to pursue a
law degree to further protect those who cannot advocate for
themselves. Farris has dedicated her career to serving her
Native American community and looks forward to
making a positive impact in Indian Country.
Farris coaches youth softball in her free time. Farris and her
husband Zak (Cherokee and Cheyenne River Sioux) live in
Tahlequah, OK with their children Zoey and Evan.
Ms. Autumn
Tolbert
2022 Public Service
Award Recipient
Autumn Tolbert is a graduate of the
University of Arkansas, receiving her
Bachelors degree in political science
in 2003 and her Juris Doctor from the School of Law in 2006.
Autumn’s public service activities began while in law school,
participating in the Innocence Project Clinic and clerking with
the Public Defender’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit.
Following graduation she became a Deputy Public Defender
for Washington and Benton counties where she worked for
6 years before becoming a private practitioner. Her practice
was focused on criminal defense of indigent and immigrant
populations, specifically the Marshallese.
Tolbert worked with other area attorneys and organizations
in an attempt to end the 287(g) Program in the Washington
County jail. In her role with Good Shepherd Lutheran Church,
Tolbert helped coordinate legal clinics for Marshallese
congregants and assisted with other projects such as the
LGBTQ Teen Camp hosted by the church during the summer.
Tolbert is currently partner in Sleet City Art + Supplies, an art
supply consulting and wholesaling company.
She is the recipient of a Partnership Award from the Arkansas
Coalition of Marshallese and the President’s award from the
Arkansas Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. Tolbert
coached the traveling trial team at the University of Arkansas
School of Law for several years and is a board member
for Pantry Gift, the non-profit arm of the Little Free Pantry
program. She is an award-winning columnist for the Arkansas
Times, often drawing on her legal experience in her columns.

Ms. Kandice
Bell
2022 Public Service
Award Recipient
Kandice Bell is a graduate of the University of
Arkansas at Fayetteville. Bell earned a Bachelor’s
degree in political science in 1994 and earned her
Juris Doctor from the School of Law in 1997. Kandice
Bell is employed at the Office of Governor Asa
Hutchinson where she serves as the Governor’s senior
counselor and district representative to Southeast Arkansas.
Bell was selected to serve as special judge at Pulaski County District Court in 2002. She
was appointed by the Pine Bluff City Attorney to serve as an Assistant City Attorney in the
Jefferson County District Court in 2016; Bell was appointed to the Arkansas Supreme Court
as a special justice in a case by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson in 2016 and has served
as special judge in the Jefferson County Circuit Court-Juvenile Division with
appointments in 2017-2018.
She represented the Jefferson County Bar Association in the House of Delegates in 2015
and was elected from her district to serve on the Board of Governors in 2018, both are the
governing bodies to the State bar. On the recommendation by the Chief Justice of the
Arkansas Supreme Court, the Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Committee was
formed in 2019, and the bar president appointed Bell to chair the committee.
The Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court appointed Bell to serve on the Civil Justice
Reform Team, where Bell has served on the subcommittee on complex litigation. She has
been reappointed to serve on the association’s Ethics, Law-Related Education, Benefits
and Law School Committees.
Bell is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association. She was appointed by two past bar
presidents to the association’s House Advisory Committee to advise the presidents on
Federal legislative matters impacting the bar. She currently serves as the chair of the
Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. The Arkansas Bar Association presented Bell
a 2019 Golden Gavel award for her exceptional contributions as co-chair
of the bar benefits committee.
Bell is the former two-time elected president of the Pine Bluff Newcomer’s Club in 2014-
2016; the 2016 recipient of the J. Thomas May Scholarship to Leadership Pine Bluff, and a
past volunteer to the Pine Bluff Community Theater. She is a board member to the Pine
Bluff Salvation Army and past president of the auxiliary. She has served on the advisory
board to the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas and the board of directors to the
Arkansas Community Foundation, both have local affiliates in Pine Bluff.
Bell has dedicated her personal time to giving back to her home communities of White
Hall and Pine Bluff by serving as a keynote speaker, presenter, or facilitator at UAPB’s
Upward Bound, White Hall High School Career Day, For Colored Girls Fall Retreat, Sisters in
Service (SIS), Full Circle 360, Jobs for Arkansas Graduates and a Summer Youth Enrichment
program at St. Luke United Methodist Church. Bell has also mentored UAPB college
students over the past four years.
Bell was born in Pine Bluff. She resides in the city of White Hall, and her family has resided
there for over 40 years. She is a graduate of White Hall High School, a member of Alpha
Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a member of Family Church Pine Bluff.
2021 Career Champion - Large Firm Award Recipient
Kutak Rock LLP is dedicated to enhancing legal education and
providing opportunities for students to work within the firm.
Their attorneys started the Doc Talk series with the law school’s
Business Law Society. Beginning 5 years ago, the Doc Talk series
brings attorneys into the classroom twice or thrice a semester
to review typical business legal documents and real-world
examples that directly relate to materials being studied. Kutak
Rock LLP has hosted the Summer Pre-Law Program (SPPARK).
In addition to their volunteer service activities, Kutak Rock LLP
is a generous financial supporter of the law school. In memory
of their colleague, the firm created the Kutak Rock Nicholas
J. Alexander Memorial Scholarship Endowment for students
who demonstrate academic excellence and community
involvement. They provide lunch for the students participating
in Doc Talks and sponsor travel for the Transactional
Competition Team. Kutak Rock’s service and financial support
has been invaluable to the law school.
More than 50 years ago, Kutak Rock’s founders set out to create
a different kind of law firm — where attorneys are empowered
and entrusted to practice law with an entrepreneurial spirit, are
committed to doing what is right for clients and are dedicated
to putting high-quality legal service within reach. As of January
2021, it had more than 500 attorneys in 18 offices across the
U.S. In 2020, Kutak Rock LLP was ranked as the 94th largest
law firm in the U.S. based on number of attorneys and 124th
based on revenue. Kutak Rock LLP is ranked as one of the best
law firms for female equity partners with over 25% of the firm’s
equity partners being female. The firm has earned the title of
one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality” and for
multiple years has received a perfect 100 score on the Human
Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index.

2021 Career Champion – Small Firm Award Recipient
Smith Hurst, PLC has been a long-time supporter of legal
education at the University of Arkansas School of Law. Founded
by two alumni, the firm has exclusively hired U of A School of
Law graduates, and annually welcomes students from the law
school to clerk for the firm. Both Jim Smith and Rebecca Hurst
have served as adjunct faculty members and have continued to
provide mentorship to law students. They have also welcomed
first-year law students into their home during orientation,
served on various committees for the law school, and are
members of the Dean’s Circle Giving Society. The School of Law
is grateful for their continued involvement and support.
Smith Hurst, PLC is a leading regional business and private
wealth law firm based in Northwest Arkansas. The firm’s suite
of legal practices encompasses mergers and acquisitions;
entrepreneurial; business and corporate-based law; real
estate; tax law; and asset protection and estate planning. The
foundation of Smith Hurst is a cohesive team of lawyers who
share an attitude of excellence in serving clients, helping them
achieve their business and personal goals, and working to solve
their most important problems.
2022 Career Champion – Large Firm Award Recipient
Rose Law Firm is dedicated to enhancing legal education
and providing opportunities for students to work within the
firm. Each year Rose Law Firm provides extern and clerkship
opportunities to students. The firm participates in on-campus
interviews and a large percentage of their attorneys are
University of Arkansas School of Law alumni. Many members of
the firm have been guest lecturers in the classroom.
In addition to their volunteer service activities, Rose Law Firm
is a generous financial supporter of the law school. In 2020,
they made a commitment to the University of Arkansas School
of Law’s Public Service initiatives through a pledge to the law
school. The funding will promote and provide experiential
opportunities for students with public service and pro bono
interest. The award will support two summer public service
fellowships and an annual pro bono fellow for three years.
Rose Law Firm is the oldest law firm west of the Mississippi
River, which traces its origin to November 1, 1820, before
Arkansas statehood, when Robert Crittenden and Chester
Ashley entered into an agreement for “Partnership in the
Practice of Law.” This partnership agreement hangs on the wall
of the firm’s boardroom as a reminder of the
long and storied history.
The firm strives to create long-term value for their clients by
providing innovative, personalized legal solutions delivered
through their commitment to excellence.

2022 Career Champion – Small Firm Award Recipient
The Law Group of Northwest Arkansas has been a longtime
supporter of legal education at the University of
Arkansas School of Law. Founded by alumni, the firm has
exclusively hired U of A School of Law graduates. Both K.C.
Tucker and Kristy Boehler have served as adjunct faculty
members and are huge supporters and contributors to
the LL.M. Program in Agricultural and Food Law. The firm’s
financial support to the program provides opportunities
for students and administrative flexibility
for the program’s faculty.
Members of the firm recognize that the support of so
many allowed them to attend the School of Law. They
believe that their success is also the Law School’s success –
and are proud to be able to share accordingly. They believe
engaging with law students encourages them to regularly
return to the fundamentals of the practice of law. They
also find that working with law students provides a unique
and creative perspective on novel or
challenging legal issues.
The Law Group of Northwest Arkansas LLP represents
individuals, families, small businesses, cooperatives, and
large corporate clients in a wide range of litigation and
general legal advice areas. It serves as corporate counsel
to a variety of Arkansas companies. With attorneys
licensed in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and
Virginia, the firm offers services in food and agricultural
law, banking and bankruptcy, criminal and juvenile
delinquency law, employment law, environmental law,
estate planning, family law and insurance defense.
Ms. Leana
Houston
2021 Gayle Pettus Pontz
Award Recipient
Leana Houston has been a
dedicated advocate for indigent
defendants for over 20 years.
Currently, she serves as the chief deputy public defender
for Washington County. She has handled a large
number of felony cases of all levels, working diligently to
defend the rights of those in our community.
The University of Arkansas Women’s Law Student
Association(WLSA) recognizes Houston’s continued
mentorship and guidance efforts to encourage women
pursuing undergraduate and law degrees and
entering the legal profession.
Prior to joining the Washington County Public
Defender’s Office in 2000, Houston worked for Legal
Aid of Arkansas (then Ozark Legal Services). She earned
her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas
School of Law in 1992.
Houston is a wife and mother of two. She is a pet lover
and has many cats and dogs. She also fosters animals
from local shelters and helps find them homes.

Ms. Amy
Tu
2022 Gayle Pettus Pontz
Award Recipient
Amy Tu is the chief legal officer and
secretary at Tyson Foods, Inc., where
she leads the team that manages the
organization’s most significant risks
and leverages its most significant
opportunities. Her Global Governance and Corporate Affairs
organization comprises nearly 5,000 team members across 10
functions and many areas of expertise. She oversees the legal,
government affairs, corporate communications, ethics and
compliance, audit services, health and safety, food safety and quality
assurance, environment, corporate services and aviation functions.
Tu joined Tyson Foods from The Boeing Company, where she held
progressive leadership positions in law and corporate development
and strategy departments. She served as chief counsel for Boeing
global law affairs, commercial airplanes and aviation services
divisions, supporting multiple business and functional leaders
worldwide. Tu was also instrumental in shaping the global law affairs
practice as Boeing’s first regional counsel based in London, U.K.,
with responsibilities for commercial, military and defense matters in
Europe, Russia and Israel. Prior to joining Boeing in 2001, Tu led global
transactions and international legal matters as an international
corporate counsel at The Gap and Walmart.
Over the course of her career, Tu has developed deep expertise
establishing and supporting global operations, executing complex
cross-border, international and domestic transactions, and developing
and integrating teams and new ventures into existing businesses.
Tu earned a Juris Doctor degree from the U of A School of Law and a
Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Wellesley College. In 2013,
she was selected as the Johnson Fellow for the U of A. Tu serves as a
member of the Northwest Arkansas Council Executive Committee and
as a board member for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.
Col. Conley
Meredith
2022 Veterans
Award Recipient
Conley Meredith is a graduate of the University
of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Meredith earned
his Bachelor of Science degree in business
administration in 1967 and his Juris Doctor from
the School of Law in 1970. After graduation, he
began his military career as assistant staff judge
advocate at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. During
his military career Meredith attended Squadron Officer School (1979), Air Command and
Staff College (1981) and Air War College (1984).
Meredith retired as a colonel from the United States Air Force(AF) after completing over 27
years of active duty. At the time of his retirement, he served as the Staff Judge Advocate
at Air University. He is from North Little Rock, Arkansas. He earned his commission
through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program at the University of
Arkansas. During his Air Force career, he served five times as a staff judge advocate.
Meredith counts working with the outstanding men and women in the Reserve JAG and
Paralegal programs as the highlight of his active-duty career. He also served as the Staff
Judge Advocate and central manager for the Air Force Reserve, Judge Advocate General
program at the Air Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, Colorado.
During his military career Meredith was awarded with the Legion of Merit Award with
one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force
Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with
three oak leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal and
Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon with silver oak leaf.
After retiring from the Air Force, Meredith served as Senior Administrative Law attorney
for the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, located in San Antonio. He acted as the
principal advisor to the Staff Judge Advocate and headquarters staff on ethics law,
information and privacy law, and related areas. While serving as an Air Staff attorney for
HQ USAF, Administrative Law Division, he was primarily responsible for the legal review
and update of all USAF Instructions impacting Morale, Welfare and Recreation(MWR)
operations worldwide. His greatest impact was on Child and Youth Programs involving
children with special needs including reasonable accommodation and the limits on care
that can be provided to children with special needs in AF Child and Youth Programs IAW
the Rehabilitation Act. He helped draft, edit and finalize what became the Air Force Child
and Youth Program Policy for Children with Diabetes to assure uniform treatment and
accommodation. He was also primarily responsible for the preparation, revision, and
review of Commercial Sponsorship agreements and gifts that resulted in the receipt of
over $7M dollars to help support AF MWR programs and events
for military members and families.
Col. Meredith is married to Charlotte Kathleen Meredith(née Denham) of Oklahoma
City. He believes his marriage to his wonderful wife Charlotte was the best decision he
ever made. Deciding to serve as an Air Force Judge Advocate was his next best decision.
Conley and Charlotte reside in San Antonio.

Judge Morris
S. Arnold
2021 Commitment to Justice
Award Recipient
Judge Morris Arnold graduated first in his
class with an LLB, from the University of
Arkansas School of Law where he served as
editor-in-chief of the Arkansas Law Review
in 1968. In 1969, he received his LL.M. degree
from Harvard and the following year, was appointed a Teaching Fellow in
Law at the Harvard Law School. In 1970, he was awarded a Knox Fellowship
from Harvard to study at the University of London, and in 1971, completed his
studies receiving his Doctor of Juridical Science from Harvard Law School.
In 1985, President Ronald Regan appointed Arnold as United States District
Judge for the Western District of Arkansas where he served until 1992.
President George H. W. Bush then elevated him to the United States Court
of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, where he served for 12 years with his older
brother, Richard Sheppard Arnold. He still sits on the court at this writing. In
2008, Chief Justice John Roberts designated him as Judge of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review where he served for five years, one
year as presiding judge of the court.
Judge Arnold has taught at Indiana University Law School where he briefly
served as dean, University of Pennsylvania where he also served as associate
dean of the law school and vice president of the university and was appointed
Ben J. Altheimer Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas
at Little Rock. He was a visiting professor at the Stanford Law School and
taught in the summer schools of the University of Texas and the University
of Michigan. In 1978, he was a member of the faculty of laws of Cambridge
University and a Visiting Fellow Commoner at Trinity College, Cambridge.
He has published 10 books and numerous articles, mostly on the subject of
English legal history and colonial Arkansas. His books won the Porter Literary
Prize (2001), the Worthen Prize (2001), the Ragsdale Prize (2002) and the
Arkansiana award from the Arkansas Association of Librarians (2002). He is
a member of the American Law Institute, former President of the American
Society for Legal History, former Vice-President of the Selden Society, a
member of the American Antiquarian Society, a member of the Athenaeum
Club of London, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a
former member of the Grolier Club in New York, and he served on the board of
directors of the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia.
Judge Arnold married Gail Kwaak Fellinger on October 16, 1992 and they
currently reside in Little Rock
Mr. Lonnie
Powers
2022 Commitment to Justice
Award Recipient
Lonnie Powers is a graduate of the
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville,
earning his Juris Doctor from the School
of Law in 1970. He attended the LL.M.
program at the National Law Center of
George Washington University from 1977-79. Powers founded and served as
Executive Director of Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation(MLAC)
since it was established in 1983. A nationally recognized director for thirtyfive
years of a statewide, non-profit organization, he has more than 50
years of policy and legal experience at the state and national levels, having
devoted the majority of his career to establishing, building, sustaining and
revitalizing legal aid organizations. In his role as Executive Director, Powers’
primary responsibilities include increasing funding for civil legal aid,
enhancing partnerships with the bar, the legislature, the judiciary, and the
public and strengthening legal aid programs across the Commonwealth.
Throughout his career he has been actively involved with the
Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission, the Massachusetts Equal
Justice Fund, the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Justice Bridge
Incubator Program, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial and Trial Courts,
the American Bar Association, the National Legal Aid and Defender
Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar
Association. In 2018, Powers received the Great Friend of Justice Award
from the Massachusetts Bar Foundation and the Lifetime Commitment
to Justice Award from the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action. The
Massachusetts Bar Association honored him with the
Special Recognition Award in 1991.
After retiring as Executive Director of MLAC, he started Lonnie Powers
Consulting where he serves as a consultant to organizations and
individuals engaged in expanding social justice. Powers began his legal
career in his native Arkansas, first with the Attorney General’s Office and
later with Legal Services of Arkansas, where he served as Executive Director.
He lives in Newton, Massachusetts with his wife, Nancy Israel, and
daughters Amanda and Jessica.