Thursday, April 17, I hit the ground running with a meeting with Chancellor-Elect Gearhart and the Deans. That meeting lasted about an hour and a half, after which we had a faculty meeting. That afternoon I received a wonderful, wonderful surprise. My good friend from law school, Mary Wallace Benton, and her husband Tim just walked into the building. I had not seen Mary since 1995 when I attended her wedding, so it had been a very long time. Prof. Kathryn Sampson is another classmate of ours. I was able to visit with Mary and Tim as well as her sister and brother-in-law. We toured the building and I got to catch up with them about everything that had been happening in their lives. It was a delightful surprise.
After that, I had a chance to visit with the Arkansas Bar Association Young Lawyers Executive Board who
met in the building. It was great to see them too. Amy Freedman, our alum, is currently the President of that Section and they have been very active. They were responsible for putting together the “Rule of Law” program. They also are putting on a “Choose Law” program down in Pine Bluff which Prof. Judges and I will attend on the 19th. We were delighted to host their meeting and it was good that I was able to visit with them a little bit. One an exciting note, Amy has just been named the national Chair of the Children and the Law Committee for the American Bar Association through the ABA Young Lawyer’s Division. Congratulations, Amy.
Thursday was a truly very busy day. I had to leave the company of the Young Lawyers and head to the courtroom because we had our Hartman Hotz speaker, Prof. Krotoszynski. He presented a lecture on free speech norm creation at the global level. It was very, very interesting. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to catch the entire lecture, but what I did sit in on, I enjoyed very much.
The day didn’t end after that! We had our first annual “Meet
the Lawyers” event which was held at the Ozark Mountain Smokehouse on Dickson Street. Talk about a fabulous turnout! There were a number of lawyers from all over Northwest Arkansas, a good number of students came out, and everyone who attended the event had a fabulous time. It was a great, informal opportunity for students to meet local lawyers and to talk with them about their careers, and to get advice. What a fantastic event! Thanks goes to Malcolm McNair who put that event together,
and to Teri Stafford who brought the idea with her from a similar experience.
The Arkansas Bar Association Law School Committee was
also in town that day because we would meet with them on Friday, April 18. The members who arrived early were able to attend the networking event. They thought it was such a worthwhile gathering that they would like us to host it in conjunction with their meeting every time they are visiting us. That evening the Law School Committee had dinner at Bordinos with the faculty members who would be presenting to them the next day. The faculty members who attended were Karen Koch who was presenting on her class in animal law; Bobbi and Carl Circo who talked about our wills project; and Tim Tarvin who explained Legal e-Source. The Committee enjoyed very much the ambiance and the food at 
Bordinos. The first course menu consisted of either crisp romaine lettuce and rich Caesar dressing with shaved Grana Padano Parmesan Cheese and herbed Croutons; or Mandarin Oranges, candied Pecans, crumbled Goat Cheese and crispy Petit Jean Bacon with Spinach dressed in a Sherry Vinaigrette. The second course was Grilled Tasmanian Salmon and Tomatillo Salsa with Broccoli and sauteéd Spinach; Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Gorgonzola Butter with roasted Bell Pepper Mashed Potatoes and grilled Asparagus; and Portobello Mushroom Lasagna with Ricotta Béchamel, Mozzarella, smoked Gouda and a rich Pesto Sauce. For dessert there was white chocolate crème brûlée and chocolate cake. It was a wonderful evening with lots of fellowship, conversation, laughter and sharing. We appreciate the members of the Law School Committee who took time out of their very busy schedules to meet with us, to hear what’s going on about the law school, and to provide us with their wisdom and guidance as to ways in which they would suggest that we could consider improving the law school. We are very fortunate to have such an involved and caring group of lawyers come to visit the law school and share their insight with us.
Nancecy 