Foster Named 2018 Arkansas Bar Foundation Professor of Law

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Will Foster (front row, third from right) with Dean Stacy Leeds (second row, far right) and University of Arkansas School of Law students at the annual Arkansas Bar Foundation Scholarship Dinner.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Will Foster, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of law, has been named the 2018 Arkansas Bar Foundation Professor of Law.

University of Arkansas School of Law faculty members are selected for this honor based on outstanding teaching and excellence in scholarship in Arkansas law. During their one-year appointments, Arkansas Bar Foundation Professors are expected to contribute to the legal profession in Arkansas by building strong relationships between the faculty and state's bench and bar.

"Dean Foster was natural fit for this professorship," said Stacy Leeds, dean of the law school. "He has been active with the Arkansas Bar for many years, and this post formalizes those connections."

Foster is active on the state's CLE circuit, frequently presenting continuing legal education programs for professionals around Arkansas. He regularly invites legal practitioners to speak in his classes and recruits area lawyers as adjunct professors. He is a highly respected teacher and scholar who engages with students through activities such as advising the Business Law Society and directing the Business Law Certificate program. The class of 2016 chose him for the Lewis E. Epley Jr. Faculty Award in recognition of his excellence in teaching.

HIs teaching and scholarship focus primarily on business law, tax and transactional matters. His current courses include Securities Regulation, Mergers and Acquisitions, Federal Income Taxation of Business Entities and Nonprofit Corporations.

Foster's law review articles and other writings span a wide range of topics related to transactional and tax law.  He has also spoken extensively on law teaching and the development of business and transactional law programs. He was part of the team that helped design and develop the National Center for Commercial Law in Tbilisi, Georgia, which resulted from a partnership with the United States Agency for International Development, East West Management Institute and Free University of Tbilisi.

Prior to joining the U of A, he was an associate professor at Washburn University School of Law and an attorney at Friday, Eldredge & Clark LLP, where his practice consisted primarily of tax, private equity and corporate matters.

Foster received a Bachelor of Science in political science, summa cum laude, from the University of Central Arkansas. He graduated summa cum laude and first in his class with a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law and earned a Master of Laws in taxation from New York University.

The Arkansas Bar Foundation was established in 1958 to support efforts at improving the administration of justice. The 501(c)(3) organization is dedicated to improving justice for all Arkansans by promoting education, literary, scientific and charitable purposes. It awards approximately 40 endowed law school scholarships annually to students at the University of Arkansas School of Law the University of Arkansas Little Rock Bowen School of Law in addition to the named professorship at each school.