School of Law Announces New Business Law Advisory Board Members

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From left: Marissa A. Savells, Curtis Box II and Theresa Fette.

The U of A School of Law has named its newest members of the Business Law Advisory Board. Each of these new board members began their term in Spring 2022.

CURTIS BOX II, J.D.'14

Curtis Box II is an Arkansas native and currently lives in Austin, Texas, where he serves as senior counsel for Apple.

Before attending law school, Box spent several years building business acumen as a financial consultant. During that time, he learned first-hand how business, law and compliance directly impact the lives of individuals.

Early in his career, Box realized that he was passionate about serving others and supporting businesses and business leaders at the cross-section of business and law. He decided he would achieve this by pursuing a career as a technology lawyer.

After graduating from the U of A School of Law in 2014, Box served as in-house counsel for Transplace where he supported senior business leadership to grow the company from a small logistics firm to an industry leader in logistics technology and consulting. After leaving Transplace, he continued to develop his career as a technology attorney by working with some of the largest and most influential companies in the world including Amazon, Indeed and J.B. Hunt.

Outside the office, Box enjoys running, boxing, reading and spending time with his daughter. He is thrilled to join the Business Law Advisory Board and help support the growth and future of U of A School of Law and its students.

MARISSA A. SAVELLS J.D.'13

Marissa A. Savells works as managing counsel in the Office of the Secretary at Tyson Foods. Her team manages all aspects of the company's corporate governance, securities and sustainability legal matters. She also serves as committee secretary, providing counsel to executive leadership and committees of the Board of Directors. 

Prior to her current role, Savells was the chief legal officer's chief of staff for two years, serving as a strategic adviser in the leadership, management and oversight of 5,000 team members and nearly a dozen functions. She also managed key priorities and actions for material issues the company faced during the pandemic, including crisis response, regulatory coordination, related investigations and communications.

Savells is a veteran; she served in the United States Air Force as a judge advocate for nearly 10 years and attained the rank of major. Her practice focused on government procurement, military criminal prosecutions, administrative law, and internal investigations.

As a member of the Business Law Advisory Board, Savells looks forward to helping the law school explore innovative ideas and creative ways to prepare the next generation of business law attorneys.

Theresa Fette J.D.'03

Theresa Fette is an Arkansas native and currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she serves as founder and CEO of Digital Trust, a technology-based trust company driven to develop financial technology solutions for the custodial and financial services sector. After only one year, Digital Trust has grown to $2 billion in assets under custody. Additionally, Fette is on the board of Bitcoin IRA, the world's first, largest and most secure cryptocurrency IRA platform.

Prior to her current role, Fette served as founder and CEO of Provident Trust Group, and grew it from $300 million in assets under custody to more than $7.5 billion. After selling Provident Trust Group and Keystone Acquisition in 2018, Fette realized that she had more to contribute to the industry and created Digital Trust.

Fette was named America's Best IRA Custodian by the Trust Advisor in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The U of A presented her with the Young Alumni of the Year Award in recognition of her exceptional career achievements in 2017. Fette was the recipient of the School of Law and Women's Law Student Association Gayle Pettus Pontz Award in 2015, which recognizes individuals who best represent the accomplishments of women and the legal community as a whole.

She was also named to the Entrepreneur of the Year list by Las Vegas Review Journal in 2012 and to Fortune Magazine's 10 Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs in 2012.

RETURNING BOARD MEMBERS

The following members continue to serve on the Business Law Advisory Board:

• Mark Plake J.D.'84, board chair, is a managing partner of The Added Time Investments LLLP.
• Sanford Brown J.D.'86 serves as partner of Alston & Bird LLP.
• Michael Lax J.D.'83 is a shareholder at Lax, Vaughan, Fortson, Rowe & Threet.
• Terry Pool J.D.'94 is partner at Kutak Rock LLP.
• Debbie Segers J.D.'93 serves as vice president and chief intellectual property counsel at FIS.
• Jim Smith J.D.'94 is president of business for Good Day Farm.
• Jeff Thomas J.D.'87 is managing partner at Mitchell Williams.

The Business Law Advisory Board works with senior staff and faculty at the School of Law to ensure that the current business law program offerings deliver learning that is up-to-date and relevant to the practice of law, practice trends and needs, professional norms, technology, and hiring needs. The board provides support and advice to academic programs, provides input on the development of new programs and the evolution of current programs. Board members serve as ambassadors to the program, providing a connection to and ongoing exchange of information and ideas with members of the legal community and beyond.

About the School of Law: The law school offers a competitive J.D. as well as an advanced LL.M. program, which are taught by nationally recognized faculty. The school offers unique opportunities for students to participate in pro bono work, externships, live client clinics, competitions, and food and agriculture initiatives. The school strives to identify, discuss, and challenge issues of race, color, ethnicity, and the impact(s) they have on students, faculty, and staff members in an effort to achieve a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community. From admitting the Six Pioneers who were the first African American students to attend law school in the South without a court order to graduating governors, judges, prosecutors, and faculty who went on to become President of the United States and Secretary of State, the law school has a rich history and culture. Follows us at @uarklaw.