The U of A School of Law and the Law Alumni Society Board of Directors have announced the 2024 recipients of the Law Alumni Society Awards.

This year James Wyly (J.D. '90) will receive the Commitment to Justice Award; Kevin Flores (J.D. '19) will be given the Commitment to Justice-Early Career Award; Commander Ellis Lamar Pettus (J.D. '74) will receive the Veterans Award; Keri Spencer (J.D. '04) will be given the Public Service Award; Antoinette Barksdale (J.D. '89) will be given the Gayle Pettus Pontz Award; Wright Lindsey Jennings, LLP will receive the Career Champion Award-Large Firm (10-plus members), and Mostyn Prettyman, PLLC will be given the Career Champion Award-Small Firm (fewer than 10 members).

JAMES WYLY — COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE AWARD

Wyly graduated with his Juris Doctor from the U of A School of Law in 1990. After graduation, he worked for Wood, Smith, Schnipper and Clay in Hot Springs before relocating to Texarkana with his wife, Stephanie, to open a solo practice as a general litigator. In Texarkana, he became involved in community activities and charitable work. Within his first years as a solo practitioner, he achieved board certification by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and was elected to serve on the Board for the Texas Trial Lawyers – Young Lawyers.

Throughout his career, Wyly has been involved and served in leadership positions in mass torts, including veterans issues and pharmaceutical injuries. He was in the lead counsel group that achieved, at the time, a record verdict in Miller County, Arkansas, for theft of trade secrets, leading to a change in Arkansas law. He was a lead counsel in the first certified, nationwide class action in Arkansas that was successfully argued before the Arkansas Supreme Court and was ultimately resolved in the fourth largest bankruptcy in United States history.

Wyly and his now brother-in-law, Sean Rommel, became law partners and ultimately formed Wyly-Rommel, PLLC. Over the years, the firm has been retained by state retirement funds, corporations, states, governmental entities, Indian tribes and thousands of individuals. They have successfully litigated securities cases, privacy cases, cases against large tech corporations and the automotive industry. Wyly is most proud of the successful result the litigation team achieved on behalf of the Arkansas Municipalities and Counties to combat the opioid crisis.

Wyly has been recognized by the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce as an outstanding civic volunteer for his service to many charitable, school and civic boards, including Christus St. Michael Friends of the Foundation, Christus St. Michael Hospital Board, Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council, Northeast Texas Mental Health and Retardation Board, and Leadership Texarkana Alumni Board. He is regularly recognized as one of the top lawyers in Texas and volunteers to receive calls to the State Bar of Texas with legal questions, for career days in local schools and as a lecturer at the Leaders and Legends CLE seminars. Wyly has enjoyed staying involved at the School of Law by participating as a judge in law school competitions and continues to work alongside fellow alumnus in his day-to-day practice at Wyly-Rommel, PLLC.

KEVIN FLORES — COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE EARLY CAREER AWARD

Flores received his Juris Doctor from the U of A School of Law in 2019. Born in El Salvador, he and his family came to the U.S. when he was three years old, upon fleeing the Salvadoran civil war. At 17, Flores enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq in 2007. After receiving a three-year special duty assignment with the State Department as a marine embassy security guard, he served in Malaysia, Pakistan and Brazil, among other places. In 2011, Flores had the honor of being assigned to then President Barack Obama's security detail. He received an honorable discharge as a sergeant in 2012.

Flores later worked in the foreign policy arena in Washington, D.C., before returning to Arkansas in 2016 to attend law school. In 2020, he became the first Hispanic and first immigrant elected to the Springdale City Council, where he served until 2022. Flores then served as a White House Fellow, becoming only the second Arkansan in the Program's 60-year history to be selected for this prestigious position. He has served on numerous non-profit boards and has founded various mentoring programs and bilingual programs in Springdale Public Schools, the largest school district in Arkansas. Flores is currently serving as executive director of policy for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

CDR. ELLIS LAMAR PETTUS — VETERANS AWARD

Pettus received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1968 and his Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1974. While completing his studies, Pettus, a Vietnam veteran, began his service with the U.S Navy Reserve in February 1968. He spent 37 years as a naval reservist, retiring as commander of the U.S. Judge Advocate General Corps in 2005. His previous roles with the U.S. Navy Reserve include repair officer and assistant damage control officer, engineering officer and as a member of the Line Officer Corp and the Judge Advocate General Corps. While on active duty, Pettus was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Korea).

In 1974, Pettus and his wife, Donna, opened The Pettus Law Firm in Fayetteville. The couple operated their general legal practice until retirement in 2007. He was an active member of the Arkansas legal community, serving as president of the Washington County Bar Association and president of the Arkansas Bar Association. He also served as a member, and then chair, of the Supreme Court of Arkansas Board of Law Examiners. In 1997 Pettus was inducted into the Arkansas Academy of Mechanical Engineering and has since served as secretary and president of the organization. Lamar and Donna Pettus were inducted into the Arkansas Law Review Academy in 2023, and in that same year, Pettus was recognized by the U of A College of Engineering as a Distinguished Alumni of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Pettus has served on the Fayetteville Public Board of Education and Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of Mount Sequoyah Center, Inc. He has been an active member of the United Methodist Church (UMC) for more than 50 years, serving as delegate to the Southern Jurisdiction Conference, member and chair of the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Conference, pro bono legal adviser to the Board of Trustees of the Northwest Arkansas District and as a certified lay speaker and presenter of Bible studies and courses to UMC Sunday School classes and small groups.

KERI SPENCER — PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

Spencer received her Juris Doctor from the U of A School of Law in 2004. She currently serves as the executive director of RISE - Restoring Identities after Sexual Exploitation, a community-based service provider that specializes in assisting at-risk girls and their families. Spencer oversees day-to-day operations as well as the implementation of the services to residents.

In her capacity as founder and executive director of RISE, she established a long-term group home for adolescent girls who have been sex trafficked. Within five years, the RISE group home served more than 60 young women from across the United States. RISE has since evolved into the Center for Prevention & Empowerment, where Spencer works alongside the board of directors and dedicated staff to ensure the girls served by the organization will become independent women who can protect themselves from the world of trafficking and be successful in all they choose to do.

Spencer has devoted her entire professional career as an attorney advocating for at-risk youth. She began as a deputy prosecutor in juvenile court before serving the Arkansas Department of Human Services as a foster care attorney. She has been an adjunct instructor of criminal justice at Bacone College and previously worked on the pastoral staff at New Community Church, where she provided legal consultation and oversaw the church's policies on child abuse reporting. In her role with New Community Church, Spencer and her daughter, Kayla, founded Priceless Ministry, which was the predecessor to RISE.

ANTOINETTE BARKSDALE — GAYLE PETTUS PONTZ AWARD

Barksdale received her Juris Doctor from the U of A School of Law in 1989. Barksdale serves as the general counsel at the United States Department of Justice in the Community Relations Service. She has previously served as senior trial attorney for the Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division's employment litigation section, senior adviser to the General Counsel for the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, attorney adviser in the White House Counsel's Office under President Bill Clinton and trial attorney with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Barksdale currently serves on the Board of the Women Lawyers' Division of the National Bar Association; community service chair for the Nation's Capital Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc.; and board member of the Washington Bar Association Educational Foundation. In addition to her volunteer roles, she is also an adjunct professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she teaches Technical Writing, Pre-Law. She is the second vice president of Girl Scouts Nation's Capital Board of Directors and a member of the Department of Equity and Inclusion Ad Hoc Task Force. Barksdale previously served as a national delegate for the 2020 National Council Session of GSUSA and has held other roles such as chair of the Nominating Committee and member of the Gold Award Panel. Her past service includes chair of the Scholarship Committee for the Washington Bar Association and chair of Awards and Scholarship for the National Bar Association and the Women Lawyers' Division.

Barksdale has received numerous awards, including Outstanding Woman Lawyer in Public Service, Chair's Award for Outstanding Service to the Women Lawyers' Division and the President's Award for Exemplary Service to the National Bar Association. Barksdale continues to stay involved with the School of Law as the Department of Justice's ambassador to the U of A School of Law.

WRIGHT LINDSEY JENNINGS — CAREER CHAMPION AWARD-LARGE FIRM (10-plus)

Wright Lindsey Jennings maintains a tradition of hiring U of A School of Law graduates, with 38 of their current attorneys being School of Law alumni. They are committed to providing access and support to law students from varying backgrounds to ultimately expand the perspectives and voices within Arkansas' legal community. WLJ has been a constant supporter of student success and semi-annually awards clerkships that allow students to see the real-world application of learned skills and build relationships with future colleagues. WLJ attorneys return to campus to serve as adjunct professors, law school advisory board members, guest speakers in classrooms and panelists for special presentations. The firm financially supports several initiatives at the law school, but most importantly, through direct funding to the School of Law and the Arkansas Bar Foundation, the firm has supported more than 50 students through the Wright Lindsey Jennings Scholarship programs.  

Founded in 1900, Wright Lindsey Jennings is a leading law firm in Arkansas and the region, representing the businesses, organizations and industries that make up the fabric of the Arkansas and regional economies. The firms' attorneys are consistently recognized by their peers in their respective practice areas and are committed to excellence beyond the practice of law, serving and leading in local, regional and national professional and community organizations. Today, Wright Lindsey Jennings has 73 practicing attorneys with offices in Little Rock and Rogers.

As a direct result of diversity and inclusion efforts, Wright Lindsey Jennings received the 2020 Olivia Farrell Gender Equity Leadership Award from the Women's Foundation of Arkansas and has been recognized as one of the "Best Places to Work" in Arkansas every year since 2018. The Arkansas Community Foundation honored WLJ with a 2019 Smart Corporate Giving Award, celebrating the firm's commitment to good citizenship and worthy philanthropic endeavors.

MOSTYN PRETTYMAN, PLLC — CAREER CHAMPION AWARD-SMALL FIRM (fewer than 10)

Mostyn Prettyman, PLLC was founded by Arkansas Law graduates Josh Mostyn (J.D. '12) and Will Prettyman (J.D. '12), and more than half of the current firm members are alumni of the School of Law.  They continue their support through their participation in the on-campus interview process and providing summer associate positions for students. They share their expertise with students by serving as adjunct faculty members and judges for moot court competitions. Members of the firm have served as guest speakers and panelists for important legal discussions. They encourage student involvement in local and state bar associations, and the mentorship provided impresses upon students the importance of alumni involvement and giving back and provides students with important feedback that helps them develop as advocates.

Founded in 2012, Mostyn Prettyman, PLLC is a general practice law firm providing comprehensive legal services with a total commitment to protecting the legal rights of clients. Their highly qualified attorneys deliver personalized service, understanding that clients' needs are unique, while striving to achieve the best possible results.

About the Law Alumni Society Awards: The Law Alumni Society Board will recognize the 2024 award recipients at the Awards Dinner on April 12, 2024, during the School of Law Alumni Reunion Weekend. To purchase tickets, visit: law.uark.edu/reunion. For more information on the awards or to submit a nomination, please visit: https://law.uark.edu/alumni/alumni-awards.php.

About the School of Law: The law school offers J.D. as well as an advanced LL.M. program, with classes taught by nationally recognized faculty. The school offers unique opportunities for students to participate in pro bono work, externships, live client clinics, advocacy and journal experiences, and food and agriculture initiatives. 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. Follow us at @uarklaw.