Student Spotlight: Taylor Mattson

The student body at the University of Arkansas School of Law includes more than 400 dedicated and diverse future professionals. Students come to the law school with varied backgrounds and life experiences and participate in numerous law school programs and competitions while pursuing a rigorous course of study. The current student body is made up of 39% women and 21% minority enrollment.

The members of the incoming class of 2009 were selected from almost 1,100 applicants. Recently, the UA School of Law ranked 12th in the U.S. News & World Report Legal Writing Rankings and was listed among 72 schools with the greatest ethnic or racial diversity.

In addition to the regular law program, the school offers the only LL.M. degree in Agricultural Law in the nation.  This unique program is small by design, accepting an average of only about 12 students per year.  Since its founding in 1980, it has attracted students from 35 different states and at least 15 foreign countries.

Clinical Programs

The law school offers a live-client clinical program which provides courtoom experience and exposure to problems of real people. The clinic courses include:

Basic Criminal Clinic - Enrollment based on 48 credit hours, including Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Civil and Criminal Procedure, all required for Rule XV supervised practice. Students handle prosecution of misdemeanor cases and defense of juvenile delinquency charges. Students appear in both Municipal and Circuit/Chancery Court, Juvenile Division and are critiqued by local judges.

Civil Clinic - Enrollment requirements same as above. Students represent clients with landlord-tenant problems, domestic disputes, consumer contract and fraud cases, debtor-creditor actions, and probate & tort actions. Students learn practice skills such as interviewing and counseling clients, fact investigation, planning and conducting discovery, developing case theory, drafting pleadings, and planning order of proof, as well as conducting examinations and cross-examinations of witnesses, negotiation with practicing attorneys, witness preparation, and developing a trial plan including motion practice.

Advanced Criminal Clinic - Enrollment prerequisite is Basic Criminal Clinic. Students work closely with the Washington County Prosecuting Attorney's office, participate in charging decisions, fact investigation and discovery in felony cases, conduct plea negotiations, learn severance, suppression and other pretrial issues in circuit court. Students also learn to advise police officers, citizens and victims, prepare and examine witnesses, plan the order of proof for felony cases, and apply sentencing guidelines. Student performances are critiqued by experienced prosecutors & judges.

Federal Practice Clinic - Students work in teams with fellow students, handling legal problems of farm owners who are in financial trouble and need assistance in federal court, bankruptcy court or administrative hearings. Rule XV qualification is not required for this course.

Arkansas Law Review

The Arkansas Law Review, published four times annually, has been a fixture at the Law School since its initial issue appeared in 1946. Begun by the faculty and student body as a periodical devoted specially to the interests of Arkansas lawyers, the Arkansas Law Review replaced the University of Arkansas Law School Bulletin, which had been issued intermittently since 1929.

Students are selected for law review participation based on class ranking. The top 14% of the class is invited to participate. Additional students may be invited to submit a written casenote for consideration as a 'write on' candidate. Upon completion of the writing requirement, a Law Review member receives one ungraded hour of academic credit. Editorial board members receive additional credit of either two or three hours, depending upon the position held.

The Arkansas Law Review coordinates and publishes a symposium issue every other year. The 1998 symposium surveyed theories of Conflicts of Law.

The Board of Advocates -- Moot Court and Other Skills Competitions

The Board of Advocates is the student organization that administers all intra-school and inter-school competitions, including trial, moot court, client counseling and negotiation. The stated purpose of the Board is to "encourage the development of oral advocacy and lawyering skills by the student body." The Moot Court program has expanded in recent years, and is the most popular competition among students. Professor Carlton Bailey, Ben J. Altheimer Professor of Law, is the faculty advisor to the 25 students on the Board of Advocates, and Professor Katherine Sampson works closely with the student Board of Advocates to run skills competitions. Judges for the final intra-school rounds have included United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Judges Richard Arnold and John R. Gibson of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals; and Judge Robert L. Brown of the Arkansas Supreme Court.

The University of Arkansas School of Law Moot Court competitions include the following:

Intra-school - Fall of the second year, open to all second year students. This is an individual competition with performance based on four oral arguments.
Intra-school - Spring of second year, open to the top 36-38 competitors from the Fall competition. Students team to write briefs and prepare arguments, four preliminary rounds.
Inter-school - The traveling team is selected by the Board of Advocates, which includes the prior year's team and coaches. The school competes in the following:
    * National Moot Court (Bar Association of the City of New York)
    * Vanderbilt First Amendment Competition
    * National Criminal Prodecure Appellate Moot Court Competition
    * National Juvenile Law Moot Court Competition (Costa Mesa, CA)

ABA Client Counseling Competition

The annual Client Counseling Competition provides students with the opportunity to compete in a simulated attorney-client counseling situation. Judges include practitioners and professors, who judge participants on their ability to ascertain facts, interact in a positive manner with emotional or reticent clients, and avoid pitfalls such as premature advice or creating a representation relationship without establishing fee agreements, etc. The Client Counseling Competition is held each fall.

ABA Negotiation Competition

The American Bar Association Negotiation Competition is an opportunity for students to put dispute resolution and negotiation techniques into practice in a simulated competition. Judges are drawn from the faculty and practicing alumnus of the law school. Students learn to ascertain important facts, gauge the position of their opposition, and understand when to push for optimum results in working out problems with parties whose interests may conflict. This competition is held each fall.

Henry Woods Trial Competition

 The Henry Woods Trial Competition pits some of the best trial advocates from the University of Arkansas School of Law against those from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law. It is held each spring.