Probably the biggest difference made by the Arkansas Bar Association in bettering the lives of the citizens of Arkansas over the years has been its sponsorship of improved laws, progressive constitutional amendments, and increased support for the judiciary. As long ago as 1910 the Association had committees on Law and Law Reform, and Uniform State Laws. Frequently the Association has initiated measures or been the catalyst that secured their passage in partnership with other advocates for better legislation and amendments. Often these efforts have taken years to show results and progress usually comes in small increments rather than in sweeping reforms.

As far back as 1916 bar leaders were pointing out the need for a new Arkansas Constitution. Similar calls were made in 1931, 1932, 1946, 1947, 1963 and many other years. The Association was an advocate for the proposed Constitutions of 1970 and 1980 and influenced the language dealing with the judicial system. No complete Constitution has been approved by the voters, but bits and pieces have been changed by amendments initiated, sponsored, and supported by the Association. The most recent example is Amendment 77 passed by the voters on November 3, 1998.
While many authorities believed the highest court of a state has inherent power to regulate the legal profession and the practice of law, that proposition was subject to dispute, especially by legislators. In 1938 the Arkansas Bar Association recommended Amendment 28 to the Arkansas Constitution, clearly giving the Supreme Court the power and authority to "make rules regulating the practice of law and the professional conduct of attorneys at law."

Amendment 58, which established the Court of Appeals, was adopted in 1978 and brought about sweeping improvements in the Arkansas judicial system. The appellate workload was then and continues to be extremely heavy. Without the Court of Appeals delays would be so great today that the system would break down. With this Court in place litigants can achieve resolution of their cases within a reasonable time. The Association also successfully backed a bill in the nineties which expanded the Court from six to twelve judges.

Small claims procedures were almost useless by 1986 because of low jurisdictional limits written into the Constitution long before 20th Century inflation. The Association sponsored what became Amendment 64 which raised the monetary jurisdiction from $300 to $3,000 with authority given to the Legislature to raise this amount in the future. (The jurisdictional limit is now $5,000.) After adoption of the Amendment the Association sponsored legislation which established workable procedures for operation of small claims courts and published information to help citizens use these courts.

Other amendments which the Association successfully sponsored include:
Amendment 66 establishing the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission.
Amendment 67 creating a Juvenile Court system.
Amendment 77 permitting the use of retired judges and justices as special judges to substitute for absent judges or alleviate court backlogs.
The Association is ending its 100th year by proposing a new judicial article for the Arkansas Constitution. Approved overwhelmingly last spring by the membership and co-sponsored by the Arkansas Judicial Council, the judicial article represents years of work by attorneys and judges to reform the state's judicial system. The 1999 General Assembly is being asked to refer the article to the voters at the November 2000 election.

While the Association did not hire a lobbyist until 1973, its successful legislative efforts go back far before that time. In 1947 the Association made a major effort to adapt the American Bar Association's model probate code in Arkansas. This effort resulted in the Probate Code of 1949, the Inheritance Act of 1969 and numerous fine tuning amendments in other years.

Construction of the Justice Building on the State Capitol grounds in 1957 was a project in which the Association played a major role.

The 1973 Uniform Commercial Code ("UCC") was an Association project which over the years since its passage has required constant updating to keep it in tune with the changing business environment. Time after time the Association has sponsored changes to the UCC which improve the ability to efficiently conduct business in Arkansas.

The public defender system is the result of years of work by a variety of groups, including the Association, to assure that persons accused of crime are provided with competent counsel when they cannot afford to pay. Before Association involvement the various county systems differed so much that indigent criminal defendants had little likelihood of securing equal justice under law.

For decades some circuit and chancery judges had no assistants at all‹no clerks, no secretaries‹while others had several assistants, depending on their judicial circuit. While the system is still far from uniform, legislation pushed by the Association in the 1990's has assured all trial judges have more help in carrying out their judicial duties.

In these days of citizens moving around the nation and state lines meaning little in commercial transactions, uniform laws have become ever more necessary. The Association has successfully sponsored a great number of uniform laws and also has insured they are updated as needed. Examples in addition to the UCC are the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, Uniform Limited Partnership Act, Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, and Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act. In the 1999 General Assembly the Association will be advocating the passage of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, and the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.

Sometimes the most important service of the Association is preventing bad laws from being passed. The Association monitors proposed legislation which may affect the operation of the legal system. Often legislators or legislative committees will request the analysis of the Association on a specific bill.

Periodically the Association will be asked to conduct a comprehensive study of a subject and report its findings to the Legislature. The most recent example is the new Administrative Procedure Act which is being proposed in the 1999 General Assembly.

A complete list of legislative accomplishments is too enormous to include here. But there is no question that the Association has sponsored and supported a variety of legislation which became law and impacted the lives of Arkansans. Four examples of this variety are the Nonprofit Corporation Code, the Rights of the Terminally Ill and Permanently Unconscious Act, the conversion of the Statutes of 1947 to the Arkansas Code in 1987, and Uniform Filing Fees for state courts. 

Both in the 1980's and 1990's attempts were made in the U.S. Congress to eliminate or greatly reduce federal funding of the Legal Services Programs, of which there are six in Arkansas. The Arkansas Bar Association along with many other bar associations in our state have continuously made the case for maintaining the federal funding, which comprises most of the Legal Services funds in Arkansas. Without these bar association efforts throughout the United States, the federal funding would have been lost.

In the early 1980's the Association joined with the Legal Services Programs to establish AVLE, Arkansas Volunteer Lawyers for the Elderly. Local bar associations have also established or assisted with other pro bono efforts around the state. A national survey in the early 1990's found that Arkansas ranked 9th in the United States in the per capita percentage of attorneys who participate in organized pro bono for the poor.

The Association has played a leading role in the establishment and expansion of the Arkansas IOLTA Foundation which administers the interest on lawyers trust account program. In response to an Association petition, the Arkansas Supreme Court approved a voluntary IOLTA program in 1984. In the fall of 1993 the Association's House of Delegates adopted a petition requesting the Court to make IOLTA mandatory. This action was challenged unsuccessfully in a membership-wide referendum, with over 60% of the members voting to support a program which mandated their participation. The Arkansas Supreme Court approved the Association's petition in 1994, which resulted in a significant increase in the amount of funds. Today the Arkansas IOLTA Foundation is annually awarding grants totaling over $500,000 for Legal Services to the poor and other projects to improve the administration of justice.

In 1940 a series of legal institutes were conducted around the state in the chancery circuits. These institutes were the first recorded efforts to extend continuing legal education beyond the annual meetings. With the onset of World War II, many members were away in military service, and gasoline rationing restricted travel, so only two institutes were conducted in 1942 and thereafter until the end of the war. By 1950 records show 31 lawyers speaking at various circuit institutes.

The Association started mid-year educational meetings in 1953 and has continued them to this day. In 1954 the Association joined with the University of Arkansas Law School in conducting the first of many fall legal institutes in Fayetteville, other northwest Arkansas cities, and occasionally Little Rock. The Oil and Gas Section (later renamed the Natural Resources Section) of the Association started an Oil and Gas Law program in 1962 which has become a yearly late winter event in Hot Springs, drawing many oil and gas professionals as well as lawyers. Also in 1962 the Tax Section held its first institute. The University of Arkansas Law School appointed Dr. Robert R. (Bob) Wright in 1963 to serve half time as Director of Continuing Education. This use of faculty shifted to the UALR School of Law when the Arkansas Institute of Continuing Education ("AICLE") was established in 1977 with Claiborne Patty serving as a half-time executive director. There was a close partnership with the Association, and the director's job became full time. The Association initiated studies, drafted rules, and after some unsuccessful efforts, finally achieved Arkansas Supreme Court approval of a twelve-hour minimum CLE requirement in 1988. With the coming of minimum CLE requirements more staff was added, and then in 1992 AICLE was absorbed by the Association.

Edward L. Wright of Arkansas led the American Bar Association committee which produced a new Model Code of Professional Responsibility in 1970. With support from the Association, the Arkansas Supreme Court became one of the first in the nation to adopt the code. By the early eighties the need became apparent for revisions and an Association committee adopted the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and the Arkansas Supreme Court approved them in late 1985. Since then the Association has recommended certain updates which have been approved.

Another 1970 initiative was the Association's strong advocacy of the establishment of a Client Security Fund which the Court approved in 1973.

The Code of Judicial Conduct has been yet another result of Association advocacy. In 1973 the Court adopted the American Bar Association model code and in the eighties some Association modification proposals were adopted. Then in 1993 the revised Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct was adopted on recommendation of the Association.

Today an Association Task Force on Lawyer Admission and Discipline is exploring potential changes in these two areas. Any recommendations will go to our House of Delegates which would through a petition request the Arkansas Supreme Court to adopt them.

William A. Martin is the former Executive Director of the Arkansas Bar Association, and Don Hollingsworth is the current Executive Director. The authors are indebted to Dr. Robert R. Wright for the use of his draft on the organized bar from the history of the legal profession in Arkansas which he is writing.