2026 CLE Speakers & Agenda

Tuesday, September 29th

8:30-9:30 AM: Dean Colin Crawford – Working to Solve Rural Access to Justice Challenges

9:30 AM-10:30 AM: Abby Brenneman – Understanding IOLTA: Compliance and Best Practices*

10:30-10:40 AM: Break

10:40-11:40 AM: Keith Wren –An Overview of Civil Rights Litigation in Arkansas, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and The Arkansas Civil Rights Act

11:40 AM-12:40 PM: Charlie Cunningham – Lunch & Learn Mediation & Divorce

12:40-12:50 PM: Break 

12:50-1:50 PM: Rebecca Chacko – AI & Real Estate

1:50-2:50 PM: Christy Bjornson – Lawyering the Vices

2:50-3:00 PM: Break

3:00-4:00 PM: Jessica Witherspoon – The House, the Heirs, & the Headaches: Arkansas Probate & Real Estate

4:00-5:00 PM: Shelly Joyner –Basic Will and POA Drafting for Non-Specialists

Wednesday, September 30th 

8:30-9:30 AM: Katie Griffin – Building Better Estate Plans with Revocable Trusts

9:30 AM-10:30 AM: Emily Abbott –Justice in a Time of Uncertainty: How Attorneys and Judges Can Ethically Hold the Line*

10:30-10:40 AM: Break

10:40-11:40 AM: Meredith Lowry – AI Ethical Issues: Privilege Waived by AI*

11:40 AM-12:40 PM: Abtin Mehdizadegan –Trade Secrets on the Move: Litigating Employee Misappropriation from Departure to Verdict

12:40-1:20 PM: Lunch

1:20-2:20 PM: Judge Tjuana Byrd Manning – Fast Dockets, High Stakes: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Ethics Lessons from Everyday Practice*

2:20-3:20 PM: Cliff McKinney – Real Estate Update

3:20-3:30 PM: Break

3:30-4:30 PM: Candace McCown & Jennifer Donaldson – Values, Ethics, and Priorities: Know Yourself to Help Yourself*

*Indicates Ethics Hours

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Emily Abbott serves as the Director of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission.  She joined the staff as the Deputy Director in 2018.  She graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law. She spent over a decade working as a deputy prosecuting attorney before she transitioned to become an assistant attorney general. While employed as an assistant attorney general, she was sworn in around the state as a special prosecutor. She is a national board member of the Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel and speaks locally and nationally on topics concerning ethics and the protection of the rule of law.

Christy Bjornson was named chief of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division in October 2023 and of the Tobacco Control Division in February 2024. She previously was an attorney supervisor in the Office of Field Audit of the state Department of Finance & Administration. She also served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District.

Bjornson earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway and her law degree from the Bowen School of Law in Little Rock.

Abby Brenneman is the Executive Director of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission and Foundation, providing executive leadership for both organizations, including oversight of the state’s IOLTA program.

Abby grew up in Bonnerdale, AR, in a three-generation household consisting of her maternal grandparents, parents, and 6 siblings.

She is a proud graduate of Hot Springs Community College and Henderson State University. She graduated cum laude from the William H Bowen School of Law in 2019.

She served as Program Coordinator for the Access to Justice Commission from December 2021 to January 2023 and has served as the Executive Director since January 2024. Before joining the Access to Justice Commission, Abby was a staff attorney for the Center for Arkansas Legal Services. In their Hot Springs office, she handled family law, probate, consumer protection, and housing cases for low-income residents of Garland County and surrounding areas.

Abby also serves as a Judge Advocate for the Arkansas Army National Guard. She spent 2023 in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with the 2-153 Infantry Battalion. She has also served as defense counsel with the 326th Trial Defense Team, where she defended Soldiers facing non-judicial punishment, courts-martial, and other adverse administrative actions. She is currently the Brigade Judge Advocate for the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family, staying active, and mixing music on her Pioneer XDJ-XZ.

Judge Tjuana C. Byrd Manning has spent her adult life in public service. She is passionate about children, women and girls, the elderly and healthy living. Byrd Manning chairs the Racial Justice Taskforce on assignment of the Arkansas Supreme Court’s Commission on Children, Youth and Families.  Byrd Manning is also a member of the Arkansas Commission on Juvenile Justice and a member of the Arkansas Continuing Legal Education Board.

Byrd is serving in her fifth year as Pulaski County Circuit Judge Division 8. Byrd was previously in private practice in North Little Rock where her primary focus was juvenile matters. She served as an Assistant City Attorney for North Little Rock (handling HR and truancy matters), the Sherwood Public Defender, and an attorney ad litem representing children in foster care.

She is a life member of the NAACP, and is actively involved in the North Little Rock Chapter and a life member of the UA Little Rock Alumni Association.  An active member of St. Mark Baptist Church, she serves as a large group leader/storyteller in children’s church and a Director for the Watson Primary Ensemble choir for children ages 3-11. In addition to the community and church activities in which she is involved, she enjoys travel, exercise and fitness, outdoor activities, and attending and watching sports events.

A graduate of Lonoke High School, Byrd received a degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and a Juris Doctorate degree from the UALR School of Law in 1996.

She is married to the love of her life, Michael Manning and gained two sons, twins Owen and Nicholas, who have truly captured her heart.

Rebecca is an associate at Rose Law Firm in the firm’s business section. She focuses her practice on individual taxation, business taxation and employee benefits. She joined the firm in 2022 immediately after graduating with her LL.M. in taxation from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, Illinois.  Rebecca is licensed to practice in Illinois and Arkansas.

Colin Crawford was appointed Dean and Professor of Law in July 2023, having previously served as dean in law schools in Louisville, Kentucky and San Francisco, California.

Prior to becoming an academic administrator, Dean Crawford was a tenured member of the faculty at Tulane University, where he served as the law school’s Robert C. Cudd Professor of Environmental Law and was the Executive Director of the Payson Center for International Development, and an affiliated faculty member of the university’s Stone Center for Latin American Studies. Before that he was, among other roles, a tenured member of the faculty at the Georgia State University College of Law, where he founded and co-directed the Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth. While at Georgia State, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and the recipient of a four-year grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development to improve the teaching of environmental law in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the classroom, Dean Crawford teaches Real Property Law and has taught a wide range of land use and environmental law courses, often with a comparative and international focus. He has also designed and directed a wide range of foreign study programs in a number of countries, including Brazil, Cuba, Panama, and Switzerland. Dean Crawford’s scholarly focus concentrates in areas related to his teaching, and specifically explores questions of environmental and land use justice, often from a comparative or international perspective.

Dean Crawford, who speaks and writes in Portuguese and Spanish as well as English,  has visited, taught and conducted research at a number of law schools and advanced study institutes, including stints at Carlos III University School of Law (Madrid, Spain- as holder of the Santander Chair of Excellence), Chuo University (Tokyo, Japan), Bucerius Law School (Hamburg, Germany- as the Max Cade Visiting Professor), Institute for Applied Economics (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), National School of Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), University of the Andes (Bogota, Colombia), and the University of Lisbon School of Law (Lisbon, Portugal).

Dean Crawford received his B.A. in History from Columbia University (New York, N.Y.) an M.A. from Cambridge University (Cambridge, U.K.), and holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Charlie is a founding partner at AR Law Partners.

He was born and raised in Little Rock where he attended Little Rock Central High School. After attending college and law school at the University of Arkansas, he returned home to Little Rock where he lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their dog and cat, Harriet and Madonna.

Before entering private practice, he worked under Hon. Waymond Brown at the Arkansas Court of Appeals and as an attorney for the Arkansas Department of Human Services in dependency neglect, adult protective services, and child protective services cases.

At ARlaw Partners, he has centered his practice around those same areas of law involving DHS in addition to family law, education law, and appeals. He has argued in forty-six of the seventy-five counties in Arkansas and has been recognized for his achievements in publications including Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, AY Magazine, and Little Rock Soiree.

When he isn’t helping his clients throughout the state, Charlie enjoys day dreaming of future, less likely careers such as famous chef or professional disc golfer.

Jennifer Donaldson is a Licensed Certified Social Worker and serves as the Executive Director of the Arkansas Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP). Jennifer is a native of Monticello, AR where she received her undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology while attending the University of AR at Monticello. She graduated with a Master of Social Work from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a focus on Advanced Direct Practice.

Jennifer has worked in various realms of social work including clinical mental health with individuals, families, and groups, program development, enhancement and quality assurance, and advocacy work within the juvenile justice system. She has served as the Program Director for SMI Adult Day Treatment Services as well as the Director of the Geriatric Intensive Outpatient Department in Monticello before moving to Little Rock.

Prior to working with JLAP, she provided contract mental health services to JLAP clients through her private practice. Jennifer specializes in the mental health effects of trauma, organizational wellbeing, and program development & administration. Jennifer is clinically trained in evidence-based therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). Jennifer is a Certified Master WRAW (Workplace Resilience and Wellbeing) Practitioner which allows her to assess and implement macro level strategies for organizational resilience and wellbeing as well as personalized wellbeing for individuals and groups. As JLAP Executive Director, she oversees operational quality and implementation of services statewide while seeking opportunities for program growth and expansion. Jennifer looks forward to continuing Arkansas JLAP’s approach to overall wellbeing within the legal community while maintaining the provision of vital clinical mental health services to judges, attorneys, and law students.

Katie is a devoted mother, wife, and lawyer who finds joy in both her family life and her calling to serve others. She loves spending quality time with her husband, Austin, and their four energetic kids, often enjoying the great outdoors, cheering from the sidelines at soccer games, or engaging in their church community. A former high school soccer standout, Katie’s love for the sport has naturally inspired her boys to follow in her footsteps, bringing a sense of pride and connection to their shared passion for athletics.

​From a young age, Katie felt a deep desire to make a difference in people’s lives, which ultimately guided her toward a career in law. With her compassionate nature and unwavering dedication to helping others, she knew she was destined to be an advocate for justice. Katie began her academic journey with an Associate of Science in Criminal Justice, followed by a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Arkansas Tech University. She then continued her education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock – William H. Bowen School of Law, where she honed her legal skills and became an active member of the Arkansas Association of Women Lawyers.

​Today, Katie is a dedicated legal professional who combines her strong work ethic with her genuine care for her clients, striving to make a positive impact in every case she handles.

​Outside of her legal career, Katie embraces life’s simple joys: cheering on her kids, enjoying outdoor adventures with her family, and finding strength and purpose through her faith. Whether she’s in the courtroom or at home, Katie leads with kindness, passion, and a commitment to helping others achieve their goals.

Shelly C. Joyner earned her bachelor’s degree in general studies from Dowling College. She earned her juris doctorate from UNT Dallas College of Law where she was active in advocacy activities, student government, and other student organizations. She was the school’s representative to the American Bar Association.  Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Shelly is a “second career” lawyer after 17 years at an air freight shipping company in various positions including as a load master and Account Operations Manager. She chose to go to law school after she found herself studying law for fun as a way to unwind after a tough night on the tarmac.

​After graduation, she worked for a boutique estate planning law firm where she’d worked as a clerk during law school. There, she was able to use her contingency planning background to create custom estate plans and business formation strategies for clients. She practiced primarily in the Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton County statutory probate courts, but handled cases in counties all over Texas. She has significant experience in teaching multiple aspects of the law for the general public and to students. She had a regular lecture series on Constitutional Law at a retirement community in the DFW area. She greatly enjoys judging and coaching students in their legal advocacy studies. She has handled multiple civil law cases including fraud, defamation, quiet title, and landlord tenant actions.

​Shelly is a Rotarian as well as a proud and active member of Attorneys Serving the Community. She is the recipient of the 2021 Texas Bar College Steven Condos Award for Outstanding New Member to the College. She is a member of the Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas, UNT Alumni Association, and is a board member of Denton City Contemporary Ballet.  Her primary residence is now in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas near her family, but has a secondary home in Dimmitt.

Meredith Lowry is a partner and registered patent attorney at Wright Lindsey Jennings, where her practice focuses on acquisition and licensing of various aspects of intellectual property rights for companies working in the retail space. From the products on the shelf, the packages they go in, and the platforms they’re sold on, Meredith advises businesses on intellectual property concerns and data privacy and security matters.

Meredith is a frequent speaker in the tech and startup space on topics such as intellectual property, artificial intelligence, and women’s entrepreneurship. Meredith spearheaded the firm’s Woman-Run initiative to support woman- and minority-owned businesses and entrepreneurs through networking, mentorship, education and resources. Meredith was recently appointed chair of the Artificial Intelligence Task Force of the Arkansas Bar Association, which will develop recommendations and resources for AI use in the legal profession.

Candace McCown is a Licensed Master Social Worker and is the Arkansas Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program Assistant Director. She serves the clients as a clinician, performs client assessments, manages health monitoring clients, and focuses on wellbeing and mental health education. With experience working in non-profit, for-profit, and governmental agencies in both micro and macro social work positions, she is well-rounded to work within the JLAP network and assist the program across the board.

A native of Arkansas, she received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Harding University and earned her MSW at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a focus on management and community practice. As a clinician, she is trained in several specialty modalities: EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy). When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, going on walks, and crafting.

Cliff McKinney is a transactional attorney at Quattlebaum, Grooms & Tull PLLC.  His primary practice is real estate law and business and regulatory matters related to real estate.  A Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, Mr. McKinney is listed with The Best Lawyers in America® in the areas of Real Estate Law and Land Use and Zoning Law, is recognized by Chambers USA’s Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of Real Estate and selected as a Mid-South Super Lawyer in the area of Real Estate by Super Lawyers.  He was named the Little Rock Lawyer of the Year – Land Use and Zoning Law by Best Lawyers® in 2020 and 2022 and is rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell.  Mr. McKinney has served as lead counsel on dozens of multi-million dollar transactions throughout the mid-South region.  His projects include one of the largest real estate transactions in the corporate history of a major global retailer.  He also represents restaurant owners, including franchisees of national chains.

In addition to working on the transactional aspects of a project, Mr. McKinney assists clients with financing, business organization, environmental and land use issues.  His practice includes guiding clients through the regulatory process, including obtaining zoning changes and other governmental approvals.  He has extensive experience assisting clients in obtaining appropriate business licenses and approvals, such as alcohol permits and franchise agreements.  He also assists clients with permitting issues related to the Clean Water Act (e.g., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 404 permits), the National Historic Preservation Act (e.g., Section 106 compliance) and the National Flood Insurance Act (e.g., letters of map revision).

Mr. McKinney also has experience dealing with real estate-related litigation matters, including adverse possession, boundary by acquiescence, prescriptive easements, quiet title, eviction, foreclosure and restrictive covenant disputes, among others.  Mr. McKinney has also been active in the legislative process, including serving on the Arkansas Bar Association’s Jurisprudence and Law Reform and Legislation Committees.  He has testified before the Arkansas General Assembly on many occasions and been involved in drafting and vetting real estate-related legislation.

Mr. McKinney is currently serving his sixth term as Chair of the Real Estate Law Section of the Arkansas Bar Association.  In that capacity, he spearheaded the creation of the Arkansas Real Estate Review and currently serves as one of its editors.  Mr. McKinney was the first attorney in the State of Arkansas to obtain the status of LEED® Accredited Professional, which affords him the unique ability to assist clients with environmentally-friendly green building projects.  Mr. McKinney served as the U.S. Green Building Council Arkansas Chapter’s Secretary and Treasurer and served on the Arkansas General Assembly’s Legislative Task Force on Sustainable Building Design and Practices.  He also serves on the state’s Old State House Commission.

Mr. McKinney is also involved in the academic side of real estate law.  Mr. McKinney is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law where he teaches Real Estate Finance and Real Estate Transaction Skills.  He has written a number of law review articles on real estate topics, including implied covenants, deed drafting, boundary by acquiescence, adverse possession and landlord/tenant rights. He chaired the committee for the third edition of the Standards for Examination of Real Estate Titles in Arkansas and authored the Arkansas chapter for an American Bar Association book on institutional land use controls.

Mr. McKinney attended the University of Arkansas where he obtained his Juris Doctor (cum laude) and Master of Public Administration degrees.  His focus on real estate began while he was a student at Southern Methodist University earning a Master of Laws degree emphasizing real estate.  Prior to law school, Mr. McKinney was a National Merit Scholar at Baylor University.  He is licensed to practice law in Arkansas (2002, highest score), Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, and he uses his licenses and experience in these states to assist clients in cross-border transactions.

Mr. McKinney is President of the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas.  He served as Board Chair of Arkansas Rice Depot from 2008-2009 and remained active in the organization through 2015 when he served on the merger committee that resulted in Arkansas Rice Depot merging with Arkansas Foodbank to form the largest hunger relief agency in the state.  Mr. McKinney now serves on the board of Arkansas Foodbank.  Mr. McKinney chaired the Arkansas Bar Association 2011 Annual Meeting and the 2015 Mid-Year Meeting.  He currently serves on the Arkansas Bar Association’s Board of Trustees and is a tenured member of the House of Delegates.

Education

Southern Methodist University (LL.M., emphasizing Real Estate Financing, 2003)

University of Arkansas School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2002)

University of Arkansas (M.P.A., 2002)

Baylor University (B.A., 1999)

Associations and Affiliations

Fellow, American College of Real Estate Lawyers

Arkansas Bar Association [Chair, Real Estate Law Section 2006-2010, 2015-Present; Board of Trustees 2021-2024; Member Board of Governors 2015-2020; Chair, Business Law Section 2015-2016; House of Delegates 2012-2015 (tenured)]

American Bar Association

Pulaski County Bar Association

Commission on Uniform State Laws (2017-2025)

State Bar of Texas

ICSC, Innovating Commerce Serving Communities

Christian Legal Society

Abtin Mehdizadegan is a Partner in Hall Booth Smith, P.C.’s Little Rock, Arkansas office and represents employers in traditional labor and employment law matters. He has extensive experience defending businesses in high-stakes class and collective action lawsuits, employment and wage and hour lawsuits, labor grievance and arbitration proceedings, individual and systemic proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), federal wage and hour audits involving the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (DOL/WHD), unemployment appeals, business disputes, products liability defense, and constitutional law litigation. He has successfully handled appeals before the Supreme Court of Arkansas and the Fifth and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeal; dozens of lawsuits at the district court level; and he serves as an Adjunct Professor teaching Employment Law at the University of Arkansas Little Rock Bowen School of Law.

Clients routinely engage Abtin to conduct comprehensive employment law counseling and training to their workforces; to develop policies and handbooks; and to assist businesses with matters pertaining to affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Abtin’s clients are leaders in a range of industries across the private, public, and non-profit sectors, including healthcare, surface and air transportation, cybersecurity, banking and FINRA-regulated industries, agriculture, retail, higher education, and insurance. He is particularly capable in handling matters involving sophisticated technologies given his prior experience for a leading computer and software manufacturer.

In addition to his trial and appellate work, Abtin’s daily practice revolves significantly around providing advice and counsel to Boards of Directors, C-Suite Executives, HR Leaders, and In-House Counsel on a broad range of employment issues providing practical problem-solving solutions. Additionally, he is an experienced and effective workplace investigator, and he regularly conducts outside investigations into allegations of employee misconduct, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or other sensitive issues. He similarly provides advice and counsel regarding compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII and Title IX, the Equal Pay Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs’ (OFCCP) regulations pertaining to government contractors and subcontractors.

Given his commitment to excellence in the practice of law, Abtin was honored to receive the Friend of SBS Award (2023) for his successful handling of high-stakes litigation; the Spirit of Maine Achievement Award (2019) from the University of Maine, his alma mater, for his professional accomplishments; and the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award (2017) from the Center for Arkansas Legal Services for his successful Supreme Court litigation that established important constitutional protections in child guardianship proceedings for domestic violence survivors. Abtin’s accomplishments have also been recognized for several years by the Mid-South Super Lawyers for his dedication to employment law; Arkansas Business magazine as a member of its class of 20 in their 20s, the New Influentials; by HR Professionals magazine as a Rising Star in Employment Law; and by Arkansas Life magazine in its Top Attorneys feature.

Jessica Witherspoon is the owner and lead counsel of JW Law, a boutique transactional law firm serving Arkansas families and businesses. Her areas of practice and professional expertise include estate planning, business planning, probate, real estate, and tax law, bringing a strategic, detail-oriented approach to her work with clients and colleagues alike. As a presenter and educator, Jessica is known for her conversational, client-centered style, combining practical guidance with a personally tailored touch to fill educational gaps that truly matter to the people in front of her.

She is admitted to practice across Arkansas state and federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, currently serves as Chair of the Tax Section of the Arkansas Bar Association, and is a Subject Matter Expert for The Arnold Innovation Center. Passionate about working with small business owners and families, Jessica takes a holistic approach to ensure every legal and financial piece works together seamlessly. Outside the office, she enjoys life at home, tending to her garden with her husband, children, pup, cats, and chickens.

M. Keith Wren is an attorney at the Arkansas Municipal League. Keith has over 30 years experience in civil litigation matters including personal injury, civil rights, employment law, workers’ compensation, landlord-tenant, and general business matters.

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