/news-archive/tag/delta-clinic/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Wed, 03 Oct 2018 15:20:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2018/10/03/bowen-awards/ Wed, 03 Oct 2018 15:20:39 +0000 /news/?p=72097 ... Bowen honors alumni, raises $80,000 for access to justice initiatives]]> The University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law聽honored two of its alumni for outstanding public and professional service during its 9th annual scholarship luncheon on Monday, Oct. 1, while raising more than $80,000 to support聽the school’s access to justice initiatives. More than 400 people attended the luncheon at the Marriott Grand Ballroom to honor the late Don Zimmerman, the longtime executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League, and Bowen Associate Dean and Professor of Law Terrence Cain. Bowen Law Dean Theresa Beiner said proceeds from this year鈥檚 luncheon will support Bowen鈥檚 access to justice initiatives, which help provide legal services to under-represented citizens in Arkansas. Proceeds from previous luncheons have funded five scholarships totaling $150,000 for deserving students; funded a student emergency fund that supports students who experience short-term financial crises; and helped fund the Delta Clinic, which expanded to two additional counties – Ashley and Drew – this year. The clinic also serves clients in Dermott, Dumas, Lake Village, McGehee, and Warren. Zimmerman, a 1972 alumnus of Bowen, passed away in June. He had worked 52 years for the Arkansas Municipal League, including 42 years as its executive director, which made him the longest-serving director of a state municipal league in the nation. Zimmerman鈥檚 wife, Jan Lea Zimmerman, accepted the award on her husband鈥檚 behalf. 鈥淚 know Don would be pleased as he dedicated his life to helping public servants across Arkansas鈥檚 500 cities and towns,鈥� she said. 鈥淒on was very proud to be a graduate of this law school. I know he has many friends in the room today and that warms my heart.鈥� Zimmerman represented Arkansas municipalities before the Arkansas General Assembly. A 1978 U.S. Supreme Court ruling held that municipal corporations could be held liable for damages to an individual, which set off a flood of litigation against cities. Because insurers considered cities a bad risk, Don created the Municipal Legal Defense Program, which allowed cities to pool their risks. It was the first of its kind in the country. Don worked incredibly hard to create more optional benefit programs to offer League members, including the Municipal Health Benefit Fund, the Municipal League Workers鈥� Compensation Trust, the Firefighters Supplemental Income Protection and Death Benefit Program, and Municipal Vehicle and Property Programs. These programs have saved Arkansas municipalities millions of dollars over the last three decades. In 1981, Zimmerman and the League pressed for a local option sales tax for cities and towns. Since then voters have passed local sales taxes to fund essential services like public safety, street and infrastructure, and amenities like parks and recreation facilities. Michael Flannery, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of law at Bowen, introduced Terrence Cain, this year鈥檚 recipient of the Faculty Excellence Award in Public Service. Cain, a 1999 Bowen graduate, has been on the faculty at the law school since 2007 and serves as the school’s associate dean for faculty development. In the classroom, he challenges his students to critically evaluate current legal doctrines and consider whether they deal effectively and fairly with contemporary issues. Cain was nominated for the award by Bowen law students, Flannery said. Bowen鈥檚 graduating classes of 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018 all selected Cain to serve as faculty marshal or hooder at their graduations. In addition to his class and administrative responsibilities, Cain devotes more than 100 hours per year to pro bono legal representation of people who cannot afford to pay an attorney. These cases, primarily in the areas of family law and criminal law, help low-income people deal with life-changing legal matters. Photos by Benjamin Krain Top right: Jan Zimmerman accepts the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law award for public service for her late husband, Don Zimmerman, former longtime executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League. Presenting the award is Mark Hayes, the League鈥檚 current executive director.聽 Above left: Bowen Law professor Terrence Cain gets a thumbs up from Rita Gruber (right), chief judge of the Arkansas Court of Appeals, after being honored with the Bowen School of Law award for public service. ]]> /news-archive/2017/10/10/bowen-scholarship-luncheon/ Tue, 10 Oct 2017 13:07:25 +0000 /news/?p=68172 ... Bowen scholarship luncheon recognizes Richard Bell and Suzanne Penn for public service]]> The University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law will honor alumnus Richard Bell and Professor Suzanne Penn for their outstanding public and professional service during its annual scholarship luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 26.聽 The luncheon will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, 3 Statehouse Plaza in Little Rock. This year鈥檚 honorees include Bell, a 1981 graduate of Bowen who serves as president and CEO of. Bell & Company has established foundation scholarships, work-study programs, and mentoring groups for college students. They have also created the Bell and Company Endowed Law Scholarship at the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. 鈥淲e believe that investing financially, by providing a scholarship to a law student, will generate a return many times over as the student will hopefully pass on the same opportunity to another in the future,鈥� Bell said. 鈥淥ne of our greatest accomplishments each year is to meet, for the first time, the scholarship recipient as we share their journey through education and eventually through their career.鈥� The second honoree, Penn, is an associate professor of clinical law at Bowen. This year, Penn received the Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, recognizing her dedication to serving individuals who do not have access to legal assistance. Penn leads the Delta Project, a two-course, public service clinical experience where students travel to the Delta region of Arkansas to educate low-income residents about grounds for divorce and what is necessary to obtain one without attorney representation. Law students also conduct client interviews, perform fact investigations related to case success, and prepare divorce complaints and motions for fee waivers for clients. Tickets for the event are $100, of which $60 is tax-deductible. Sponsorships begin at $1,500 and include 10 tickets, recognition in the event program, and your name on your company鈥檚 table. Other sponsorship packages are available. Net proceeds benefit Bowen student scholarships. To sponsor the program or purchase a ticket, contact Emily Terry at emterry@ualr.edu or 501-324-9967. More information about the honorees: Richard Bell Throughout his career, Richard Bell has developed a passion for helping others achieve their career and financial goals. In his professional capacity, he has been dedicated to improving both his chosen field through publication and teaching, and his clients鈥� livelihoods by addressing matters important to them. Part of his life鈥檚 work has been helping financially distressed companies to restructure, regain viability, and become profitable companies that provide jobs for employees and their families. Within the Little Rock community, Bell and his colleagues at Bell & Company are active in giving back through firm donations and staff time commitments in serving the underserved and the homeless in the community. The Bell firm was recognized nationally as the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Public Service Firm of the Year for 2011, a recognition at this time only 11 firms have received. Bell & Company has established foundation scholarships, work-study programs, and mentoring groups for college students. Bell attributes his success to his childhood encouragement and support of his parents; his wife of 40 years, Lee; the Bell firm members; and highly respected mentors. His sister, Nell Sterling, is a partner at Bell & Company, and they have practiced together for 30 years. Bell and Lee have two adult children, Clayton and Jennifer. Jennifer is an attorney and CPA who is one of the firm partners and manages the Conway location. Jennifer serves on a local bank advisory board and the Community Foundation for Faulkner County. Clayton is a doctor who is on the medical staff at the University of Tennessee with practice emphasis on integrative medicine. Clayton is also nationally recognized for his volunteer work in Haiti through a nonprofit organization he established, Where the Stars Still Shine. Suzanne Penn Suzanne Penn is an associate professor of clinical law at William H. Bowen School of Law. Her commitment to public interest law began while she was in law school, where she founded, organized, and was the first president of the Tulane Public Interest Law Foundation. Her practice experience includes positions at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and the Center for Arkansas Legal Services. She has handled a variety of civil cases, but her specialties are family, juvenile, and disability law. She has served on the board of the Arkansas affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, and she is the past president of the board of Mainstream, an advocacy organization for persons with disabilities. In 2014, her dedication to public service, her community, and her students led her to create a clinical experience for law students in the Delta region of Arkansas, an area that has long been underserved by attorneys. The Delta Project is comprised of two courses: The Delta Experience and the Delta Clinic. In the Delta Experience course, students travel to the Delta to educate low-income residents about grounds for divorce and what is necessary to obtain one without attorney representation. In the Delta Clinic course, students travel with Penn to Desha and Chicot counties to conduct client interviews, perform fact investigations related to case success, prepare divorce complaints and motions for fee waivers for clients. The students appear in courts as needed to represent their clients and also observe sessions of the courts.]]>