- University News Archive - 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock /news-archive/tag/part-time-law-program/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Tue, 05 Mar 2019 14:28:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Law school degree a must have for David鈥檚 Burgers president Alan Bubbus /news-archive/2019/03/05/bowen-alan-bubbus/ Tue, 05 Mar 2019 14:28:52 +0000 /news/?p=73596 ... Law school degree a must have for David鈥檚 Burgers president Alan Bubbus]]> A law degree has been a lifesaver for entrepreneur David 鈥淎lan鈥 Bubbus Jr., who continues to make his mark on the central Arkansas restaurant scene as president of , an expanding burger franchise with 10 locations.聽 The idea that he would one day own a restaurant franchise would have been comical to Bubbus, a 2015 graduate of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law, 15 years ago. As the son of David Bubbus Sr., an Arkansas businessman who opened dozens of restaurants, Bubbus swore that he would not have a career in the restaurant business. After working several years in the banking industry, Bubbus came across an old Fazoli鈥檚 restaurant building for sale that caught his eye. He knew he had found the perfect opportunity to open his first restaurant and enter the real estate business. Bubbus was excited for the opportunity to create the right kind of workplace culture that his employees and guests would love. And the workplace culture that Bubbus wanted to build is evident in the warm, friendly greetings from employees, the lovely free samples of delicious ice cream and treats, and the distinct lack of trash cans that ensure a full-service experience for David鈥檚 Burgers 鈥済uests.鈥 Bubbus鈥 family is still just as involved as they were at the beginning. 鈥淥ne of the most fun things is working with my dad. He loves walking around and talking with our guests, and he likes making food that is really good and has a wow factor. Working with your family can be the most challenging and the most rewarding experiences, but it鈥檚 been great to get to know my father better,鈥 Bubbus said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to see your dad really respect you, and that鈥檚 something that I will cherish. I see it in his eyes that he respects me.鈥 Alan Bubbus and his wife, Jessica, are now the proud parents of six boys. Their oldest son, Joshua, a 19-year-old sophomore who is studying accounting at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, worked at David鈥檚 Burgers before the couple 鈥渟piritually鈥 adopted him as their child after he came to live with them as a teenager. They also adopted Evan, 12, and Ethan, 11, who are biological brothers, after working with The Call, a nonprofit organization that works with foster and adoptive parents in Arkansas. They also have David, 8, Moses, 3, and baby Abraham, 9 months. The restaurant business is still largely a family affair. 鈥淵ou might recognize Moses as the cute kid with curls on David鈥檚 Burgers commercials,鈥 Bubbus said. 鈥淓ven my wife, who is an accountant, would rather dress burgers than work in the office.鈥 Bubbus, who serves on the board of The Call, hopes people will participate in the on May 4, which raises money for three organizations (The Call, Immerse, and Project Zero) with the goal of helping foster children in Arkansas. 鈥Foster parents can provide a critical need in a child’s life when there is so much uncertainty and fear,鈥 Bubbus said. 鈥淔ostering children has been such an important part of my life, and I hope people will get out and support this amazing cause.鈥 Finishing law school, while being an entrepreneur, a family man, and real estate company owner, wasn鈥檛 always easy. Still, Bubbus found pursuing a law degree well worth the time, commitment, and effort. Bubbus is also grateful for the part-time program, which allowed him to fit law school into his busy life and complete the degree at his own pace.
Bowen Law School graduate David Alan Bubbus created the successful hamburger restaurant chain David's Burgers. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

Bowen Law School graduate David Alan Bubbus created the successful hamburger restaurant chain David’s Burgers. Photo by Benjamin Krain.

鈥淚 think there are times in your life when you tell yourself you are going to buckle down. You set your mind to it and just do it. For me, it was those five years I was in law school,鈥 Bubbus said. 鈥淚 enjoyed being in the classroom and the analysis. I found it extremely interesting, and I always learned a lot. You don鈥檛 open 10 restaurants and have six children in eight years and have time for everything. I think you set reasonable goals depending on how much you have going on in your life.鈥 His education from Bowen has given Bubbus a great advantage as an entrepreneur and business owner, but being an entrepreneur is not as easy it looks on television. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not as easy as 鈥楽hark Tank鈥 makes it seem,鈥 Bubbus said. 鈥淏eing an entrepreneur means knowing people and knowing your business. There are a lot of traps you can fall into if you are not educated. Law school provides a broad-based set of information that helps entrepreneurs get started in business. What if someone slips and falls in your restaurant and gets hurt? Law school helped me understand the risks that come with owning a business and all the rules and regulations of human resources. I could go on and on about every facet of my business and how much having a legal background helps you understand the risks you are taking and knowing what to avoid. Having a legal education gives you a great advantage in knowing how to protect yourself.鈥 The most important skill Bubbus learned from Bowen is how to think like a lawyer, which prepares him to face the most unexpected challenges. 鈥淭he most important thing I learned from Bowen is not the knowledge of the facts, but how law school help molds you and trains your mind to think like a lawyer,鈥 Bubbus said. 鈥淭he analysis and tools that you gain help you become a better entrepreneur. You don鈥檛 need a lawyer if everything goes right. You need a lawyer for the one in a 1,000 times when something goes wrong. That is when a legal education does a lot for you. Bowen can help entrepreneurs grow in their analysis of problems and how to solve them, in the ability of the entrepreneur to speak publicly, and, most importantly, give the entrepreneur greater confidence to invest in themselves.聽Bowen can help entrepreneurs grow in their analysis of problems and how to solve them, in the ability of the entrepreneur to speak publicly, and, most importantly, give the entrepreneur greater confidence to invest in themselves.鈥]]> A law degree is helping Arkansas鈥檚 chief privacy officer navigate uncharted waters /news-archive/2019/02/20/bowen-jennifer-davis-chief-privacy-officer/ Wed, 20 Feb 2019 14:36:16 +0000 /news/?p=73465 ... A law degree is helping Arkansas鈥檚 chief privacy officer navigate uncharted waters]]> Ever since she was a little girl, Jennifer Davis, Arkansas鈥 first chief privacy officer, dreamed of becoming a lawyer.聽 鈥淟aw school has been something I always wanted to do, but life gets in the way,鈥 said Davis, who lives in Bryant. 鈥淚 had a family young; I had a job; I had an undergraduate and a master鈥檚 degree. I had success, but I was lacking a sense of fulfillment.鈥 Davis graduated from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in information science and later from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a Master of Science in operation management. She worked at some of the best companies in the state, including Dillard鈥檚, Lockheed Martin, and Acxiom. She found a passion for protecting personal data after someone stole her father鈥檚 identity in 2006. The identity thief went to another state with two non-photo pieces of identification and was able to get a driver鈥檚 license in her father鈥檚 name. 鈥淭his person had been arrested for driving under the influence, worked under my dad鈥檚 name, and had several hundred thousand dollars in medical expenses,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淭his spanned five years. Debt collectors found my dad, and all these discrepancies showed up on his credit report. It took a long time for us to get that cleaned up, and it was very difficult to file a police report.鈥 She also never gave up her dream of law school. 鈥淚 had considered law school again after I finished my undergraduate degree, but I always assumed that it was a full-time program where you don鈥檛 work,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 had a family and a job and responsibilities, so it wouldn鈥檛 have been possible without Bowen鈥檚 part-time program.鈥 When Davis found out about the William H. Bowen School of Law鈥檚 part-time program, 聽she took it as a sign that it was time for her to go after her dream. With the encouragement of her husband, Dwayne, Davis started at Bowen in 2009 when her daughter, Taylor, was a senior in high school. Although she recalls being 鈥渢errified鈥 when she first started, Davis quickly found a new group of friends and loved the new style of learning. 鈥淭hey told us at the beginning of law school to look around because these would be some of the best friends we would ever make in our lives, and that is absolutely true,鈥 she said. 鈥淭here is a small group of us, and while everyone has gone their separate ways, we are still very close all these years later. One of the best parts of law school is the people. I have called on several of my professors for resources and assistance over the years.鈥 She recalls one of the lectures from her first week of law school – that she was going to learn to think like a lawyer. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know what that meant at first, but changing the way you think is one of the most important things about law school,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he public speaking, the writing, and the analytical thinking skills, it all helps us be better professionals. You can鈥檛 turn it off. It just becomes who you are.鈥 While at law school, Davis found success and earned top paper awards in intellectual property and real estate transactions. She also served as online editor of the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Law Review and worked as a research assistant for one of her favorite professors, Lynn Foster. She also served as a law clerk for Gill Ragon and Owen; Kutak Rock; Friday, Eldredge, and Clark; and the Arkansas Department of Information Systems (ADIS). 鈥淲hile I enjoyed working in firms, I knew it wasn鈥檛 for me.鈥 Davis said. 鈥淚 got hooked up with the Department of Information Systems through the government careers panel at Bowen. I almost didn鈥檛 go, but I took my lunch hour at Acxiom to go over and meet with the ADIS general counsel. That meeting was fortuitous. That introduction shaped a lot of what I wanted to do after law school. I really like working in government, dealing with legislative and administrative aspects.鈥 After graduating from Bowen with honors in 2013, Davis worked as a law clerk for the Arkansas Department of Information Systems while she prepared for the bar exam and then awaited the results. After being admitted to the bar, she worked for ADIS for one year as a state systems specialist followed by four years as an attorney with the Arkansas Department of Education, where she advised the education commissioner and state Board of Education regarding laws, rules, and procedures while representing the Department of Education in ligation matters. As the state鈥檚 chief privacy officer, Davis is responsible for ensuring agency compliance with laws governing privacy and access to protected data and to assure that the use of technology does not erode privacy protections related to disclosure of personal information. Because Arkansas is only the eighth state in the country to hire a chief privacy officer, Davis has a lot left to discover about her new role. Her law school education helps her explore the unknown regions of the job. 鈥淢y role as the chief privacy officer involves working with all the agencies in the state,鈥 she said. 鈥淏eing in law school and having such a variety of classes makes it easier to understand what the other agencies do. My real estate classes, for example, help me understand when I am talking with the real estate commission. A lot of the professors are local experts. Having them here and having access to them has been an asset while working in state government.鈥 For anyone who is considering law school, Davis has the following advice. 鈥淔or anyone who is contemplating law school, they should do it,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 had a great time at Bowen. I have a picture at my home of my law school graduation that I keep on my dresser in a frame. I see it every day, and I am always reminded by how much I love my family and how much I loved my time at Bowen. It was one of the best decisions I ever made, and I am glad my husband finally convinced me to do it.鈥 In the end, Davis is thankful for her law degree, which she uses in every aspect of her professional and personal life. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there is any role in which someone with a law degree won鈥檛 use their degree. You use it in everything, personal and professional,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淚 monitor legislation from a privacy perspective and a legal perspective. When we bought a house, I understood every waiver I signed.鈥 ]]>