/news-archive/tag/richard-bell/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Wed, 14 Nov 2018 13:03:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2018/11/14/richard-bell/ Wed, 14 Nov 2018 13:03:17 +0000 /news/?p=72661 ... Law degree gives Bowen grad a marketing edge for accounting business]]> An accounting degree gave Richard Bell the know-how he needed to be an accountant, but it was his legal education from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock鈥檚 William H. Bowen School of Law that helped him be a successful entrepreneur. Like many law students, Bell never intended to be a practicing lawyer. Instead, he has run a successful accounting and consulting firm, P.A., for more than 35 years. 鈥淚 was better as an accountant than as a lawyer,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey are different disciplines. What my law education gave me was a marketing edge to build my business. It鈥檚 all about marketing and technical skills. I think differently with my law degree. I think analytically. I鈥檝e learned a lot, and I鈥檓 thankful for that. It鈥檚 been a life changer.鈥� Bell鈥檚 firm represents small businesses, individuals, and professionals, including some lawyers. He has also found a niche in the trucking industry, which has led to providing support litigation as an expert witness in various transportation-related court cases. 聽 Matthew Kerns, assistant dean of admissions at Bowen, says many students in the part-time JD program are pursuing a legal education as a way to advance in other career fields, whether it be a small business owner who can benefit from an understanding of contracts law, or a human resources manager who needs to better understand employment law, or someone working in government who needs a better understanding of labor laws. Bowen offers the only part-time law program in the state. Students in the part-time program can complete a Juris Doctor in four years while full-time students finish in three years. About 115 students are currently enrolled in the part-time program. Bell was the first in his family to attend college. When he was a student at Oak Grove High School, college was the furthest thing from his mind. He planned to get a full-time job at the sheet metal foundry, where he had worked during summers and where his father worked. When he was 17, a lawn mower accident abruptly changed the course of his life. Surgery saved his foot, but Bell would need ongoing therapy. 鈥淲e were trying to figure out what I was going to do after high school, and the doctor asked my parents, ‘Have you ever thought about sending him to college?鈥欌�� Bell recalled. 鈥淭hat doctor took an interest in me because he knew I couldn鈥檛 do the manual work often required from only high school graduates.鈥� Bell鈥檚 father knew his son was good at math. As the shop superintendent who signed employees鈥� paychecks at 聽Phelps Machinery Company, he also knew how much the company paid its CPA. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know what a CPA was, but my father thought I would be good at it,鈥� Bell recalled. In 1976, Bell graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. He knew he wanted to get a legal education – not to be a practicing attorney, but for a reason that harked back to an injustice he experienced as a boy and never forgot. 鈥淚 was a smart kid, but I was small, and I was a bullied a lot,鈥� Bell said. 鈥淚 had a beagle named Jack that I hunted with. One summer, they shot my dog. I was so mad, and I never forgot it.鈥� Bell graduated from Bowen School of Law in 1981. He took law classes at night and worked a day job at a grocery store, earning $6.30 an hour. There, he met Lee Wagner, who he soon married. Lee insisted that Bell put his college degree to work and encouraged him to get an accounting job. Ironically, the entry-level accounting job paid less than the grocery store. Soon though, Bell found a better job at a Little Rock accounting firm, where he worked three years before he and Lee started their own accounting business in 1981 out of their home in Beebe. Bell & Company now has two locations – North Little Rock and Conway – and employs 40 people. Bell鈥檚 daughter, Jennifer, manages the Conway office. Like her father, she earned an accounting degree and a law degree, also from Bowen. Bell keeps in close contact with Bowen. Bell鈥檚 company has established foundation scholarships, work-study programs, and mentoring groups for college students. They have also created the at the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. He serves on the Dean鈥檚 Council, and last year was honored as Bowen鈥檚 Outstanding Alumnus. Bell also teaches Business Law for Entrepreneurs at the University of Central Arkansas, and he provides internships for students at his firm鈥檚 Conway office. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our way of trying to give back,鈥� he said, 鈥渂y helping other students who are entrepreneurs.鈥�    ]]> /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.]]>