David Fuqua has been a mediator and arbitrator for over 30 years. His experience in these roles includes mediation of a wide variety of cases, including personal injury, employment disputes, contract and business matters and family law litigation. David has handled numerous arbitrations, both as the sole arbitrator and as a member of arbitration panels, dealing with business and contract disputes and employment matters. He brings to the work of mediation his sense of fairness and belief that problems are best solved by agreement. If parties have bound themselves to arbitration and the dispute cannot be settled, the choice of an arbitrator is critical because there is no appeal from the arbitration award. The arbitrator has the duty to judge the facts fairly, without bias or prejudice for or against any party, and to be mindful of the law as it applies to the case. David’s dedication to honesty, high ethical standards, and the exercise of good judgment tempered by over 30 years of law practice serves him well in the roles of mediator and arbitrator.
Business & Commercial Law
Our attorneys handle a wide variety of complex commercial cases and general civil litigation matters, including antitrust, asbestos exposure, business law and torts, class actions, contracts, employment law, financial institutions, franchise practices, leases, nursing homes, personal injury, probate, product liability, real property, secured transactions, tax, torts, toxic torts, trade secrets, trusts and securities. Our attorneys manage large, complex commercial disputes in an organized and efficient manner.
Another fundamental part of our firm’s practice includes serving as general counsel to a variety of businesses. We analyze and advise routine and often complex corporate issues, guiding our clients to good decisions in difficult legal and commercial environments. By understanding the components of our clients’ businesses, we can effectively and efficiently:
- Negotiate, draft, analyze, interpret and close contracts and commercial transactions
- Draft and update policies and procedures
- Draft and update employee policies and handbooks to ensure compliance with all employment laws and regulations
- Provide supervisory and other employment-related training to employees, supervisors and management
- Review and analyze insurance needs and requirements and provide opinions regarding coverage issues
- Communicate with management and supervisors regarding employee and customer issues
- Form and dissolve corporations and other legal entities
We are a leading civil rights defense firm in Arkansas. David Fuqua, one of our firm’s senior partners, has been recognized for years as one of Arkansas’s outstanding civil rights defense lawyers. We defend municipalities and counties and their various boards and commissions in all areas of federal and state constitutional litigation, including actions arising out of alleged police misconduct, employment actions such as wrongful termination, land use claims arising from zoning and permitting authority and all other aspects of governmental liability.
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Creditor Rights & Foreclosures
We actively work with our clients to ensure that their debt collection efforts are cost-efficient and successful. Our team is prepared to assist you in creating effective collection practices and procedures while pursuing legal collection remedies. We handle matters such as:
- Filing materialman’s liens, debt collections and garnishment
- Foreclosures of mortgages and other liens on real estate
- Foreclosures of security interests in collateral
- Replevin of collateral
- Landlord-tenant issues, including evictions and unlawful detainer actions
We handle a wide variety of criminal defense matters, including state court felony prosecutions, Federal indictments, and appeals to the Arkansas appeals courts, the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Our partner, Blake Hendrix, is known as a preeminent criminal defense lawyer, recognized for years for his expertise by Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and other national publications. He was named Best Lawyers‘ 2013 White-Collar Lawyer of the Year and Best Lawyers‘ 2015 Non-White-Collar Lawyer of the Year. His current and former clients include politicians, business professionals, physicians, attorneys, and judges.
Our partner, Annie Depper, was raised to be a trial lawyer. Her father, Robert Depper, Jr., was one of the most respected trial lawyers in Arkansas. After graduating from the University of Texas School of Law, Annie served as a federal law clerk to United States District Court Judge Brian S. Miller. She has been recognized for her excellence in criminal defense by Little Rock Soiree magazine and other publications.
Blake and Annie work closely with our paralegal, Jordan Fowler. Jordan earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2021 and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Arkansas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology in 2017. Jordan’s background and education provide our team with unique insight and knowledge of behavior and the intertwined relationship between the criminal justice system and mental health.
We understand that it is very difficult to face any criminal charge. Therefore, we keep our clients informed about their cases. The rights of our clients in the criminal justice system are foremost in our minds when we assume the defense of any client charged with a crime.
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The firm has represented numerous central and south Arkansas school districts in federal and state court litigation involving desegregation, employment law and contracts and in administrative proceedings before the Arkansas Department of Education regarding student residency disputes and Act 60 consolidations. We advise school districts regarding school choice, legal transfers, compliance with desegregation plans, academic distress, fiscal distress, and other federal and state laws applicable to Arkansas school districts. We provide guidance on employee discipline and termination issues in compliance with the Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismissal Act and the Public School Employee Fair Hearing Act. We also assist school districts regarding the development of certified and classified personnel policies and employee and student handbooks.
Divorce, child custody, visitation and the economics of divorce are often life-changing circumstances. Honest, reasoned advice is essential for anyone who must deal with divorce and its complex elements. We understand the family dynamics, economics and emotions involved in divorce, child custody and child and spousal support. Our goal is to guide our clients with professional, ethical, and aggressive representation in matters of:
- Pre-marital Agreements
- Divorce
- Child Custody, Child Visitation and Grandparents’ Rights
- Spousal Support and Child Support
Our firm represents an impressive list of insurers (including large national and regional carriers) and self-insured entities. We specialize in analyzing and resolving coverage disputes, first party claim disputes, bad faith claims and extra-contractual liability. Our representation includes advising our insurance industry clients and representing them during coverage litigation and regarding regulatory issues.
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Intellectual property assets are a big part of the foundation of your business. That is why our attorneys work diligently to ensure the protection of those assets for your business. Intellectual property takes several forms, including patents, trademarks, copyright, and artistic and manufacturing processes.
We have achieved multiple successful results in patent matters, both in defense against allegations of infringement and in enforcing our client’s patent rights. We are experienced in handling all aspects of a patent dispute from a simple cease and desist letter to a trial on infringement. This includes the unique steps involved in patent litigation and we are ready to advise and serve our clients through that process.
We also have experience assisting our clients with trademark and copyright analysis, from advising clients on whether proposed language is fair use, to taking action and briefing issues of trademark infringement before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Intellectual property law is nuanced and can feel confusing and overwhelming. We have the training and understanding to successfully navigate the process and guide our clients away from and out of lurking landmines.
We are pleased to provide a sample of our work in this patent claim construction hearing in which we prevailed on every disputed term: Claim Construction Order
Our firm represents employers in a wide variety of industries and government entities. Our employment attorneys are well-known for their experience and success in employment litigation and often teach seminars for legal professionals and conduct training for human resource professionals throughout Arkansas. We provide proactive counseling and training to keep our clients abreast of federal and state regulations and laws. By identifying potential problems for our clients, we are often able to resolve them and prevent litigation. We help our clients develop sensible solutions to employee relations problems. We provide advice in developing employment policies, handbooks, compensation structures and benefit plans, as well as guidance on employee discipline and termination issues. In addition, we maintain an impressive record with the EEOC and effectively manage responses to charges of discrimination. Our overall goal is to help clients avoid employment litigation. If a trial becomes necessary, we have the competence and confidence to see our clients’ cases through to completion. We have significant experience in all types of employment law cases, at both the trial and appellate levels.
We handle employment matters involving: employee benefits and compensation, employee contracts, covenants not-to-compete, structuring a healthy and productive employment environment, hiring, termination and discipline, employment applications and forms, employee handbooks, policies, drug testing, communication and company resources, anti-harassment, social media, wage and hour, overtime exemptions, leave, benefits, training programs for supervisory and management personnel, prevailing wages, federal contract compliance, health and safety, workers’ compensation, EEO Reports, DOL matters, wrongful discharge, retaliation, Title VII, the Arkansas Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA and ADAA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Equal Pay Act (EPA), the Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the Employee Retirement Security Act (ERISA), Public Employment Claims and Section 1981 and Section 1983 of the federal Civil Rights Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and more.
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Our attorneys have an impressive record of success in representing companies, government entities, individuals and non-profit organizations through all phases of litigation. Our attorneys have an in-depth understanding of all facets of trial and appellate practice and utilize the latest in case management and presentation technology. We have extensive courtroom experience in both the federal district courts of Arkansas, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and trial courts in virtually every county in Arkansas. We are known among the judiciary and our fellow members of the Arkansas bar as professional, ethical and zealous advocates for our clients.
A representative list of the industries we serve include: automotive, banking, construction, communication, counties and municipalities, equipment retailing, education, employment, hotel and hospitality, insurance, manufacturing and industrial, nonprofit and charitable organizations, nursing homes, professional services, real estate, restaurant, wholesaling and retailing, service providers, software and suppliers.
Nursing Home Administration & Defense
We are committed to serving and defending the nursing homes of Arkansas, Missouri and Texas. We utilize our extensive experience to counsel nursing home managers, owners and caregivers. With a specialty in risk management, we advise and defend nursing homes against such allegations as negligence, violations of residents’ rights, malpractice, wrongful death and employment law matters. While aggressively defending our clients, we also work closely with them to ensure their continuing involvement and understanding of the litigation process through the duration of the case. Our healthcare litigation experience allows us to thoroughly investigate and analyze claims while remaining cost effective for our clients.
In addition to our litigation services, we develop and review nursing home handbooks, compliance programs, and policies. We provide training to the staff on implementing policies and advise the staff regarding requests for medical records. We appeal survey findings, draft HIPAA-compliant agreements for business associates and provide regulatory guidance regarding HIPAA, HITECH and other state and federal statutes and rules. We are well versed in arbitration law and consult with healthcare facilities and insurers in developing arbitration agreements and policies.
We represent individuals, facilities and practice groups in the defense of medical malpractice claims. Our healthcare litigation experience allows us to thoroughly investigate and analyze claims while remaining cost effective for our clients. We are well versed in arbitration law and consult with healthcare facilities and insurers in developing arbitrations agreements and policies.
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Probate Administration & Estate Planning
Our firm is proud to be associated with Mike Munnerlyn, who specializes in the preparation of wills and trusts and in handling estate and probate matters. He is recognized as one of Arkansas’s best attorneys in the field. We will be pleased to work with you and Mike to meet your needs for:
- Preparation of wills and trusts
- Representation of heirs, beneficiaries and fiduciaries
- Probate litigation involving will contests, administration of trusts and claims for and against estates
We defend a broad range of product manufacturers, suppliers and designers. The underlying products are as varied as lamps, tractors, aircraft, lift-trucks and more. We have the experience and state-of-the-art resources to manage large, complex cases in an efficient manner and have significant expertise in handling multi-party/class action claims. We have successfully defended Fortune 500 companies in asbestos litigation in essentially every corner of Arkansas.
Our extensive trial, appellate and mediation experience and our understanding of the complex legal and factual issues of a product liability claim help us effectively defend our clients. We are prepared to manage cases from inception to conclusion, including identifying qualified expert witnesses to contest liability and damage issues, as well as dealing with the medical, scientific and risk assessment issues raised by such cases.
We represent developers and owners in various types of real estate transactions, including:
- Acquisition and Disposition
- Development, Management and Ownership
- Financing and Leasing
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