Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP

Managing Partner: Price C Gardner

Number of partners: 63

Number of lawyers: 90

Firm Overview: 

FRIDAY, ELDREDGE & CLARK, LLP (FEC) is a full-service law firm representing businesses, nonprofits, healthcare organizations, government entities and individual clients in Arkansas and across the United States. The firm is the largest in Arkansas with 90 attorneys and 100 support personnel.

Recognized as one of the oldest law firms in Arkansas, FEC has had the privilege of representing clients for 150 years. The firm attributes its success to a strong foundation of devoted leadership and a continuous, sharp focus on clients’ needs.

FEC believes that this foundation, along with offering services in more than 50 areas of the law, has allowed the firm to become the largest law firm in Arkansas with offices in Little Rock (headquarters) and Rogers. Price C. Gardner, the firm’s managing partner, also serves as Chairman of the Management Committee. William Mell Griffin III is Vice-Chairman of the committee that includes a total of 15 partners. Known for its rich history and vast scope of services, FEC is committed to further development and growth within the firm and the community to best serve its clients. Clients are our focus — every day.

Main Areas of Practice:  

Litigation: 

FEC has some of the most experienced trial lawyers in the state who represent its clients on both a regional and national basis. The firm has represented individuals and businesses in a wide array of disputes. Major practice areas include: personal injury defense, professional malpractice defense, commercial litigation, railroad litigation, worker’s compensation and class actions.

Primary Contacts: Price C Gardner

General Litigation: William M Griffin III

Medical Malpractice: Michelle Ator

Class Action & Business Litigation: Kevin A Crass

Commercial Litigation & Regulation: William A Waddell Jr

Railroad: Scott H Tucker

Product Liability: William M Griffin III

Corporate/Commercial: Tax:  

The firm’s corporate and tax practice lawyers provide advice in a wide variety of areas, including entity law matters, individual and corporate income tax planning, and corporate finance. The clients in the business and tax area range from individuals and small closely held professional businesses to publicly traded corporations, including large retailers, manufacturers, financial institutions, investment managers, public utilities, hospitals and public and private universities.

Primary Contact: Walter M Ebel III, Price C Gardner

Financial and Commercial Transactions:  

Friday, Eldredge & Clark knows how to structure commercial financing for both lenders and borrowers. Their attorneys quickly grasp the basics of a transaction, develop the most cost-effective structure, and proactively identify problems. When public or private companies of all sizes look for new financing sources, the firm can help them obtain the capital market access they need. The lawyers have handled numerous debt and equity financing and are typically involved in every phase of capital raising transactions.

Primary Contact: Robert T. Smith

Labor & Employment: 

FEC’s labor and employment lawyers have a working knowledge of the complex network of federal and state laws and regulations that control how employers must treat employees, former employees and applicants for employment. The team has experience in class action litigation, labor arbitration, litigation under federal and state statutes, downsizing, severance and compensation issues and many other labor areas.

Primary Contact: Michael S. Moore

Corporate/Commercial: 

Mergers & Acquisitions: In the mergers and acquisitions area, FEC handles transactions which deal with fundamental changes in business ownership that often involve debt or equity financing and structural changes to an existing busi¬ness entity or the formation of a new entity. The firm’s attorneys who practice in this area have backgrounds in corporate finance and securities, accounting, income taxation and commercial lending and management, giving them the ability to understand not only the legal aspects of a deal, but also what is at stake from a business perspective.

Primary Contact: Walter M Ebel III

Corporate/Commercial: 

Municipal & Public Finance: FEC combines experience, tax expertise, resources, innovation and reputation to provide sophisticated financial structures tailored to each client and transac¬tion. The firm’s wide range of services includes bond counsel for state and local bonds, underwriter’s, trustee’s and issuer’s counsel services, formation of improvement districts and university and college financings.

Primary Contact: Ryan A Bowman

Wealth Management: Trust & Estates: 

FEC provides wealth management, trust and estate planning and estate tax dispute resolution services to a wide range of clients, including individuals, executives, professionals, business owners, farmers and ranchers and forest landowners. The wealth management area focuses on helping clients achieve comprehensive estate planning and wealth transfer goals, from the most traditional level of planning to the most advanced level of tax-savings strategies.

Primary Contact: J. Lee Brown

Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation: 

The firm’s lawyers practicing in the employee benefits area have a wealth of experience in designing and drafting plans for all types and sizes of employers, and in giving practical and understandable legal advice about operating and maintaining the plans to achieve their business objectives and to comply with ap¬plicable laws. This area of the firm’s practice represents clients in profit, non-profit and governmental sectors. Clients range from small closely held professional businesses to publicly traded corporations, including large retailers, manufacturers, financial institutions, investment managers, public utilities, hospitals and public and private universities.

Primary Contact: Joseph B Hurst, Jr

Real Estate: 

FEC works with developers, owners, property managers, tenants, financial institutions and investors in all types of transactions from routine purchase agreements to complicated development plans and multistate sales, acquisition and financing. This area of practice includes acquisition, disposition, leasing and operation of real property, debt and equity financing, partnerships, joint ventures, new markets tax credits and other investment vehicles, and land use, brokerage and management agreements.

Primary Contact: James M Saxton

Healthcare: 

FEC provides representation to the dynamic healthcare industry covering the full spectrum of healthcare delivery and payment systems.

Primary Contact: Robert T. Smith

Bankruptcy, Debtor/Creditor & Restructuring: 

FEC works on complex, sophisticated and distressed financial situations representing financial institutions, businesses, landlords, creditors, debtors and others in debtor/creditor matters, including asset recovery, bankruptcy, workouts and other restructuring transactions and litigation matters.

Primary Contact: William A Waddell Jr

Clients: 

FEC serves a wide-ranging array of clients, including Entergy Arkansas, Inc., Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, the University of Arkansas, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, CenterPoint Energy/ARKLA, Dillard’s, Inc., Little Rock School District, Simmons Banks, ArcBest, First Security Bank, Baptist Health, City of Little Rock Fire and Police Departments, Maverick Transportation, LLC, Travelers Insurance, Browning Arms Company, ABF Logistics, Colliers International, Murphy Oil USA, Stephens, Inc. and Deltic/Potlatch.