A Promise Kept: How Sarah Davis Prepared for a Law Career in Rural Arkansas
In rural Arkansas, property lines are not always marked by survey stakes or legal filings. Sometimes they are remembered through generations, traced through old fence rows, handshake agreements and handwritten deeds stored in kitchen drawers. Sarah Davis grew up understanding how fragile those arrangements can become when families need legal help and cannot easily access it.
In communities like her hometown of Newport, families often face legal issues long before they understand how to navigate the systems meant to resolve them.
Now preparing to graduate from the UA 糖心视频logo William H. Bowen School of Law, Davis spent the past three years developing the legal knowledge and practical experience to serve communities like hers.
Davis鈥� long-term goals began taking shape in third grade after she read 鈥淭he Kid Who Became President,鈥� a book about a child determined to make a difference in his community despite being underestimated by those around him. She said the story resonated with her desire to help others. By the end of the book, Davis had decided she wanted to become president someday, too. When she told her parents about that goal, they didn鈥檛 dismiss it or tell her it was impossible. Instead, they encouraged her to pursue it, and her dad suggested law as a practical starting point to help her get there.
Even at that age, she was already familiar with some of what that path could look like. During her parents鈥� lengthy divorce and custody proceedings, Davis and her siblings spent years moving in and out of courtrooms. 鈥淚 remembered lawyers who sat down with me and talked to me without being on an adult level,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚t was scary being in there, but there were people who made it less scary.鈥�
Davis learned early how much work her goals would require. After missing kindergarten, she entered first grade at 8 years old, older than her classmates and still unable to read. By the end of the year, she was reading at a fifth-grade level and had advanced enough academically to skip second grade and enter the school鈥檚 gifted and talented program.
After deciding she wanted to pursue law, Davis and her father began shaping many of her academic decisions around that goal. 鈥淢y dad was like, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to have to bridge the gaps other students don鈥檛 have,鈥欌�� Davis said. 鈥淣ot only was I catching up to the other students, but I had to stay ahead of them.鈥� By eighth grade, Davis had started concurrent college coursework, eventually taking full college schedules while still in high school.
The path Davis built for herself required years of sacrifice and discipline. That level of focus meant she opted out of sports and social activities that usually dominate high school life, because she knew they wouldn鈥檛 help her meet her goals.
鈥淚 spent 10 years forming a path leading to where I was going,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 strayed from it.鈥�
Davis credits much of her progress to the adults who invested time in her early education. Among them was Jennifer Keedy, who worked closely with her in her first-grade classroom and later wrote a reference letter for Davis鈥� bar application. Her grandfather created stacks of handwritten index cards from which he quizzed her to help improve her vocabulary and reading comprehension. Her father often stayed up late after work helping her study. Later, as she began taking concurrent college classes in high school, he drove her an hour each way, often waiting in the truck while she attended class.
After graduating high school in 2020, Davis earned an associate degree and technical certificate from the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville in 2021 before completing her bachelor鈥檚 degree in English with a concentration in creative writing at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 2022. For Davis, the degree carried particular meaning.
鈥淭o go from not being able to read to getting a degree focused on reading and writing, that was really special to me,鈥� Davis said.
When she arrived at Bowen in 2023, the experience felt more surreal than triumphant. After spending years building her life around the goal of becoming a lawyer, she suddenly found herself entering a profession no one in her family had firsthand experience navigating. During Bowen鈥檚 first-week program, Davis realized many of her classmates came from backgrounds that made law school feel more familiar.
鈥淚t was like a sick feeling,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚鈥檓 finally here, and at this point I know my family can no longer prepare me further.鈥�
But at Bowen, Davis began finding new forms of guidance. She said many professors taught from their own experiences in practice, helping students understand not only legal theory, but also how attorneys navigate difficult conversations, building trust and managing professional relationships.
In courses such as Property Law, Decedents鈥� Estates and Business Associations, Davis said she began connecting the legal systems she was studying with the realities she had already seen growing up in rural Arkansas, an approach she said made the coursework feel more practical and grounded.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something I really appreciated,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚t can be hard when you haven鈥檛 experienced things. Otherwise, it鈥檚 just regurgitating law.鈥�
Outside the classroom, Davis sought out opportunities to work directly with rural communities across Arkansas, work she said felt closely connected to the same motivations that first drew her toward law as a child. As a Bowen Public Service Fellow, she completed more than 1,600 public service hours during law school and recently received the law school鈥檚 Distinguished Public Service Award in recognition of that work.
Her internships, externships and pro bono service included work with Legal Aid of Arkansas, the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission, the Arkansas Public Defender Commission and the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The work gave Davis a broader understanding of what practicing law in rural Arkansas often requires. Attorneys, she said, frequently become not only legal advocates, but also connectors to services, relationships and resources that clients may not know exist.
One project that stayed with her most involved compiling legal and community resources across 15 Arkansas counties for Legal Aid of Arkansas. Davis worked to identify attorneys, housing resources, veterans services, food banks, shelters and other programs that could help connect residents with support beyond immediate legal representation.
鈥淚鈥檓 not even out of law school yet, and I already know that work is helping people,鈥� Davis said.
She also brought those interests into her academic leadership at Bowen. As this year鈥檚 symposium editor for the Arkansas Journal of Social Change and Public Service, Davis organized a symposium examining agriculture and legal issues affecting Arkansas farming communities.
After graduation this weekend, Davis plans to continue preparing for rural practice through the University of Arkansas School of Law鈥檚 LL.M. program in agricultural and food law while studying for the bar exam this summer. While completing the program in Fayetteville, Davis plans to work alongside Newport attorney Jim McLarty, a longtime family friend she has known since childhood. McLarty, who is approaching retirement, will help mentor Davis as she begins preparing to build her own rural practice focused on agriculture law, estate planning and family law.
For Davis, every stage of preparation has pointed back toward Newport.
鈥淏eing able to go back is keeping my promise,鈥� she said.