Richard Kilpatrick, who joins the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law this fall as an Associate Professor of Law after serving as a visiting professor, studies maritime law, international commercial law and geopolitical disruption in global trade. His new book, , explores how war, sanctions and political instability create complex commercial disputes across the shipping industry.

In this Q&A, Kilpatrick discusses the ongoing Strait of Hormuz crisis, its impact on global shipping and the legal questions emerging from the disruption.

How is the Strait of Hormuz crisis affecting global shipping?

Shipping Disruptions and Navigation Concerns
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s true maritime chokepoints: there is only one route for ships to get in and out of the Persian Gulf. As of mid-May, nearly three months after the war in Iran started, freedom of navigation in the Strait remains impeded in two ways: First, Iran has attacked and threatened to continue attacking merchant ships if they move through the Strait without its authorization. And second, the US military has imposed a purported “blockade” on Iran-linked ships. Neither the Iranian nor the American-imposed measures are totally effective. Some ships have been allowed safe passage due to ad hoc diplomatic arrangements negotiated on a case-by-case basis and others have slipped through the Strait at night after turning off their navigation transponders. But due to the risk of attack, the vast majority of ships trapped in the Gulf are just waiting for the conflict’s resolution. For perspective, during peacetime upwards of 150 ships move through the Strait in a given day. For the past few months, this number has dropped to single digits.

Humanitarian Concerns for Seafarers
The biggest logistical hurdle at the moment is the humanitarian concern for professional seafarers who remain on board these vessels. Recent reports suggest that as many as 20,000 seafarers are still trapped in the Gulf. Most of them are citizens of countries that are not at all associated with the war, such as the Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and India. They are genuinely innocent civilian bystanders that happen to have been performing their work in the wrong place at the wrong time. So first and foremost, many in the shipping industry are hoping that a sustained peaceful resolution will be achieved to open the Strait and allow the ships to depart the Gulf and the seafarers to be repatriated back to their home countries after a rather traumatic few months. Some good news is that recent reports indicate that during the ceasefire some of the seafarers have been able to evacuate or at least to receive supplies.

Supply Chain and Commercial Impacts
Another major problem flowing out of the Strait closure is the strain this has placed on global supply chains. In normal times, a significant proportion of the world’s supply of crude oil, refined oil products, liquified gas, and chemicals including fertilizer is exported out of the region to global markets. This includes Persian Gulf loadings out of Qatar, the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and parts of Saudi Arabia. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively shuttered and some of the energy export infrastructure damaged by the war, this is putting major stress on supply chains and driving up costs for consumers worldwide. But this turmoil is creating its own form of challenges within the shipping industry. During the current ceasefire, there has been an open question as to whether vessels should attempt to depart the Gulf, and who among the commercial actors with a stake in the voyage should have the right and responsibility to decide. This question of navigational safety is weighing heavily on the minds of those involved in the decision-making process, including shipowners in consultation with the shipmasters and crew, as well as other third parties such as insurers and vessel charterers.

“There is only one route for ships to get in and out of the Persian Gulf.”

What kinds of legal and commercial disputes are emerging from the crisis?

Marine War Risk Insurance
When assessing the broad commercial impact of this kind of disruption, it may be useful to think about the problem in terms of layers. The blockage of the Strait is impacting contracts for the sale of goods, vessel chartering agreements, insurance arrangements, trade financing and brokering services, and a number of other ancillary forms of transactions. As a maritime lawyer, I find the impact on insurance and vessel chartering agreements particularly fascinating.

The insurance dimensions have been in the news recently as it has been widely reported that insurance companies have cancelled cover due to the outbreak of war. This is not totally accurate. Marine war risk insurance is usually purchased separately from standard marine insurance, in part because war risks have long been viewed as special risks with premiums calculated based on a different set of factors. One of the peculiarities of war risk insurance is that there are actually two premiums, including one “additional premium” that may change depending on the status of the risk. For instance, a war risk premium may be set at one rate for worldwide trading, but there may be an additional war risk premium assessed for vessels that are navigating in particularly dangerous zones. The risk status of maritime zones can change quickly as security situations evolve, which has been the case in the Persian Gulf. At present, additional war risk premiums for vessels navigating in the Gulf are extremely high, especially for vessels with any US or Israeli nexus. There have been some discussions about the US government providing a form of state-backed war risk insurance in case the commercial supply of war risk insurance is no longer available, but apparently this has not been necessary in part because the high premiums make commercial war risk insurance quite lucrative for those willing to underwrite the risk.  

Who Pays the Additional Costs?
One of the remaining commercial questions, however, is who bears the burden of paying for this additional war risk premium. The answer to this question may depend on other contracting arrangements, such as the terms of any underlying vessel chartering agreement made between the shipowner and the vessel charterer. If the vessel is on a voyage charter under which the charterer has agreed to make a lump sum payment of freight, it may be the shipowner who is responsible to cover the additional war risk premium if it was not included in the initial freight calculation, but if the vessel is on a longer term time charter, depending on the terms of the contract, the charterer may be on the hook for reimbursing the shipowner for the additional premium. Another larger scale insurance problem could take place if the blockage of the Strait protracts into 2027. If vessels are trapped for more than 12 months, this could lead to widespread insurance claims of constructive total loss, which could put severe pressure on the insurance industry as a whole. This eventuality is a long way off at the moment, but it is something industry participants are already concerned about.

Delays, Chartering and Risk Allocation
Beyond insurance, the blockage of the Strait is giving rise to further contractual questions of risk allocation between shipowners and charterers. One question is who—shipowner or charterer—must bear the burden of the delay costs. The familiar maxim “time is money” is certainly true in the vessel chartering context. Ships are expensive to build and to operate and due to the daily exposure to harsh elements like salt water and inclement weather, they have a relatively short useful life in which they must generate revenue to cover the costs of their construction. For this reason, shipowners of large ocean-going vessels routinely charter their ships to charterers for the purpose of ensuring the vessels consistently have commercial employment. This might be on a time or voyage basis. If for instance, a vessel is under time charter, the charterer must engage in commercial voyages to generate at least enough revenue to pay the shipowner an agreed daily rate of “hire.”

Questions of Contract Interpretation
When the vessel is trapped in the Gulf, it cannot engage in commercial employment to generate this revenue, which raises the question of whether the vessel should be placed “off-hire” during the delay. The answer to this question is ultimately one of contract interpretation, but in general time-chartered vessels remain on hire unless an enumerated off-hire event has occurred, such as fire or machinery breakdown. If a vessel’s machinery is destroyed by an Iranian drone or missile, it very well may be off-hire which would have the effect of placing the delay risk on the shipowner. But if there is merely a threat of attack that does not actually prevent the vessel from its ability to mechanically function as a ship, hire likely continues to run throughout the delay even though the ship is prevented from performing trades. If the vessel is indeed on hire while trapped in the Gulf, the charterer may have a financial incentive to try to push the shipowner to move through the Strait even though it is dangerous to do so. Whether the charterer has the right to issue such an order is yet another question of contract interpretation potentially implicating other terms in the contract, such as the so-called “safe port warranty” or perhaps other more explicit war risk clauses. The point is these commercial law questions do not always have easy solutions that will apply seamlessly to every ship trapped in the Gulf.

Are There Historical Parallels to Today’s Shipping Disruptions?

The Iran-Iraq War and the “Tanker War”
The short answer is yes, although none of the previous conflicts are identical to the current crisis. At the outbreak of the Iran/ Iraq war in 1980, dozens of vessels became trapped in the Shatt-al-Arab—the river that divides the two countries This led to commercial litigation and arbitration as to whether it was safe for merchant vessels to depart the river during the war. These vessel trappings led to seminal caselaw addressing the application of contract clauses and common law doctrines both in the insurance and the vessel chartering context. But then, several years into the conflict, the Persian Gulf became a very dangerous place as both Iran and Iraq began attacking neutral merchant ships to prevent the other side from being able to generate revenue by exporting oil. This period, known as the “Tanker War,” gave rise to additional insurance and vessel chartering disputes. Eventually, the US military attempted to intervene by reflagging and escorting tankers exporting oil out of Kuwait, which serves as a sort of precedent for the recent discussions about possible US-led convoys through the Strait.  

The Suez Canal and Maritime Blockages
A second set of scenarios that has given rise to important caselaw on the subject are those involving blockages of the Suez Canal. It was closed due to regional fighting for a few months during the mid 1950s and again for eight years from 1967-1975. Vessel traffic was also impeded by non-state security threats, including the Somali piracy crisis of 2008-2012 and more recent attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels from 2023 to the present. The so-called “Suez cases” dealt with the questions of whether Suez closures amounted to contract frustration, impossibility, and impracticability, or whether they triggered more explicit contract clauses. But since there is actually another route via the Cape of Good Hope, the scenario is slightly different than the Strait of Hormuz crisis because there is simply not an alternative route available for vessels currently trapped in the Persian Gulf.

The War in Ukraine and Black Sea Shipping
Another relatively similar dynamic arose during the early months of the war in Ukraine, as the Black Sea was mined and vessels were attacked by drones and missiles. Others were trapped along Ukraine’s coasts. Some ships were unable to depart for more than a year, which ultimately did lead to insurance claims for constructive total loss. The initial danger in the Black Sea also created supply chain turmoil, particularly because much of the world’s supply of grains and fertilizers had previously been exported out of Black Sea ports. In the summer of 2022, the UN helped broker a temporary diplomatic solution, which allowed many ships to export grains and fertilizers out of a “humanitarian corridor” carved through the Black Sea. The agreement lapsed within a year and shipping in the Black Sea has been risky ever since. Caselaw addressing the commercial shipping dimensions of the war in Ukraine has been gradually trickling out, some of which may provide guidance when the inevitable stream of Strait of Hormuz cases makes its way to courts and arbitration tribunals in the months and years to come.

What Inspired Your New Book on Geopolitical Disruption in Shipping?

Geopolitical Disruption and Commercial Law
The central focus is the notion that political volatility in the modern world is disrupting shipping activities and causing disputes that raise fundamental questions of commercial law. Geopolitics has been affecting shipping activities quite a lot in recent years, not only due to war and terrorism, but also due to sanctions, export controls, tariffs, and other measures that might be described as “trade war” techniques. I have been writing law review articles about these kinds of issues for a number of years, but over time I started noticing broader trends and decided to dig deeper to try to understand historical patterns in geopolitical maneuvering, shipping industry adaptation, and how these measures have impacted the resolution of related commercial disputes.

Physical Risk and Regulatory Risk
To keep the book in balance, I broke the forms of disruption into two sections: those that deal with physical risks and those that deal with regulatory risk. The first part of the book explores the commercial implications of physical disruption across three categories: war, unrest, and piracy. The second part of the book turns to purely economic measures, including sanctions and other forms of statecraft like embargos and tariffs. I aim to tie all of these issues together by examining how courts and arbitration tribunals have resolved these kinds of problems by reference to common law avoidance doctrines as well as bespoke contract clauses addressing force majeure or related categories. The book ultimately argues that this rapidly evolving area of international commercial law demands a readiness to borrow analytical approaches across categories of business disruption.

A Timely Study of Maritime Disruption
For better or worse, I completed the manuscript for the book prior to the full-scale war breaking out in Iran. Even so, it had already become clear that something like this could happen in the near future. Iran-backed militias have been attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea since 2023, and Israel and the US directly bombed Iranian nuclear sites in 2025. Iran had been threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz for years. For those of us who pay close attention to maritime security matters, once a full-scale regional war began to unfold in 2026, it was not a surprise to see the scope of the commercial disruption. My hope is that the principles examined in the book will aid the resolution of these emerging disputes along with others that may be looming on the horizon.

“The rapidly evolving area of international commercial law demands a readiness to borrow analytical approaches across categories of business disruption.”

How Does Your Scholarship Shape Your Teaching at Bowen?

Bringing Real-World Disputes Into the Classroom
While serving as a Visiting Professor at Bowen, I had the pleasure of teaching courses in contract law, sales, and maritime law. In each of these courses, we discussed contract avoidance doctrines, including frustration, impossibility, and changes in circumstances, as well as contract-based defenses such as force majeure provisions. In the maritime law course in particular, we spent several class sessions examining some of the key caselaw involving kinetic wars and trade wars. Given that the Iran conflict broke out right in the middle of our course last spring, this led to some lively discussions about what this might mean for maritime commerce.

Connecting Arkansas to Global Commerce
As an incoming Associate Professor, I hope to continue cultivating student interest in this area. As I tell my students, Arkansas is not as landlocked as people may think. A major navigable river cuts right past our law school campus before flowing into the Mississippi River to access some of America’s busiest ports. My hope is that pushing students to examine the complexities of international commercial law, maritime law, and geopolitics will spark interest in new career opportunities and further reveal the interconnected nature of the modern world.

“Arkansas is not as landlocked as people may think.”

The post Bowen Professor Richard Kilpatrick Explains the Strait of Hormuz Crisis appeared first on William H. Bowen School of Law.

The ceremony featured keynote remarks from The Honorable Dustin McDaniel ’99, former Arkansas attorney general, Bowen alumnus, adjunct professor of law, and partner at Cozen O’Connor. McDaniel delivered a reflective and deeply personal address that challenged graduates to embrace the responsibility and public trust inherent in the legal profession.

“You are more powerful and more well-prepared than you realize,” McDaniel told the graduating class. Reflecting on his own experience arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court, he said the moment reinforced that “the legal education that I got at UALR William H. Bowen School of Law gave me everything I needed to perform at the highest levels conceivable.” He encouraged graduates to lead with integrity, professionalism, and service as they enter a rapidly changing legal landscape.

Dean Colin Crawford opened the ceremony by recognizing the graduates’ commitment to public service and professionalism, central themes of Bowen’s mission. He highlighted the significant service work completed by members of the graduating class through clinics, externships, and community initiatives, including students who completed more than 1,000 and 600 hours of service during law school. Crawford also recognized the contributions of Bowen student organizations, which led outreach projects, fundraising efforts, food drives, and community service activities throughout the academic year.

“Lawyers serve their clients and the legal system, but they are also servants of the larger society, working to make it better every day,” Crawford said.

Riley Seawright, president of the Student Bar Association, delivered remarks on behalf of the graduating class, reflecting on the perseverance and support that shaped the graduates’ journeys through law school.

“Many of you have overcome immense obstacles to be here in law school at this time,” Seawright said, quoting former professor andré douglas pond cummings’ message to students that “it very well may be a small miracle that you are here today.” He encouraged graduates to embrace the opportunity “to do something transformative” with their legal education.

Megan Hargraves ’08, president of the Bowen Alumni Board and general counsel and chief administrative officer at Mitchell Williams, welcomed graduates into Arkansas’s legal community and emphasized Bowen’s longstanding commitment to professionalism and service.

“What distinguishes Bowen is its deep integration with the Arkansas legal community,” Hargraves said. “Bowen graduates have long distinguished themselves within the legal community and profession.” She encouraged graduates to pursue excellence while remaining grounded in kindness, professionalism, and service to their communities.

The ceremony also recognized the faculty, alumni, families, and supporters who helped shape the graduates’ success. Student marshals for the ceremony were Lindsey Norman, Chacey Schoeppel Wilcox, and Riley Seawright. Professor Jordan Wallace-Wolf served as faculty marshal. Professor Joshua Silverstein introduced the candidates for degrees, Professor Michael Flannery assisted with diplomas, while Professor Terrence Cain and Pat Harris, director of advocacy, conducted the hooding portion of the ceremony.

Other members of the platform party included University of Arkansas System President General Jay B. Silveria; UA ������Ƶlogo Chancellor Dr. Christina Drale; Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Dr. Ann Bain; and Colonel Nathaniel “Nate” Todd of the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees.

Founded on the principles of access to justice, public service, and professionalism, the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law continues to prepare graduates for meaningful legal careers across Arkansas and beyond. As the Class of 2026 enters the profession, graduates carry forward Bowen’s tradition of service and leadership in courtrooms, boardrooms, public institutions, and communities throughout the state and nation.

About the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law
Located in Arkansas’s capital city, the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law provides a nationally recognized, practice-ready legal education deeply connected to the state’s legal system. With a strong emphasis on access to justice, public service, and professionalism, Bowen’s hands-on approach is grounded in mentorship and real-world experience. Graduates are prepared to lead in courtrooms, boardrooms, and communities across Arkansas and beyond.

The post UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law Celebrates 114 Graduates at Spring Commencement appeared first on William H. Bowen School of Law.

For months, Hawkins had studied cases in classrooms at the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law, reading opinions, analyzing arguments and learning the mechanics of legal procedure. At the courthouse, the work felt different. The complaints and motions she had spent so much time reading were no longer abstract documents inside a case file.

“There’s a person behind the complaint that comes across your desk,” Hawkins said. “When you’re talking to them, you realize sometimes that it was just one misstep along the way that completely changed the trajectory of someone’s life.”

The externship became one of the defining experiences of Hawkins’ time at Bowen Law, not because it pointed her toward a single career path, but because it showed her how differently the profession could look in practice than it did in classrooms and casebooks.

As Hawkins prepares to graduate this weekend, she leaves Bowen with a broader view of the legal profession than the one she carried into law school.

Law school was not always the plan.

Hawkins arrived at Central Baptist College intending to pursue physical therapy before realizing the coursework was pulling her in the wrong direction. An uncle working in government law encouraged her to take the LSAT, and the possibility of a legal career quickly clicked into place. She graduated from Central Baptist with a degree in business management before enrolling in law school.

Growing up in Stuttgart, Hawkins said her parents, both educators and administrators, made sure she understood where she came from and the barriers some people still faced around her. Her father became the first Black administrator in one of the school districts where he worked. Her mother also stepped into leadership roles where representation mattered.

“I felt like I was living in Black history in the making,” Hawkins said.

The experiences shaped her early interest in civil rights and public-facing legal work, but Hawkins said she entered law school determined not to limit herself too quickly to one version of the profession.

Some of the courses Hawkins expected to enjoy never fully clicked. Others surprised her. Contracts and business associations quickly became some of her strongest areas academically, building on the business background she brought with her from college. Criminal law and criminal procedure also came naturally to her, even though she never envisioned herself working in those spaces professionally.

“A lot of things on paper didn’t sound appealing,” Hawkins said. “But once I got to experience those areas of law, it changed the way I thought about them.”

That growing interest in transactional and business-related work also reshaped the way Hawkins thought about impact. She said she had long seen talented people with strong business ideas struggle to access the resources and opportunities needed to move those ideas forward.

Hawkins said law school helped her recognize that work connected to contracts, licensing and access to funding can shape communities in quieter but equally meaningful ways. Through clerkships at firms of different sizes, Hawkins also saw how differently legal work could operate depending on the environment, the clients and the type of cases involved.

“I had to be intentional about not getting complacent in what I thought I knew,” she said.

Hawkins said that same willingness to reevaluate herself became important during her externship at the federal courthouse, where a miscommunication challenged the way she believed she was coming across in the workplace.

“It would have been easy for me to just shut down,” Hawkins said. “But I had to take a step back and ask myself, ‘OK, what are you actually doing? How are people perceiving what you’re doing?’”

Hawkins said those experiences changed the way she approached both the work and the people helping her navigate it. Two faculty members became especially influential during Hawkins’ time at Bowen Law.

Dean Beiner provided the kind of steady support Hawkins said every student needs, offering guidance that extended beyond academics and coursework. “Her door was always open,” Hawkins said. “I think that’s important for every student to have, a member of faculty that you can go to and just talk to as a person.”

Professor Cain challenged her differently. A former college athlete, Hawkins said she has always responded well to pressure and high expectations. During her second semester of 1L year, she remembered Cain telling her he had heard strong things about her and expected her to succeed.

“You’re going to be good at this,” he told her.

For Hawkins, hearing that from a professor with Cain’s reputation carried weight, not because she needed reassurance she belonged, but because she valued being pushed by people who expected her to rise to the occasion.

Now, as graduation approaches, Hawkins said she no longer feels pressure to define her future too narrowly. She still sees herself in the values that first drew her toward the law, but her time at Bowen showed her those goals can take shape through many different kinds of legal work.

Hawkins said she still does not know exactly where the profession will take her after graduation. But after three years of clerkships, coursework and courtroom experience, she feels more prepared for whatever comes next.

“I’m a lot more capable of handling things than I was giving myself credit for,” Hawkins said.

The post A Wider Lens: How Erica Hawkins Broadened Her View of Legal Work appeared first on William H. Bowen School of Law.

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 ������Ƶlogo 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’ long-term goals began taking shape in third grade after she read “The Kid Who Became President,” 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’t 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’ lengthy divorce and custody proceedings, Davis and her siblings spent years moving in and out of courtrooms. “I remembered lawyers who sat down with me and talked to me without being on an adult level,” Davis said. “It was scary being in there, but there were people who made it less scary.”

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’s 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. “My dad was like, ‘You’re going to have to bridge the gaps other students don’t have,’” Davis said. “Not only was I catching up to the other students, but I had to stay ahead of them.” 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’t help her meet her goals.

“I spent 10 years forming a path leading to where I was going,” Davis said. “I haven’t strayed from it.”

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’ 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’s 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.

“To go from not being able to read to getting a degree focused on reading and writing, that was really special to me,” 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’s first-week program, Davis realized many of her classmates came from backgrounds that made law school feel more familiar.

“It was like a sick feeling,” Davis said. “I’m finally here, and at this point I know my family can no longer prepare me further.”

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’ 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.

“That’s something I really appreciated,” Davis said. “It can be hard when you haven’t experienced things. Otherwise, it’s just regurgitating law.”

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’s 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.

“I’m not even out of law school yet, and I already know that work is helping people,” Davis said.

She also brought those interests into her academic leadership at Bowen. As this year’s 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’s 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.

“Being able to go back is keeping my promise,” she said.

The post A Promise Kept: How Sarah Davis Prepared for a Law Career in Rural Arkansas appeared first on William H. Bowen School of Law.

He had worked construction and carpentry through college. He taught percussion in public school. He earned a real estate license. He worked retail in Nashville during the height of COVID-19 while trying to build a career in music. Through it all, he kept playing drums and singing with his band, Blackstrap, booking gigs and managing the business side of the work himself.

What connected those experiences was not a straight path toward law school, but a pattern.

“I would pick things up really quickly,” Gathright said. “Then I’d hit a ceiling.”

One of the clearest examples came during his time working at a JD Sports store in Franklin, Tennessee. Hired first as a sales associate, Gathright quickly moved into leadership roles, becoming a supervisor within weeks and an assistant manager shortly afterward. Before long, the company offered him his own store.

On paper, it looked like success. But the offer forced him to confront a question that had followed him through several jobs already: Was he building a career he wanted, or simply succeeding at the next thing put in front of him?

“I only really liked selling,” he said. “I liked working with people. The further up you got, the less you actually get to do that.”

At the same time, the music career that had brought him to Nashville had begun to stall as the live entertainment industry struggled to recover from the pandemic. When his lease ended, he packed up and moved home to El Dorado.

Looking back, Gathright now sees those years less as false starts and more as a process of elimination. Each job taught him something about the kind of work that energized him and the kind that did not. He liked solving problems. He liked working directly with people. He wanted autonomy. What wore him down was micromanagement, routine administration and work that felt static once he mastered it.

“I learned early on that I’m going to swim regardless,” he said. “I may not know what I’m doing when I start, but I’m going to figure it out.”

For most of his life, Gathright had never imagined becoming an attorney — he had earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in music. Then he took a job working for a lawyer in El Dorado. The opportunity came through a connection he made while working in real estate, and at first, the position was practical. The firm needed help, and Gathright needed work. What surprised him was how much he enjoyed it.

“I enjoyed finding the missing pieces,” he said.

The work felt different from anything he had done before. Instead of reaching a point where everything became routine, the legal field seemed to expand the deeper he got into it. There was always another angle to consider, another layer of analysis beneath the surface.

At one point, Gathright mentioned pursuing a paralegal certification to increase his earning potential. The attorney he worked for had another suggestion.

“Why don’t you just go to law school?” he remembered him saying.

The idea had never seriously crossed his mind before.

“I didn’t even know that I could go back to law school after the degrees that I got,” Gathright said.

Still, Bowen offered something important: proximity to the life he had already built. The law school allowed him to remain connected to his family, his music network and the people who had supported him through years of uncertainty and career changes.

So he took the LSAT, applied to Bowen before receiving his score and committed fully to the opportunity in front of him.

“If I didn’t get into Bowen,” he said, “I wasn’t going to law school.”

Like many of the decisions that brought him there, Gathright approached law school without having everything perfectly figured out. During his first semester at Bowen, he was commuting daily from El Dorado to ������Ƶlogo while planning a wedding and trying to avoid taking on significant student debt. To make morning classes, he often left home around 6 a.m. and did not return until late in the evening.

“I didn’t have time to read,” he said. “I didn’t have time to do anything.”

Eventually, after conversations with attorneys and mentors, he realized the arrangement was not sustainable. He moved to ������Ƶlogo during his first semester, and later, his wife, Emilia, joined him.

That support system, combined with Bowen’s hands-on approach to legal education, helped steady the transition into law school.

Outside the classroom, Gathright continued performing with his band while building legal experience through clerkships and externships at places including the Arkansas Municipal League, Simmons Bank, Nash Law Firm, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The experiences exposed him to a wide range of legal work, from estate planning and secured transactions to bankruptcy proceedings and business-related matters. Along the way, he also learned what did not fit.

“I don’t really want to litigate at all,” he said with a laugh.

Instead, he found himself increasingly drawn toward transactional and tax-related work, particularly the strategic problem-solving involved in business and finance.

Then he took Federal Income Tax.

“It was my favorite class I’ve taken in law school,” Gathright said. “It just made sense.”

For Gathright, the appeal of tax law was not simply the subject matter. It was the realization that he had finally found a field that could continue challenging him long term.

“This is a field that keeps evolving,” he said.

The more he studied business and tax law, the more Gathright recognized connections to experiences he had already accumulated outside the classroom. Years of managing bookings, contracts, payments and logistics for his band had given him an unexpected introduction to the business side of professional life. His work in retail, real estate and sales had also shaped the way he thought about systems, negotiation and client relationships.

As his interest in tax law grew, Gathright began talking with faculty mentors and practicing attorneys about what it would take to build a career in the field. Following graduation from Bowen this weekend and the bar exam this summer, he plans to begin the Tax LL.M. program at the University of Florida Levin College of Law while working with RMP in ������Ƶlogo.

In some ways, the direction surprised him. Tax law had never been part of the original plan because there had never really been an original plan. Instead, his path to law school was built piece by piece through experience, trial and error, and a willingness to keep moving toward opportunities that felt meaningful.

“I think something I’ve noticed,” he said, “is that it really is never too late to start over or find a different path.” That perspective has become one of the clearest lessons he carries from his journey to Bowen. “Don’t be afraid to pivot into something,” he said. “If you think you’d like it, go try it.”

For Gathright, the willingness to step into unfamiliar territory repeatedly led him somewhere unexpected: a legal career that finally felt expansive enough to grow alongside him.

The post No Ceiling: How James Gathright Found Room to Grow in Law appeared first on William H. Bowen School of Law.

It is the kind of moment that does not show up on a résumé, but over time, it became a familiar one. Schoeppel Wilcox, who is nearly a decade older than many of her classmates, took on a big sister role for many during her time at the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law. They turned to her, not just for help with coursework, but for guidance on the practical decisions that shape daily life and professional confidence. She has talked peers through mock interviews, how to get a car loan, and how to choose a primary care provider.

In a place where students spend long hours together, often learning how to navigate unfamiliar environments alongside one another, those moments of trust can carry real weight. For Schoeppel Wilcox, they became some of the most meaningful parts of her experience at law school.

Schoeppel Wilcox was recently awarded the Bogle-Sharp Award, which goes to the graduate who is voted “most likely to succeed in the practice of law” by their peers. “I can’t think of any honor greater than one from those that have endured the trenches of law school with you,” she said.

Long before classmates began turning to her for advice, Schoeppel Wilcox was learning from the people who quietly showed up for others in her own life.

She grew up in Fairview, Oklahoma, a rural town where her graduating class numbered just 36 students. Her mother taught middle school and often found understated ways to help families around them. If a student came to school without a winter coat, one might quietly appear a few days later in exactly the right size.

“No one needed to know that she did it,” Schoeppel Wilcox said. “You just meet people’s needs where you can.”

She saw the opposite side of that reality, too. Her father, a lawyer, died when she was seven after what she describes as a difficult and often painful marriage for her mother. Even with a college degree, a stable job and support from family, her mother was left trying to navigate financial systems and responsibilities she had never been allowed to manage on her own.

Over time, Schoeppel Wilcox began to recognize how many forms uncertainty can take, especially for people trying to enter unfamiliar professional spaces. She said she was fortunate to grow up surrounded by friends whose parents stepped in to help fill gaps when they saw them. “One of my friends’ dads taught me how to get a car loan,” she said. “Those aren’t things everyone gets taught.”

Before law school, she worked in public service roles in Oklahoma and Arkansas, spent time working for a nonprofit in South Africa and helped run internship programs in multiple settings. Again and again, she found herself working with people who often already knew what they wanted for themselves and their families, but lacked access to resources, information or professional networks that could help them get there.

“I think people usually know what they need,” she said. “Sometimes they just need someone to help guide them through it.”

During law school, life outside the classroom rarely slowed down for Schoeppel Wilcox.

She and her wife Amie married just weeks before classes began at Bowen. During her first year, they renovated a 100-year-old home in Hillcrest while she adjusted to the demands of legal education. Throughout law school, she balanced classes with clerkships, externships and research work at the school.

Then, during her second year, just weeks after she was named editor-in-chief of the UALR Law Review, her mother died unexpectedly.

During that same period, Schoeppel Wilcox and her wife navigated fertility treatments, a miscarriage, the responsibility of settling her mother’s estate and helping care for her aunt in hospice in Oklahoma, all while continuing through law school.

“You want to show up for everybody and do a good job and do it right,” she said. “But it’s hard to balance it sometimes.”

At home, she and her wife relied on a simple framework for making decisions during overwhelming seasons: knowing which responsibilities were “glass balls” and which were “rubber balls.”

“The rubber balls bounce back,” she said. “The glass balls break.”

Sometimes that meant missing a class to handle a family emergency and catching up later. Other times, it meant accepting support from the same community she had spent years supporting herself.

When her mother died, several classmates drove from ������Ƶlogo to Oklahoma for the funeral, a 14-hour round trip. Friends brought freezer meals, shared class notes and helped however they could. Faculty members, including Dean Gustafson and Professor Laura Bates, became steady sources of support and guidance throughout law school.

For Schoeppel Wilcox, those experiences reinforced the kind of community she had found at Bowen — one built not only through academic rigor, but through people continuing to show up for one another when life became difficult.

As editor-in-chief of the Law Review, Schoeppel Wilcox found herself responsible for keeping one of the law school’s most demanding student organizations moving forward.

“The role of the editor-in-chief is keeping the train on the tracks,” she said.

The position required her to manage the publication process, coordinate with students and faculty and review every article that moved through the Law Review, all while balancing coursework, externships and responsibilities outside the classroom.

For Schoeppel Wilcox, leadership was less about authority than consistency. Early on, she worked to make sure everyone understood their responsibilities and trusted one another to carry them out. “The clearest communication and assuming best intent of somebody,” she said, “those are the two things I always try to take into a role like that.”

The experience reinforced what had already become central to her time at Bowen: leadership often meant helping other people do their best work.

This weekend, Schoeppel Wilcox will graduate from Bowen Law after years defined as much by service and resilience as academic achievement. Following graduation, Schoeppel Wilcox will begin a two-year judicial clerkship with Chief U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker before joining the Rose Law Firm as a litigation associate. She said her externship with Judge Baker reaffirmed her belief in the legal system at its best: one grounded in preparation, fairness and respect for the people moving through it.

“There really is no substitute for being in the courtroom and watching it happen,” she said.

For Schoeppel Wilcox, the path to this point has rarely been linear or uncomplicated. But as she prepares to graduate, she is thinking less about achievement than about the opportunities people create for those who come after them.

She recently learned that her grandfather once started law school himself before leaving to support his family, a decision that shaped the choices available to those around him. Her father eventually became a lawyer, while her mother, the first in her family to attend college, became a teacher because, as Schoeppel Wilcox recalls, she “didn’t really know what else you could be other than that or a secretary.”

Now, as she and her wife prepare to welcome their first child later this summer, Schoeppel Wilcox hopes the life they are building will offer their child more freedom and possibility than earlier generations had themselves.

The post A Community Built: How Chacey Schoeppel Wilcox Became the Person Classmates Turned To appeared first on William H. Bowen School of Law.

It’s a place defined by structure—by process, order, and systems built to hold everything in place.

Nearly a decade ago, Linch was sleeping in his car.

Growing up in ������Ƶlogo with a loving family and a diploma from Catholic High, Linch’s path initially looked like that of many Arkansans: he headed to Fayetteville to attend the University of Arkansas.

But after a year of battling an undiagnosed anxiety disorder and a growing dependence on substances, he flunked out. That setback spiraled into years of addiction, homelessness, and brushes with the law. “I really thought life was over,” he said.

It wasn’t.

Through the grace of a compassionate prosecutor and a passionate defense attorney, Linch was offered a second chance instead of a criminal record. He took it.

That second chance led him to Renewal Ranch, a faith-based recovery program in Perryville. For the first time in years, he saw what he describes as “a glimmer of hope.”

He stayed, completed the program, and later joined the organization in fundraising and marketing. From there, he returned to school and earned his psychology degree from Central Baptist College. With that progress came a new goal. Linch began to see law school as the path forward, a way to help others the same way he had been helped.

“I knew I wasn’t done,” Linch said. “I wanted to keep going, but my grades from Fayetteville followed me. On paper, law school just didn’t seem possible.”

Part-Time Law Program for Working Professionals

At Bowen, that path became possible. When Linch learned about the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law’s LEAP Program, a six-week pathway for students whose transcripts might not reflect their true potential, he saw an opening. He applied, got in, and found the momentum he’d been missing.

“LEAP demystified law school,” he said. “I walked into my first day with study partners, real experience, and six weeks of contracts under my belt. It changed everything.”

From there, his path began to take shape.

Linch is now a second-year part-time student at Bowen, balancing coursework with a full-time role as Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs for Arkansas Lieutenant Governor Leslie Rutledge. He worked on Rutledge’s early campaign before addiction sidelined his future. She has remained a consistent supporter, something Linch says is rare in politics.

His experiences have shaped his focus.

“I’ve been to 11 funerals in five years,” he said. “Friends who didn’t make it. I had access to a resource that changed my life. That was a good attorney. I want to be that for someone else.”

At Bowen, Linch has found more than academic redemption. He’s found a community that meets students where they are and pushes them forward.

He points to professors like John Cook, who teaches legal writing and analysis, as a defining part of that experience. Cook is known for meeting with students after class ends at 9 p.m. or on weekends, doing whatever it takes to help them succeed.

That mentorship has already made a tangible impact. Linch is now a member of UA ������Ƶlogo Law Review, and his note has been selected for publication, an opportunity he credits in part to Cook’s encouragement to join and strengthen his writing.

Even while undergoing cancer treatment, Cook adjusted his own schedule to ensure students were prepared for finals. That level of commitment left an impression. “He’s the best educator I’ve ever had,” Linch said. “He wants you to understand it, not just get through it.”

For Linch, that kind of support isn’t the exception. It’s part of what makes Bowen different.

The part-time program at Bowen has made that path possible. It allows Linch to work full time at the Capitol while continuing his legal education, balancing coursework with the responsibilities that matter most at home.

He and his wife, Ellie, recently welcomed their first child, adding a new layer of purpose to an already demanding season of life. Grounded in his faith, Linch approaches that responsibility with a clear sense of direction and calling.

It is not easy.

But it is exactly the kind of path Bowen is designed to support, one where students can build a career that matters without putting their lives on hold.

Learn more about Bowen’s Part-Time Program.

The post A Future Reclaimed: Jon-Austen Linch’s Path from Addiction to the Law appeared first on William H. Bowen School of Law.

The announcement was made April 9 at a press conference held on the UA ������Ƶlogo campus as part of $12.75 million in federal funding secured for various programs and research. While in ������Ƶlogo, Senator Boozman also visited the law school where he attended a Veterans Legal Clinic class, met with students and faculty, and discussed their work providing legal services to Arkansas veterans. Students also engaged the senator with thoughtful questions about his background, public service, and work on issues affecting veterans, creating a meaningful exchange about the role of legal advocacy in supporting those who have served.

The Veterans Legal Services Clinic serves former servicemembers who have experienced service-related injuries or trauma, offering legal representation in VA disability compensation appeals and discharge upgrade cases. Under the supervision of a VA-accredited attorney, Bowen students in the clinic gain hands-on legal experience while providing meaningful service to veterans in need.

“This vital investment in Bowen’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic reflects a powerful truth: public legal education can and must serve the public good,” said Colin Crawford, dean of the law school. “By expanding access to legal support for those who served our country—many of whom face complex bureaucratic and personal hurdles—we uphold our mission to train ethical, service-oriented lawyers. I am grateful to Senator Boozman for recognizing the importance of this work and ensuring that veterans in Arkansas receive the assistance they deserve.”

As one of only a handful of legal clinics in the nation that offer a pro bono resource center along with their clinic, Bowen is able to assist over 200 veterans a year facing VA and civil legal issues.

“Establishing a full-service legal clinic for veterans housed at the Bowen School of Law will help ensure Arkansans who have served our nation can access reliable and quality legal support,” said Boozman. “I’m pleased to have championed this funding and expand upon the resources Arkansas veterans can depend on through a trusted entity such as UA ������Ƶlogo, and I look forward to seeing its impact unfold in the years to come.”

Senator Boozman serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee and has long supported veterans’ issues and public legal services.

Zach Baumgarten, director of the Veterans Legal Services Clinic, expressed appreciation for the expanded support.

“The Veterans Legal Services Clinic and Pro Bono Center are honored to receive this federal appropriation, and we are grateful to Senator Boozman and his staff for their support,” Baumgarten said. “This funding will allow us to expand our statewide program and strengthen outreach so veterans in every Arkansas county know they can turn to Bowen for help with VA disability claims, discharge upgrades and other civil legal needs. It is a meaningful way to give back to those who have served.”

The federal investment supports Bowen Law’s core mission of advancing access to justice, public service, and professionalism. As part of its nationally respected clinical program, the Veterans Legal Services Clinic reinforces the law school’s commitment to community-centered legal training and responsive legal education.

About the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law
Located in Arkansas’s capital city, the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law provides a nationally recognized, practice-ready legal education deeply connected to the state’s legal system. With a strong emphasis on access to justice, public service, and professionalism, Bowen’s hands-on approach is grounded in mentorship and real-world experience. Graduates are prepared to lead in courtrooms, boardrooms, and communities across Arkansas and beyond.

The post Sen. John Boozman Secures $750K for UA ������Ƶlogo Bowen School of Law Veterans Legal Services Clinic appeared first on William H. Bowen School of Law.

Timmis, who joined Bowen in late 2025, has spent the past several months leading the law school’s admissions and enrollment strategy. In her role, she oversees recruitment efforts, applicant engagement, and initiatives designed to support prospective students as they pursue legal education.

Prior to joining Bowen, Timmis practiced at Wright, Lindsey & Jennings as a registered patent attorney. She earned her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where she served as executive articles editor for the Mississippi Law Journal, chair of the Interprofessional Education Board, and a member of the Moot Court Board. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering, cum laude, from the University of Mississippi. A ������Ƶlogo native, Timmis is a graduate of Pulaski Academy.

“Working with prospective students is the most meaningful part of this role,” Timmis said. “I enjoy getting to know each person’s story, reading their experiences, and helping them see what’s possible for their future. I look forward to supporting students as they begin their journey toward becoming attorneys who make a difference in their communities.”

Wells recently stepped into her role as director of admissions after serving in the Bowen Admissions Office since 2023. A 2025 graduate of Bowen Law and a concurrent graduate of the Clinton School of Public Service, she brings a recent and personal perspective to the admissions process.

A first-generation college and law student from Pascagoula, Mississippi, Wells understands the challenges prospective students may face when considering legal education and is committed to making that path more accessible.

“I know firsthand how overwhelming the law school admissions process can feel, especially for students who may not see themselves reflected in the legal profession,” Wells said. “In this role, I’m committed to making that path more accessible by providing clear guidance, personal support, and encouragement every step of the way. I want every prospective student to feel that Bowen is a place where they belong and can succeed.”

Wells and Timmis are joined by Amy Rhea, who recently began serving as office coordinator for the Office of Admissions and Records. In this role, Rhea provides administrative support and serves as a first point of contact for prospective students, families, and visitors.

Rhea brings more than seven years of administrative experience in higher education, most recently serving as executive assistant in the Graduate School at the University of Missouri. A ������Ƶlogo native, Rhea holds a Master of Arts in professional and technical writing from UA ������Ƶlogo.

About the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law
Located in Arkansas’s capital city, the UA ������Ƶlogo William H. Bowen School of Law provides a nationally recognized, practice-ready legal education deeply connected to the state’s legal system. With a strong emphasis on access to justice, public service, and professionalism, Bowen’s hands-on approach is grounded in mentorship and real-world experience. Graduates are prepared to lead in courtrooms, boardrooms, and communities across Arkansas and beyond.

The post Bowen School of Law Announces Admissions Leadership Updates appeared first on William H. Bowen School of Law.

Penn is recognized for her decades of work expanding access to justice for underserved Arkansans through clinical legal education and community advocacy. She directs the Delta Divorce Clinic, which provides free legal assistance to individuals seeking divorces in counties across the Arkansas Delta where access to legal services is limited.

The clinic travels to rural communities to assist individuals who might otherwise be unable to afford legal representation or travel long distances to seek help. Through this work, Penn has helped expand access to critical legal services while addressing barriers faced by individuals in underserved regions.

At the same time, the clinic provides law students with hands-on experience working with real clients and navigating complex legal processes. The program has assisted hundreds of Arkansans facing challenging circumstances—including individuals experiencing domestic violence or financial hardship—while preparing students for client-centered legal practice.

“This award reflects the work of the many law students who have participated in the Delta Divorce Clinic and the Delta Experience Intersession since 2015,” Penn said. “Their dedication has made it possible to serve clients across more than a dozen counties in eastern Arkansas who might otherwise be unable to afford or access legal assistance. The clinic was designed to help people who are often left without options by the system. Together, we are making access to justice a reality.”

Penn was first selected as the Bowen School of Law’s recipient of the Faculty Excellence Award for Social Justice. She was then chosen as the university-level award winner, the highest honor awarded to faculty at UA ������Ƶlogo. She previously won the university-level award for public service in 2017.

The Social Justice Award was sponsored by Scott and Amy Schuh, Katherine Shoulders and an Anonymous Donor.

About the Awards
Established in 1989, the Faculty Excellence Awards have recognized outstanding faculty achievement for 35 years. The UA ������Ƶlogo Board of Visitors selected the university-wide winners from a pool of faculty members representing their respective colleges and the William H. Bowen School of Law. Each university-level award recipient will receive a $5,000 prize.

The post Penn Named 2026 Faculty Excellence University-Level Award Winner appeared first on William H. Bowen School of Law.