Cheryl Chapman
Cheryl Chapman serves as the secretary for Community Legal Access. She is honored to serve on the board because she believes in the power of service to provide a helping hand and to strengthen communities. She holds a Masters of Arts in Technical and Expository Writing from the University of Arkansas – Little Rock and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Arkansas for a 36-year professional career in philanthropic work. Cheryl is semi-retired from UALR as founding director of UALR Children International where she helped raise more than $7 million to support programs for underserved children and established the only school-based dental clinic in Arkansas, the Future Smiles Dental Clinic.
Kathryn Searcy
Experienced Adjunct Professor Of Law with a demonstrated history of working in the legal services industry. Strong education professional skilled in Policy Analysis, Organizational Development, Social Media, Training, Financial Services,
and Rural Health.
Lee Richardson
Lee Richardson is a native of Melbourne, Arkansas and a graduate of Melbourne High School. He was admitted to practice in Arkansas in 1987 and began his legal career in solo practice in Melbourne, then had a brief stint as an Inmate Attorney for the Arkansas Department of Corrections before joining Legal Services of Northeast Arkansas in 1991. During his Legal Aid career, he has served in several capacities including staff attorney, managing attorney, litigation director, and deputy director. In 2005, Mr. Richardson became the executive director for Legal Aid of Arkansas. He had previously served for two years as executive director of Legal Services of Northeast Arkansas.
Mike Watts
Mike Watts is the treasurer of Community Legal Access. He is a Professor Emeritus (a fancy way of saying he’s retired) from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR). His 34-year career at UALR primarily included teaching accounting, taxation and business law. Mike is a Certified Public Accountant and an attorney. He is a member and has held various positions with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants(CPAs) and the Arkansas Society of CPAs. In 1971, Mike came to Arkansas as a VISTA volunteer and is well aware of the challenges facing the underserved, which is much of Arkansas’ population. One of those major barriers is access to legal services. Mike sees CLA as a vital organization who can fill that basic need for so many Arkansans.
Rachel Freeman
As a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer in the courtroom, I began to learn about issues surrounding children and families that I hadn’t known before. Through the attorney ad litem I found family law, which demands compassion and respect for children and families as they experience very difficult times. As I learned more about dependency/neglect cases, I quickly realized that this area needed more support, particularly with attorney ad litem services. I was fortunate to watch and learn from her, which resulted in my journey of becoming an attorney.
I deeply understand the need to serve the children and families in this area – my community – where I have invested my own children and family. It will be a joy to continue to serve that community.
Tony Mansell
Anthony “Tony” Mansell is the Executive Director of Community Legal Access, and has served in that capacity since the beginning. He worked along with Stefanie Blahut, an attorney who formerly resided in Arkansas (and who deserves a lot of credit), to bring this concept into being.Tony is currently a practicing attorney in Little Rock, Arkansas. His professional background includes a period of years working as an engineer for Arkansas Power & Light Company (now Entergy – Arkansas), as well as years of service on the faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock teaching mathematics. He harbors great respect for the conclusions of science and scientists, and believes that from those to whom much is given, much is expected.
Amy Johnson
Amy Dunn Johnson is a family court judge serving the 6th Judicial District of Arkansas. She was elected to serve in this role in 2020, and assumed the bench January 1, 2021. Her docket includes cases involving divorce, custody, visitation, child support, domestic violence, guardianships, trusts and estates, and involuntary commitments.
Amy previously served for more than eleven years as Executive Director of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission, where she coordinated statewide efforts to ensure civil justice for all Arkansans. She also served as the CEO of the Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation and Arkansas IOLTA Program, which engage in resource development and grantmaking initiatives to support the objective of increasing access to justice. Prior to her time with Arkansas Access to Justice, Amy spent six years in private practice in the health care regulatory field.
In addition to her work in the legal sector, Amy is an advocate for initiatives that promote health and equity. She is a founding board member of Harmony Health Clinic, a free health clinic that serves low-income uninsured residents of Pulaski County. In 2012, she was one of ten national recipients of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders Award. Amy also serves on UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law Racial Disparities Project Steering Committee and Rural Incubator Project Advisory Committee
Maximillan Sprinkle
Maximillan Sprinkle brings years of entrepreneurial experience and creative problem-solving into the legal world. Before starting a law practice, Sprinkle founded and operated small businesses in Pine Bluff and Little Rock, Arkansas. Since 2013, Attorney Sprinkle has handled cases involving civil litigation, defense, civil rights claims, and appeals in Arkansas courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
In the community, Sprinkle has served several nonprofit boards, including Communities Unlimited, W. Harold Flowers Law Society, and Local First Arkansas.
Sprinkle completed studies at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.
Bernard Williams
Bernard A. Williams is the founder of the Company Counsel, LLC, where he focuses his practice on representing local and regional small business owners. His areas of specialization include complex commercial litigation and business disputes, general civil litigation, management consulting, and employment law.
Community Legal Access
1501 N. University Ave. Suite 218
Little Rock, AR 72207
Phone: 501-478-9344 (call or text)
Email: Director@Communitylegalaccess.org
Follow us on Facebook!
Hours:
Monday – Friday 9am- 5pm