The United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Arkansas (3 positions total)
Article III of the United States Constitution places “the judicial power of the United States” in the federal courts. The United States District Court is the federal court with general trial jurisdiction to hear both civil and criminal matters. Judges of the United States District Court are appointed by the President, subject to the approval of the Senate, and they exercise the judicial power of the United States under Article III of the Constitution. For more information about the United States District Court, see www.are.uscourts.gov/default.cfm.
Externship positions are available with the following members of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas: Judge Bill Wilson, Judge D.P. Marshall Jr., and Judge Kristine G. Baker. The requirements for each position vary somewhat, so please see the more specific externship requirements below.
Judge Bill Wilson (1 position)
Judge Wilson was appointed to the United States District Court in 1993 by President Clinton. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Wilson was in private practice for over 25 years. He had a general practice with an emphasis on litigation. In 1988, he was named the Outstanding Trial Lawyer by the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association. In 1991, he received the Arkansas Bar Association’s Outstanding Lawyer Award. Judge Wilson is a graduate of Hendrix College and the Vanderbilt University School of Law.
An extern in Judge Wilson’s chambers will have the opportunity to work with Judge Wilson and his staff and observe proceedings like jury trials, bench trials, motion hearings, sentencing hearings, and status conferences. An extern also will have the opportunity to research and prepare legal memoranda. Because of the nature of the cases heard by the federal district court, Judge Wilson has a preference for externs who are in their third year of law school or the second semester of the second year, so that the externs will have had an opportunity to complete courses in Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, and other courses relevant to the work and jurisdiction of the federal district court. Judge Wilson’s staff will conduct telephone interviews and reference checks of students recommended for an externship with Judge Wilson prior to final approval of the placement. Accordingly, students who apply for an externship with Judge Wilson should list on their résumé at least two employment references and the contact information for those references.
Judge D.P. Marshall Jr. (1 position)
Judge D.P. Marshall Jr. joined the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in May 2010. He was on the Arkansas Court of Appeals for more than three years. Before joining the bench, he practiced law at Barrett & Deacon in Jonesboro. Judge Marshall attended Arkansas State University, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Harvard Law School. He clerked for U.S. Circuit Judge Richard S. Arnold. He is the co-author of Arkansas Civil Practice and Procedure (5th ed. 2011). Judge Marshall lives in Jonesboro with his wife, Polly, and their two daughters.
An extern serving in Judge Marshall’s chambers will work one-on-one with Judge Marshall and his staff. The extern will have the opportunity to develop strong analytical and writing skills by preparing memoranda and draft orders, attending court, and participating in staff meetings. To be eligible to serve as an extern in Judge Marshall’s chambers, a student must have excellent writing and research skills. Because Judge Marshall lives in Jonesboro, he typically works in Little Rock only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Accordingly, to provide a better externship experience for the student, Judge Marshall prefers that the extern work on one or more of those three days of the week. Judge Marshall also has a preference for externs who are in their third year of law school or the second semester of the second year, so that the externs will have had an opportunity to complete courses in Constitutional Law, Federal Courts, and other courses relevant to the work and jurisdiction of the federal district court. Judge Marshall and his staff will interview students recommended for an externship prior to final approval of the placement.
Judge Kristine G. Baker (1 position)
Judge Kristine G. Baker joined the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in May 2012. Prior to becoming a judge, she was a litigator in private practice for over 15 years. Most recently, she was a Managing Member of Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow in Little Rock. Judge Baker graduated summa cum laude from St. Louis University and magna cum laude from the University of Arkansas School of Law, where she served as Articles Editor of the Arkansas Law Review. She clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright before entering private practice.
An extern serving in Judge Baker’s chambers will work one-on-one with Judge Baker and her staff. The extern will have the opportunity to observe and learn more about federal court practice. The extern also will have the opportunity to develop strong analytical and writing skills by preparing memoranda and draft orders and the opportunity to observe proceedings like jury trials, bench trials, motion hearings, sentencing hearings, and status conferences. Judge Baker prefers that the extern be a third-year student or in the second semester of the second year and have taken Constitutional Law and other courses relevant to the work of a federal district court. Judge Baker and her staff will interview students recommended for the externship prior to final approval of the placement.
United States Magistrate Judges For The Eastern District Of Arkansas (2 positions total)
A federal magistrate judge is a trial level judge appointed by the other judges of the U.S. District Court for a term of eight years. A magistrate judge handles both civil and criminal matters. With respect to their civil case responsibilities, magistrates are generally assigned cases for specific purposes by way of General Order, Local Rule, or Order of Referral entered in the context of a specific case. They may rule on any dispositive matter by way of Order. However, with respect to motions to dismiss, for summary judgment, for preliminary injunctive relief, or for remand, they prepare Reports and Recommendations to the District Judges who have been assigned the case. If all parties to a civil dispute consent, a Magistrate Judge may be assigned a case for all purposes including trial and disposition. Some of the types of cases that federal magistrate judges hear include social security disability matters, § 1983 prisoners’ rights cases, and prisoner habeas petitions. Magistrate judges also hear applications for federal search warrants and approve or deny the warrant applications. Externship positions are available with the following magistrate judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas: Magistrate Judge Beth Deere and Magistrate Judge Joe J. Volpe. Please see the description for each externship below.
Magistrate Judge Beth Deere (1 position)
Beth Deere became a Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas in January of 2007. Before that, she was a partner at Williams & Anderson PLC in Little Rock where she practiced business litigation, including first amendment, appellate, and employment law. She was selected for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America” while in private practice. She is co-author, along with the late Judge Henry Woods, of Comparative Fault (third edition), and is a frequent contributor to “The Arkansas Lawyer” magazine. Judge Deere currently serves as Chair of the Eighth Circuit Model Civil Instruction Subcommittee and as President of the Henry Woods Inn of Court. She graduated with honors from the UALR School of Law in 1986, and she has taught as an adjunct lecturer at both the college and law school levels.
An extern in Judge Deere’s chambers will have the opportunity to work with Judge Deere and her staff and observe proceedings such as plea and arraignment hearings, detention hearings, bond revocation hearings, motion hearings, evidentiary hearings in § 1983 cases, and trials. An extern also will have the opportunity to research and prepare legal memoranda for Judge Deere and her staff. Judge Deere and her staff will interview students recommended for the externship prior to final approval of the placement.
Magistrate Judge Joe J. Volpe (1 position)
On July 30, 2009, Chief United States District Judge J. Leon Holmes swore in Joe J. Volpe as United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Judge Volpe succeeded John Forster, Jr., the Magistrate Judge for whom Volpe previously clerked.
The son of a career Army officer, Joe Volpe has lived in numerous places around the United States and overseas. He is a 1988 graduate of the United States Military Academy and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army Field Artillery. He spent four years on active duty as an artillery officer and was stationed in Oklahoma, California, Colorado, and The Republic of Turkey. Upon leaving the active Army, he moved to Little Rock where he graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law. After graduating from law school, Joe Volpe spent some time clerking in state and federal court. In October 2001, the Arkansas Army National Guard activated him and he deployed to Egypt for 7 months. Upon his return, he was hired as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Little Rock where he served for approximately 7 years.
An extern in Judge Volpe’s chambers will have the opportunity to work with Judge Volpe and his staff and observe proceedings such as plea and arraignment hearings, detention hearings, bond revocation hearings, motion hearings, evidentiary hearings in § 1983 cases, and trials. An extern also will have the opportunity to research and prepare legal memoranda for Judge Volpe and his staff. Judge Volpe and his staff will interview students recommended for the externship prior to final approval of the placement.
The United States Bankruptcy Court For The Eastern And Western Districts Of Arkansas (3 positions total)
Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution authorizes Congress to enact “uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies.” The United States Bankruptcy Court is a federal court that has subject matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. While the United States district courts technically have subject matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy matters, most district courts, including the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, have a standing “reference” order referring all bankruptcy matters to the Bankruptcy Court for that district. Thus, all bankruptcy cases are filed and administered in bankruptcy court (unless, in unusual circumstances, the reference is withdrawn.)
Although there are separate Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, there is only one Bankruptcy Court for both the Eastern and Western Districts. Arkansas’s Bankruptcy Court is located in Little Rock, with a satellite office in Fayetteville. For more information about the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Arkansas, see www.arb.uscourts.gov.
Externship positions are available with the following members of the Bankruptcy Court who are located in Little Rock: Judge Audrey R. Evans, Judge James G. Mixon, and Chief Judge Richard D. Taylor. The requirements for each position vary somewhat, so please see the more specific externship requirements below.
Judge Audrey R. Evans (1 position)
Judge Audrey R. Evans was appointed to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas in February 2002. She served as Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court from January 2003 until 2009. Judge Evans began her legal career clerking for G. Thomas Eisele, then Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Prior to her appointment as bankruptcy judge, Judge Evans represented both debtors and creditors in private practice. Judge Evans is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy, a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Debtor-Creditor Law Section of the Arkansas Bar Association, and the Debtor-Creditor Bar of Central Arkansas. Judge Evans graduated Cum Laude from the University of Texas at Austin in 1967 and received her J.D., with high honors, in 1983 from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law, where she was Associate Editor of the UALR Law Journal.
An extern in Judge Evans’s chambers will attend hearings and trials, discuss pleadings and evidence with Judge Evans and her law clerks prior to and during such hearings and trials, and research and draft opinions and/or orders for pre-trial motions and matters taken under advisement. Students who apply for this position should have a specific interest in bankruptcy law. It is strongly preferred, but not required, that students complete the basic course in bankruptcy law prior to beginning this externship. Judge Evans and her staff will interview students recommended for the externship prior to final approval of the placement.
Judge James G. Mixon (1 position)
Judge James G. Mixon was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on March 26, 1984. From February 1, 1993, until December 31, 2002, Judge Mixon served as Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court. He is a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Debtor-Creditor Bar of Central Arkansas. Judge Mixon began his legal career as a law clerk at the Arkansas Supreme Court, and he later served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas from 1969 until 1973. From 1973 until he took the bench in 1984, Judge Mixon was in private practice with the firm of Little, McCollum, and Mixon in Bentonville, Arkansas, where he also served for two years as the Bentonville City Attorney. From 1979 to 1984, Judge Mixon also served as the Interim Trustee for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas. Judge Mixon received his LL.B. degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville School of Law in 1968. He has served as an adjunct professor at the UALR Bowen School of Law.
An extern in Judge Mixon’s chambers will have the opportunity to work with Judge Mixon and his staff and to observe hearings and trials. An extern also will have the opportunity to research and draft legal memoranda and opinions and/or orders. Judge Mixon and his staff will interview students recommended for the externship prior to final approval of the placement.
Chief Judge Richard D. Taylor (1 position)
Chief Judge Richard D. Taylor was appointed to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on January 3, 2003. He is an honors graduate of Centenary College in Louisiana and the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, where he served on the law review. After graduating from law school in 1980, Judge Taylor joined the firm of Friday, Eldredge and Clark in Little Rock, where his practice focused on bankruptcy law. He was a partner in the firm from 1985 until he took the bench. Judge Taylor also has served as an adjunct professor at both the Bowen School of Law and the UAF School of Law, teaching bankruptcy reorganization and business reorganizations.
Judge Taylor’s perspective of the extern experience is viewing trials and participating in the deliberative process. His hope is that an extern will learn from the experience relative to specific trial tactics or practices, as well as matters concerning general attorney conduct between lawyers and the courts. Trial tactics will be constructively discussed. Additionally, an extern will be expected to contribute to discussions resulting in the Court’s ruling. On occasion, there will be mundane activities dealing with office and administrative procedures and issues. On other occasions, the extern will be asked to research a particular issue that is pertinent to ongoing litigation. Seldom will this require a memo, as the emphasis will be on finding the applicable rule or statute and, if appropriate, related case law.
The requirements for this position include a sense of humor and an interest in litigation and the work of a judge’s chambers. Judge Taylor will interview prospective externs to assess these qualities. No background or experience in bankruptcy law is necessary for this position.
