Brian H. Ratcliff

Alexandra Ifrah is a partner in the Employee Benefits Practice Group of Friday, Eldredge & Clark and serves on the firm's Management Committee. Since joining the firm in 1999, Alexandra has concentrated her practice on the representation of employers from a myriad of industries in complex employee benefits, taxation and executive compensation matters. Alexandra has extensive experience in the design, implementation, compliance and administration of tax-qualified retirement plans (includin...

Mr. Hendrix has practiced law for twenty-five years, specializing in complex criminal litigation that includes white collar, public corruption, and death penalty cases. He has served as the Chair of the Criminal Law Section of the Arkansas Bar, where he founded subcommittees for Indigent Defense and Death Penalty Oversight, and presently serves on the Arkansas Bar’s Editorial Board and Joint Task Force on Time Standards. He is past Vice-President and Editor-in-Chief of the Arkansas Asso...

Professional Experience Justin Allen practiced law as a litigator for almost eight years at Wright Lindsey Jennings before joining the Arkansas Attorney General’s office as Chief Deputy Attorney General. As Chief Deputy, Allen gained considerable experience in government relations matters. In that position, Allen was responsible for all legal departments within the office and handled legal issues faced by the State, including constitutional issues, consumer protection, environmental, an...

Stuart Jackson has been practicing in the employment law field for over thirty years and focuses his practice on advising employers on compliance with civil rights/employment laws and developing personnel policies and employment agreements. Jackson recently has focused his time on assisting employers on medical marijuana issues and on defending employers in wage and hour class and collective action litigation. Jackson defends employers in federal and state court litigation and appeals, includ...

Beth Echols is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Beth, who practices law in Little Rock, Arkansas, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Beth is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jeb Joyce focuses his practice on a broad range of transactional matters, with a concentration in commercial real estate and commercial finance. He represents both lenders and borrowers in the negotiation and closing of commercial loans and also regularly provides transactional legal opinions. Mr. Joyce has extensive experience advising clients on commercial lease agreements for both landlords and tenants, real estate conveyances, and formation and governance of horizontal property regimes. I...

Patrick Spivey is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law, Corporate Law and Litigation - Real Estate. Patrick, who practices law in Little Rock, Arkansas, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Patrick is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Derrick Smith is an experienced strategic advisor and advocate assisting national and regional clients in insurance regulatory law, compliance, investigative, and legislative matters. He represents insurance clients in their interactions with state insurance departments throughout the United States providing counsel on insurance law and regulatory compliance. He has substantial experience representing regulated businesses and entities in all aspects of government relations including legislati...

Jay T. Taylor is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate/Commercial Transactions Practice Group. Jay’s practice is focused heavily on commercial financing transactions. Jay has substantial experience structuring and closing New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transactions, renewable energy tax credit transactions, low-income housing tax credit transactions and conventional commercial real estate and commercial/industrial lending transactions. Jay is nationally recognized as a qualified acti...

Walter Wright has more than 30 years of experience in environmental, energy (petroleum marketing), and water law. His expertise includes counseling clients on issues involving environmental permits, compliance strategies, enforcement defense, property redevelopment issues, environmental impact statements, and procurement/management of water rights. He routinely advises developers, lenders, petroleum marketers, and others about effective strategies for structuring real estate and corporate tra...