S. Shane Baker

Danielle Whitehouse Owens is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Danielle Whitehouse, who practices law in Little Rock, Arkansas, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Danielle Whitehouse is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jim Smith is a founding partner of Smith Hurst, PLC. Jim’s practice experience is extensive and spans the full range of business advisory and transactional law. He routinely counsels companies across diverse industries in a myriad of business matters including capital raising, advising Boards of Directors, senior management, executives and controlling shareholders regarding governance and fiduciary duty matters, compliance with regulatory obligations, ordinary course of business contrac...

Mark Mayfield is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Employment Law - Management and Workers' Compensation Law - Employers. Mark, who practices law in Jonesboro, Arkansas, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Mark is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Mike Shannon has over 30 years of experience in complex commercial litigation, with a practice that includes eminent domain, class action defense, products liability, e-discovery, toxic torts, medical malpractice defense, bid protests, and issues affecting the outdoor advertising industry. He has represented a broad range of clients—from multinational manufacturers and financial institutions to closely held businesses and high-net-worth individuals—across various matters, includin...

Graham Talley litigates and tries complex, multi-party and class action disputes for clients in the healthcare, insurance, retail and banking industries. In recent years, Graham has served as trial counsel more than a half dozen times, all in cases with millions of dollars at stake. His focus on trials often involves the preparation and cross-examination of scientific witnesses, the presentation of complex argument on legal issues during trial and the preservation of error.

Marshall S. Ney is a member of the firm's Management Committee and serves as litigation counsel to businesses, insurance companies, school districts and individuals in most types of complex and commercial disputes, employment claims and insurance coverage issues. His litigation experience is extensive and includes class action litigation, noncompetition agreements, trade secrets, corporate dissolutions, discrimination suits, business contracts, bankruptcy discharge challenges, insurance contr...

Scott Richardson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Education Law. Scott, 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 Scott is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Tom Baxter is the head of the Estate Planning, Trusts and Estates Practice Group, serves on the firm’s Management Committee and is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Tom focuses his practice on tax planning for individuals and businesses, estate planning, the administration of trusts and estates, and probate matters. He also represents clients in state and local tax matters, tax controversies, and issues of general business and corporate taxation, including ma...

Neil Chamberlin is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Neil, who practices law in Little Rock, Arkansas, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Neil is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

K. Coleman Westbrook, Jr., is a partner in the firm’s Estate Planning Practice Group. His practice consists of performing analysis and planning for individuals with regard to gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes; charitable and other lifetime and testamentary transfers; probate and estate, trust and non-profit/tax-exempt administration.Coleman’s practice includes the drafting of and advising wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, beneficiary desi...