AAC
FEATURE
Melissa Hollowell
New RMF litigation counsel joins AAC staff
Story and Photo by holland doran AAC Communications Coordinator
Her mother may not have viewed it as constructive at the time, but her capacity to argue helped her become the first college graduate and attorney in her family, achievements her parents were proud of. “My parents were always very supportive and stressed the
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importance of education,” she said. Along with her ability to persuade, Hollowell is accom- plished in English, reading and writing. Tese abilities helped her in pursuing a law profession.
“I thought that being an attorney would be a good career, and that I would be able to utilize my strengths,” Hollowell said. Hollowell is now using her strengths as litigation counsel at
AAC, where she began Jan. 1, 2019. Hollowell was born in Belleville, Ill., but her family is from Ar- kansas. Tey moved back to the state when she was 12 years old. In 2011, she moved to Little Rock while she pursued her undergraduate and law degrees. In 2014, she earned a bachelor’s in business administration with honors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and in 2017 she earned a Juris Doctorate degree with hon- ors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.
While attending law school and studying for the bar exam,
which she passed on the first try, Hollowell worked as a law clerk at the AAC from June 2015-May 2017. As a clerk, she gained experience in auto defense litigation and codification. After she finished her law clerk stint, Hollowell worked for a law firm in Arkadelphia for about a year. Tere, she specialized in personal injury work, which is the opposite of what she’s doing now as a litigation counsel who
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t a young age Melissa Hollowell was able to make a case — one of the first signs a law career would be in her future. “My mom tells me that I always liked to argue.”
defends county officials and employees. Tis experience has proven to be valuable. “It was really useful for me to see the other side of what I’m doing now/what I did here as a clerk, and to learn how per- sonal injury attorneys think and what factors are important to them in a case,” she said. “I think that this gives me a better perspective on auto cases, and it helps me to be able to evaluate the case from the viewpoint of both sides.” As litigation counsel, Hollowell spends the majority of her
time researching and writing, and asking defendants questions to help her make a case. Tis is true for both county drivers and jails. “I will need to be in touch with the driver of our vehicle,” she said. “I will need to know exactly what happened during the accident so I know the best strategy for defending them.” If she is defending a county jail against a lawsuit from an inmate, Hollowell may need to question the jail’s policies and practices, and the details around an inmate’s incarceration. Hollowell has found that a law career requires a balancing act, which can be challenging.
“I think one of the most challenging aspects of being an at- torney is finding how to successfully balance my practice and everything that I have to get accomplished,” she said. “Also, it can be really challenging to come up with creative new argu- ments in some cases.” Life is not all about litigating for Hollowell. In her spare time she likes to travel and spend time with her dog, Grant. On weekends you can find her having brunch, spending time with friends and family, and watching Razorback football.
COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2019
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