History

H. Maurice Mitchell

Mitchell Williams Firm History
Since its inception in 1954, Mitchell Williams has enjoyed substantial growth over its 57-year history. The beginnings of our firm are strongly rooted in the values, ambitions and tradition of excellence of firm founder, H. Maurice Mitchell — a business leader who was one of Arkansas’ most distinguished attorneys and philanthropists.

The Beginning
Maurice Mitchell earned his Juris Doctorate from the Law School at Washington and Lee University in 1948, and quickly began his long and distinguished professional career.

On track to what would become a successful legal career spanning more than five decades, Mitchell’s course was soon interrupted when, while studying for the bar, he was informed that his previously-filed application with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Unit of the Internal Revenue Service had been accepted. Mitchell upheld his commitment and accepted the job as an agent with the IRS.

After chasing down bootleggers in the Ozark Mountains for only a short period of time, Mitchell decided to leave his position with the IRS to return to his passion for practicing law. Mitchell applied for and was appointed to the position of Assistant Attorney for the Arkansas Revenue Department by then Governor Sid McMath (1949-51). He was admitted to the state bar in 1949 and entered the private practice of law in Little Rock in 1951.

On April 1, 1951, Mitchell opened his own office in the Pyramid Building in downtown Little Rock — a place where most lawyers who were actively engaged in the full-time practice of law were located. Armed with only a manual typewriter, a telephone and no secretary, Mitchell soon received an invitation that put him on the path to his success.

In 1952, Little Rock visionary Rodney Parham and his son invited Mitchell to share offices with them, which allowed him the luxury of a part-time secretary. After being elected to the Chancery Court, Parham then arranged for a more experienced lawyer to share an office with his son, but, at the same time, arranged for Mitchell to share offices with local attorney Henry Spitzberg.

The Era of Growth
In 1953, Mitchell’s long time friend, Steele Hays, graduated from George Washington University Law School and was working in the office of his father, Congressman Brooks Hays. Mitchell urged Hays to come to Little Rock and share offices with him. Hays accepted his offer and joined Spitzberg, Mitchell and well-known utility attorney, P. A. Lasley. After a few months of sharing offices, Mitchell suggested the formation of a firm.

On January 1, 1954, the firm was created under the name Lasley, Spitzberg, Mitchell & Hays.

Lasley left the firm in 1956 to become associated with another utilities lawyer. Spitzberg ceased active practice in 1973 after suffering a stroke two years earlier, but continued to be of counsel to the firm until his death in 1990. Hays left the firm in 1979 to become a judge on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, and was elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1980 where he served with distinction for 14 years.

In 1979, Allan Gates, former law clerk to U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Chief Judge Pat Mehaffy and U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Harry A. Blackmun, left an environmental law practice in Washington, D.C. to join Mitchell.

In 1980, the firm of Williams, Selig & Sayre merged with Mitchell’s firm. This merger brought four additional lawyers, Richard A. Williams, John S. Selig (former Arkansas Securities Commissioner), Eugene G. Sayre, and Jean D. Stockburger, which added a thriving tax, corporate, and securities practice to the firm.

In 1983, former Arkansas Insurance Commissioner, William H.L. Woodyard, III, joined the firm, and the Insurance Regulatory Practice Group was created.

In 1991, the firm officially changed its name to Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. as it is today.

In 1992, Ernie Lawrence of Bentonville, Arkansas, merged his practice with the firm, creating an office in Rogers, Arkansas. In 1997, the merger of Ivester & Camp brought three additional lawyers, Hermann Ivester, Robbie Camp and Stan D. Smith.

The Firm of Today
In 1998, the firm moved its offices to the TCBY Tower, now known as the Metropolitan National Bank Tower, and occupied the 17th, 18th and 19th floors where it is headquartered today. The northwest Arkansas office, still located in Rogers in the Mitchell Williams Building, has grown to 13 attorneys.

In 2007, the firm announced its first expansion into Texas with the opening of a third office in Austin. The office saw further growth in July 2008, when it joined with the long-time insurance regulatory and litigation firm of Long, Burner, Parks & DeLargy, PC. The strategic move allowed the firm to enhance our service offerings for the hundreds of insurers, healthcare organizations, corporations, financial institutions, trade associations, legislators, and state regulators we represent.

Barry G. Skolnick joined Mitchell Williams’ Insurance Regulatory practice the same month, giving the firm its first New York presence.

In an effort to expand its national insurance practice focus in the areas of healthcare regulation, legislation and reform, Mitchell Williams announced the formal opening of a Washington, D.C. office in March 2011. The office is led by attorney Randi Reichel, previously an independent consultant with a national practice whose clients included America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).

Providing strategic counsel on a variety of sophisticated legal matters since 1954, Mitchell Williams combines decades of diverse professional experience with extensive relationships to offer clients across the United States the most comprehensive services possible. Today, the firm employs 77 attorneys from five offices in Arkansas, Texas, New York and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.MitchellWilliamsLaw.com.

H. Maurice Mitchell
On April 2, 2011, Mitchell Williams sadly announced the passing of our counselor, mentor and cherished friend, H. Maurice Mitchell at the age of 85.  The firm founder and distinguished attorney left a legacy of philanthropy and civic service that continues as part of the core fabric of our culture today.

Mitchell was instrumental in establishing the firm’s statewide and regional reputation in the field of banking and finance law, having handled the first conversion of an Arkansas federally-chartered savings and loan association into a national bank. 

He also spent many years representing Arkansas nationally on the political front, including having served as chairman of U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers’ campaign finance committee in 1992 while also serving as a member of the William J. Clinton presidential campaign’s national finance committee, and delegate to the Democratic National Convention the same year. Additionally, he served on the Clinton-Gore national finance committee in 1996 and was legal counsel to the Democratic Party of Arkansas from 1993 to 1998.

As a graduate of the Little Rock school system, Mitchell had an intense personal interest in the polarizing 1957 desegregation crisis at Little Rock Central High School. He worked behind the scenes in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the closing of the area’s public schools in 1958, and then aided a successful effort to recall segregationist school board members in 1959 (known as the S.T.O.P. campaign). Mitchell’s lifelong commitment to the city’s public school system was further evidenced by his service as chairman of numerous campaigns to secure additional funding for the public schools.

Mitchell’s progressive views and civic-mindedness were never confined to education. He was an active member and leader of numerous organizations, including the Little Rock Junior Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas State Junior Chamber of Commerce, Fifty for the Future, Baptist Health Foundation, Pulaski Heights UMC Foundation, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Foundation Fund Board.

Among Mitchell’s many accolades and awards, the 1992 dedication and naming of the H. Maurice Mitchell Courtroom at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Bowen School of Law was one of the most significant. His efforts were recognized often by a varied and distinguished group of organizations, including the National Humanitarian Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews in Arkansas, the Vincent Foster Jr. Outstanding Lawyer Award from the Pulaski County Bar Association, the Edwin Hanlon Memorial Award for Outstanding Individual Contributions to the Arts from the Little Rock Arts and Humanities Association, the Outstanding Service Award from the Arkansas Bar Foundation, the William F. Rector Memorial Award for Distinguished Civic Achievement from Fifty for the Future, the Citizen of the Year Award from the Arkansas Chapter of the March of Dimes, and the Winthrop Rockefeller Memorial Award from the Arkansas Arts Center.