Duke, Hargraves, McNulty, Pipkin, and Whatley Now Members
January 07, 2016
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Jan. 7, 2015) – Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. has elected five counsel to the firm’s membership, elevating the status of Jane W. Duke, Megan D. Hargraves, Christopher A. McNulty, Brian A. Pipkin, and Karen Whatley.
Jane Duke is a former United States Attorney and a seasoned trial lawyer. She has significant grand jury, courtroom, trial and appellate experience. Ms. Duke joined the firm’s litigation section after serving nearly 11 years with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Her tenure with that office began as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division. Her accomplishments as an Assistant United States Attorney included numerous successful prosecutions as lead counsel in cases involving white collar crime, child exploitation, drug trafficking, and public corruption.
Megan Hargraves served as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert Brown, Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, from 2008 to 2010 and for the Honorable Ronald Sheffield, Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, in 2010. She currently practices in the areas of civil litigation and appellate advocacy. She defends clients in medical malpractice litigation and is a member of the Mitchell Williams trial team in many of the firm’s complex products liability and insurance defense cases, with an emphasis on drafting dispositive motions and appellate briefs.
Christopher McNulty has extensive experience in several areas of business/commercial litigation, including breach of contract, business torts, bankruptcy, foreclosure, landlord/tenant disputes, and collection. He represents clients in the areas of workout negotiations, bankruptcy, non-bankruptcy litigation, and complex Chapter 11 issues. Mr. McNulty also practices probate and trust litigation and has spearheaded electronic discovery projects, including document reviews and production, for clients. He was selected as one of Arkansas Business’s 40 Under 40 rising stars in 2014. Mr. McNulty regularly presents at continuing legal education (CLE) seminars on topics such as landlord/tenant issues related to bankruptcy, evictions, and collection matters. He is also a member of the Firm’s Recruiting Committee. From 2008 to 2009, Mr. McNulty served as a Staff Attorney to The Honorable Richard D. Taylor, United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas.
Brian Pipkin provides legal counsel to insurance companies, insurance producers, and other types of insurance-related entities in regard to a wide range of regulatory compliance and corporate matters, including company formation, admissions, product filing, mergers and acquisitions, producer and other insurance-related entity licensing, holding company issues, and financial and market conduct examinations. Mr. Pipkin served as a law clerk for the Honorable Robert L. Brown, Associate Justice for the Arkansas Supreme Court, from 2008 to 2010 and received the highest score on the Arkansas Bar Exam in July of 2008.
Karen Whatley is an Arkansas raised attorney with over 20 years of litigation experience. Ms. Whatley represents corporations, small businesses, non-profit organizations, individuals, nursing homes and insurance companies addressing numerous litigation needs. Utilizing her nearly 14 years of service as an Assistant United States Attorney, Ms. Whatley represents corporations in investigations of fraud or other illegal acts perpetrated by employees and can direct internal investigations of corporations regarding violation of policy as well as government and regulatory compliance matters.
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About Mitchell Williams
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 more than 80 attorneys from four offices in Arkansas and Texas. For more information, visit www.MitchellWilliamsLaw.com.