WPM Blog

JONESBORO - An area designated for students, which includes a lounge and a reference and seminar room named in honor of two local attorneys, will be dedicated in a special ceremony Friday, Feb. 10, at noon at Arkansas State University.

Jonesboro, AR, United States -- Womack Phelps Puryear Mayfield & McNeil, P.A. attorney John V. Phelps was recently selected as 2017 "Lawyer of the Year" for Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants in the Jonesboro area. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the "Lawyer of the Year," making this accolade particularly significant. These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer-review assessments. Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among other leading lawyers in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism, and their integrity. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence.

Jonesboro, AR, United States -- Womack Phelps Puryear Mayfield & McNeil, P.A. is pleased to announce that two lawyers have been named to the 2017 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. Best Lawyers has published their list for over three decades, earning the respect of the profession, the media, and the public as the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals. Its first international list was published in 2006 and since then has grown to provide lists in over 65 countries. "For more than a third of a century," says CEO Steven Naifeh, "Best Lawyers has been the gold standard of excellence in the legal profession." President Phil Greer adds, "We are extremely proud of that record and equally proud to  acknowledge the accomplishments of these exceptional legal professionals." Lawyers on The Best Lawyers in America list are divided by geographic region and practice areas. They are reviewed by their peers on the basis of professional expertise, and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing. Womack Phelps Puryear Mayfield & McNeil, P.A. would like to congratulate the following attorneys named to The Best Lawyersin America list:

Jonesboro, AR, United States -- U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers, for the sixth consecutive year, announce the "Best Law Firms" rankings. Womack Phelps Puryear Mayfield & McNeil, P.A. has been ranked in the 2017 U.S. News - Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" list regionally in three practice areas. Firms included in the 2017 "Best Law Firms" list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. The 2017 Edition of "Best Law Firms" includes rankings in 74 national practice areas and 122 metropolitan-based practice areas. One "Law Firm of the Year" is named in each of the 74 nationally ranked practice areas. Ranked firms, presented in tiers, are listed on a national and/or metropolitan scale. Receiving a tier designation reflects the high level of respect a firm has earned among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism and their integrity.

Congratulations to WPM partner, Mark Mayfield, on being named 2016-2017 Chairman of the Board of Jonesboro Regional Chamber of Commerce at the 101st Annual Meeting of the Chamber in October.

JONESBORO, AR – January, 2016 – The Jonesboro, Arkansas, based law firm of Womack Phelps Puryear Mayfield & McNeil recently named Ryan M. Wilson a principal of the firm.

Congratulations to Richard Lusby on being elected Circuit Court Judge of District 2, the Division 2 position.  The Second Judicial District consists of Clay, Crittenden, Craighead, Greene, Mississippi and Poinsett Counties.  He will be sworn into service on January 1, 2017.

The U.S.News – Best Lawyers®, the leading survey of lawyers worldwide, have ranked WPM as a “Tier 1 Best Law Firm” for 2015. Rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes peer review from leading attorneys in their field.

Arkansas Bar President Tom Womack was presented with the Champion of Justice Award for 2011 by Legal Aid of Arkansas at a meeting of Benton County attorneys in April. Charles Harwell, Springdale attorney and President-Elect of the Arkansas Bar Association, presented Mr. Womack with his award.

September 2011- WPM has been recognized as the top medium-size law firm in Arkansas for Business and Transactions in the 2011 Business Edition of Super Lawyers. WPM is the only firm in the state to receive this honor.

July 1, 2011- WPM has recently announced the addition of Wade Bowen as an associate attorney in the Jonesboro, Arkansas office. A native of Jonesboro, Mr. Bowen is a 2007 cum laude graduate of the University of Arkansas, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree. Wade obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2010, where he was a member of the Journal of Food Law and Policy. Wade furthered his legal studies at Southern Methodist University, where he received his Master of Laws in Taxation in 2011. Mr. Bowen is licensed to practice in Arkansas, and is a member of the American, Arkansas, and Craighead County Bar Associations. His practice will focus mainly on the areas of business law, trusts and estates, and partnership and corporate taxation.

June 2011 –Tom D. Womack of Jonesboro will be sworn is as the president of the Arkansas Bar Association on June 10, 2011. The swearing-in ceremony by Chief Justice Jim Hannah will take place during the Association’s annual meeting at the Hot Springs Convention Center at noon on Friday. Mr. Womack is the president of WPM in Jonesboro.

Several attorneys from the law firm of WPM have once again been selected as Mid-South Super Lawyers. Tom D. Womack, John V. Phelps, Richard A. Lusby, and Jeffrey W. Puryear were all recently recognized by the Mid-South Edition of Super Lawyers, as outstanding attorneys in their areas of practice. Attorneys Womack and Phelps also received the additional distinction of being chosen as two of the Top 50 Lawyers in Arkansas for the fifth consecutive year.

ARKANSAS BAR ASSOCIATION - LITTLE ROCK – Tom Womack assumed the office of President-Elect of the Arkansas Bar Association at the Association's Annual Meeting on June 12, 2010 

JONESBORO – Partner Jeffrey W. Puryear was recently recognized by the Arkansas Pro Bono Partnership for his exemplary service to Arkansas Volunteer Lawyers for the Elderly (AVLE). In a special Winter 2010 publication of The Arkansas Lawyer highlighting the Arkansas Pro Bono Partnership, Puryear was commended for his commitment to pro bono service. Puryear attributes this commitment to his desire to give back to those in need of legal advice who lack the necessary resources, and he regards the Arkansas Pro Bono Partnership as providing him “the opportunity to help those who want so badly to believe in our court system and seek justice.”  To read the full article, please visit: http://www.arlegalservices.org/node/352

Tom D. Womack, John V. Phelps, Richard A. Lusby, and Jeffrey W. Puryear, of WPM, were all recently included in the prestigious Mid-South Super Lawyers publication as premier attorneys in their fields.  Attorneys Womack and Phelps received the additional honor of being included among the Top 50 Lawyers in Arkansas.

Firm president Tom D. Womack was elected to serve as Arkansas Bar Association President-Elect Designee on October 31, 2009. Womack is an active member of the Association's Board of Governors, a Sustaining Member of the Association, and a Sustaining Fellow of the Arkansas Bar Foundation. He has served as chair of the Probate and Tax Law Section and recently received the Association’s Charles L. Carpenter Award. Womack will assume the office of President-Elect at the Association’s June 2010 Annual Meeting.

Tom D. Womack was honored by his peers at the June 2009 Annual Meeting of the Arkansas Bar Association, where he received the prestigious Charles L. Carpenter Award. The Charles L. Carpenter Memorial Award is presented annually to a member of the House of Delegates, Board of Governors, or a Chair of a Section or Committee who has distinguished himself or herself by extraordinary service to the Association.

NASSAU, Bahamas (Jan. 21, 2006) ‹ John V. Phelps was sworn is as National President of the American Board of Trial Advocates at the association’s national board of directors meeting.

JOHN V. PHELPS was recently inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL).