1:30 – 4:50 PM
What is the POWER Act
Each year, to commemorate the enactment of the POWER Act, Arkansas Access to Justice partners with the U.S. District Courts to host this continuing legal education (CLE) program focused on representation for survivors of domestic violence.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), over 1 in 3 women (35.6%) and 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the U.S. have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
The Act highlights research showing that 83% of survivors represented by an attorney were able to obtain a protective order, compared to just 32% of those without legal representation. Protective orders play a crucial role in preventing further harm to survivors and their families.
Despite this, thousands of requests for legal services go unmet each year. A “dedicated army of pro bono attorneys,” as envisioned by the Act, is needed to bridge this gap and promote survivor safety and stability.
Under Section 3 of the Act, district courts are encouraged to lead public events each year that promote pro bono service for survivors and raise awareness of these critical needs. This annual CLE is part of that national effort.
Event Details
Location
U.S. District Courthouse
Jury Assembly Room
500 W. Capitol Ave
Little Rock, AR 72201
also streamed online
Date & Time
Friday, August 21st
1:30- 4:50 PM
CLE Credits
1 Ethics
1 General
+ extra optional General Credits
Cost
Free – in person and virtual
Event Schedule
Opening Remarks
1:30 – 1:35 PM
The Honorable Kristine G. Baker
Chief U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Arkansas
Kristine Gerhard Baker was sworn in as a U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas on May 21, 2012.
She was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is a charter-class graduate of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. She received two Bachelor of Arts degrees, summa cum laude, in 1993 from Saint Louis University and a Juris Doctor, with High Honors, in 1996 from the University of Arkansas School of Law.
Judge Baker began her legal career clerking for then Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright from 1996–1998. She later entered private practice, focusing on commercial litigation. She has served on numerous legal and community boards and committees, including the Arkansas Supreme Court’s Model Civil Jury Instructions Committee and the Arkansas Bar Foundation.
Break
2:35 – 2:45 PM
Light refreshments provided.
Trauma-Informed Lawyering:
Ethical Guidelines and Practice Pointers
for Domestic Abuse, Custody, and
Ad-Litem Cases
1 Ethics Credit
1:35 – 2:35 PM
Trauma can profoundly affect how survivors and children communicate, recall events, and participate in the legal process. This interdisciplinary panel of judges, attorneys, and advocates will explore how trauma-informed practices strengthen legal representation while promoting fairness and protecting the integrity of judicial proceedings. Through the lens of the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct, panelists will discuss ethical issues involving competence, communication, confidentiality, candor to the tribunal, attorney ad litem representation, and professionalism in domestic violence, child welfare, and human trafficking cases. Attendees will gain practical strategies for interviewing clients, presenting trauma-informed evidence, navigating ethical dilemmas, and advocating effectively while minimizing retraumatization.
Moderator
Kristin Pawlik
Partner, Miller, Butler, Schneider, Pawlik, Rozzell, PLLC
Kristin Pawlik is a Bentonville, Arkansas native who litigates family law, criminal defense, and employment matters, primarily in Northwest Arkansas. Before she began at Miller | Butler in 2003, she worked in the 19th Judicial District as Chief Deputy Public Defender. She has been a Partner in the firm since 2008.
Ms. Pawlik is certified to represent the best interests of children as a domestic relations Attorney Ad litem and regularly accepts felony criminal conflict appointments from the Public Defender Commission. She was appointed by both Governor Mike Beebe and Governor Asa Hutchinson to serve as Chair of the Arkansas Commission on Child Abuse, Rape and Domestic Violence. She is a past President of the Benton County Bar Association, a member of the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, and the Arkansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She has been elected to serve on both the Board of Governors of the Arkansas Bar Association and the House of Delegates. She is a member of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section.
Ms. Pawlik is a recipient of the President’s Golden Gavel Award from the Arkansas Bar and was recognized by the Arkansas Access To Justice Commission as the Arkansas Pro Bono Attorney of the Year in 2009. In 2017 she was chosen to represent the Arkansas Bar Association on the Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation Board where she continues to work for access to legal services for low-income Arkansans.
She and her husband are the parents of three boys and they attend St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fayetteville.
Panelist
The Honorable Amy Dunn Moore
Circuit Judge, Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas
Amy Dunn Moore is a family court judge serving the Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas. She was first elected to serve in this role in 2020 and assumed the bench January 1, 2021. She presides over more than 500 hearings and bench trials each year. Her docket includes cases involving divorce, custody, visitation, child support, domestic violence, guardianships, and trusts and estates.
Judge Moore previously served for more than eleven years as Executive Director of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission and Foundation, where she spearheaded the adoption of rule changes designed to increase pro bono attorney involvement, improve access to the court system, aid judges in understanding their ethical obligations in cases involving self-represented litigants, and increase funding to support the delivery of free legal aid, among other initiatives. Prior to her time with Arkansas Access to Justice, Judge Moore spent six years in private practice in the health care regulatory field. While in private practice, she helped co-found Harmony Health Clinic, which has served low-income uninsured adults in Central Arkansas since 2008.
Judge Moore writes and speaks about the intersection of trauma and the legal system. Since her election to the bench, she has co-authored four law review articles that tackle the criminal justice system’s role in contributing to adverse childhood experiences and perpetuating trauma.
Panelist
Drew Rodgers
Attorney, Legal Aid of Arkansas
Drew Rodgers is the assistant workgroup leader for the consumer protection unit with Legal Aid of Arkansas. Before Legal Aid, Drew was an attorney and Pro Bono Manager for Center for Arkansas Legal Services (CALS). At CALS, Drew was an attorney in family law and then switched to consumer law shortly after. He was named to Arkansas’s “20 in their Twenties” Class of 2023. He holds a JD from the William H. Bowen School of Law, class of 2021, and is admitted to practice before all Arkansas state and federal district courts.
Panelist
Leo Tucker
CEO, Aiding Survivors of Trafficking and Child Abuse
Leo Tucker was born and raised in Danville, Arkansas. As a child, Leo watched attorney Ike Allen Laws Jr. represent people in need pro bono and was inspired at an early age to become a lawyer as well. Leo started volunteering at Catholic Immigration Services as a teenager and after graduating from the University of Arkansas studied law at UW Law in Seattle as a Gates Public Service Law Scholar. Tucker is a Fulbright Scholar, as well as a Banyan Fellow of the American India Foundation (AIF). Leo has worked at human rights law firms in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Chaco (Argentina), as well as Columbia Legal Services in Yakima, WA, and of course beloved Legal Aid of Arkansas in Springdale. In 2015 Leo started an unrestricted nonprofit law firm, Aiding Survivors of Trafficking and Child Abuse (AID Arkansas). You can learn more about AID Arkansas’ work at https://AIDArkansas.com
Recognizing Bias in Representation:
Client Storytelling and Domestic Violence
1 General Credit
2:45 – 3:45 PM
This interactive CLE will examine how conscious and unconscious biases can shape the way attorneys, judges, and other participants perceive clients and witnesses, particularly survivors of domestic violence. Participants will identify common assumptions associated with particular groups and consider how those assumptions may affect credibility assessments, custody litigation, and the presentation of a client’s story. Professor Beth Levi will offer practical strategies for recognizing and addressing bias, presenting credible and persuasive evidence, and understanding how clients’ own perceptions of lawyers and the legal system may influence representation.
Professor Levi brings extensive experience in family law, juvenile law, child advocacy, domestic-violence litigation, and clinical legal education. She currently directs the Family Law Clinic at the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.
Speaker
Beth D. Levi
Director, Family Law Clinic
UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law
Beth Levi taught Juvenile Law at the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law as an adjunct professor from 2002 through 2006, and joined the Legal Clinic in 2007; she currently serves as the Director of the Family Law Clinic. In addition, Professor Levi teaches a section of the yearlong Research, Writing and Analysis (RWA) course; she has also taught Civil Procedure I and professional responsibility at Bowen.
Professor Levi has a longstanding commitment to public service, beginning her career at the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice, and later serving as president of the Children’s Rights Project, staff member for the Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Law Review, and director of the Pro Se Divorce Clinic for the Legal Aid Bureau while in law school at Harvard. After clerking for U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock (D. Mass) from 1989 to 1990, she was a Massachusetts assistant attorney general from 1990 through 1994. She spent two years in private practice, and then moved to New York State, where she served as a law guardian and training director at a legal services office from 1997 through 2000, representing children in custody, visitation, abuse, neglect, delinquency, status offense, and domestic violence cases. Since moving to Arkansas, she has been a special education hearing officer and served on several boards, including the Advisory Council of Arkansas Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Many of her cases have involved issues of domestic violence and the challenges such issues can present in litigation.
Free Legal Answers Clinic
Earn additional pro bono CLE credit with FLA
3:50 – 4:50 PM
Following the CLE, attendees are invited to stay for an in-person Free Legal Answers (FLA) clinic, a hands-on opportunity to put pro bono and trauma-informed lawyering skills into practice.
Attorneys may also earn additional pro bono CLE credit based on time spent answering FLA questions.
What is Free Legal Answers?
Arkansas Free Legal Answers is an online platform where eligible Arkansans can post civil legal questions and receive brief advice from volunteer attorneys. It provides an accessible way for individuals—many of whom are navigating sensitive issues such as domestic violence, custody, housing instability, or financial control—to get legal guidance.
What to Expect at the Clinic
At this in-person clinic, participating attorneys will:
Attorneys can also earn additional CLE credit for time spent answering questions on Free Legal Answers following the clinic. Details on how to track and claim this credit will be provided at the event.
While FLA questions may not always be explicitly domestic violence-related, many touch on intersecting issues where trauma-informed approaches are essential. The clinic offers a practical and meaningful way to expand access to justice for vulnerable Arkansans and to strengthen your pro bono impact.
Questions?
CLE Credits, Registration, Pro Bono Opportunities
Megan Douglas
Program Director
Arkansas Access to Justice
501-492-7173
Venue and General Questions
Tammy Downs
Clerk of Court
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas
501-604-5300
Free Legal Answers (FLA) Clinic
Edith Chavez De Oseguera
Free Legal Answers Administrator & Language Access Liaison
Arkansas Access to Justice
501-492-7172
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