Governor Asa Hutchinson Selects Howard Brill as Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court

Statement

Governor Asa Hutchinson has appointed Howard Brill as the next Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, following the retirement of Jim Hannah, effective on September 1. Hannah's current term is set to expire at the end of 2016.

Governor Hutchinson issued the following statement:

"Howard Brill has the respect of the Arkansas bar, the judges and the legal community in general. Because of his fine mind and reputation, he has the capability of bringing the court together and elevating the court in everything it does. I have known Professor Brill for more than three decades, and he is the one that lawyers seeking guidance call. He's the one that judges seeking wise counsel call. He's a legal scholar, he's respected nationally and internationally, and he's a great communicator. That's a good combination for the court."

Brill currently works at the University of Arkansas's School of Law. He has been at the School of Law since 1975 and is the first Vincent Foster Professor of Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility. Brill teaches professional responsibility, remedies, civil procedure and domestic relations, as well as special topics courses on "Baseball and the Law" and Arkansas Constitutional Law.

Professor Brill graduated from Duke University in 1965 and taught English language and African literature as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sokoto, Northern Nigeria. In 1970, Brill earned his J.D. from the University of Florida Law School, where he was the editor-in-chief of the Florida Law Review, and later earned an LL.M. from the University of Illinois in 1979. He has taught at the Universities of Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, in addition to practicing with a small firm in Rock Island, Illinois. In connection with the School of Law's summer programs, Brill has taught in Cambridge, England, and St. Petersburg, Russia. Additionally, Professor Brill has taught comparative Constitutional Law and Legal Ethics at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania.

His publications include The Law of Damages in Arkansas (6th edition) and Arkansas Professional and Judicial Ethics (8th edition). He served on former Governor Bill Clinton's Commission on Ethics and former Governor Jim Guy Tucker's Ethics Task Force. Along with other court and bar association committees, Brill has served on the Professional Ethics & Grievances Committee of the Arkansas Bar and the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee. He prepares advisory ethical opinions for attorneys and judges and has served as a Special Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court on several occasions.

From 1995 to 2010, Professor Brill served as the University of Arkansas's Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA and the Southeastern Conference. Brill served as the interim dean of the School of Law during the 2005-2006 academic year. He is the faculty adviser to the University of Arkansas Christian Legal Society.

Howard Brill and his wife Katherine have three children, Christian, Elizabeth and Andrew.

Source