Jean Carter, Commissioner

Executive Director - Center for Arkansas Legal Services

B.A. History, 1977, University of Arkansas
J.D., 1980, University of Arkansas

Jean Turner Carter is a native of Magnolia, Arkansas and a graduate of Crossett Senior High School.  Ms. Carter attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where she received her Bachelors degree in 1977 and her law degree in 1980.  Ms. Carter was admitted to practice in Arkansas in 1980.  Ms. Carter began her legal career as a staff attorney for Legal Services of Arkansas in 1980.  Ms. Carter became the executive director of Legal Services of Arkansas in 1985.  In 1996, Legal Services of Arkansas merged into Central Arkansas Legal Services, and Ms. Carter became the deputy director of the Center for Arkansas Legal Services.  In 1997, Ms. Carter became the executive director for the Center for Arkansas Legal Services. 

Ms. Carter is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association, Pulaski County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.  She currently serves on numerous Arkansas Bar Association committees.  Ms. Carter is an ex-officio member of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission and serves as secretary/treasurer of the board of Arkansas Volunteer Lawyers for the Elderly.  She has also served on the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Child Support.

The Center for Arkansas Legal Services is a nonprofit organization which provides free legal assistance to low income and elderly clients in non-criminal cases for 44 counties in Arkansas.