The Promise of Justice Conference
November 13, 2009
Little Rock, AR
Consumer Law and Low-Income Arkansans
Speaker Bios
O. C. “Rusty” Sparks
B.A. Speech Communications, University of Central Arkansas, 1978
J.D., University of Arkansas School of Law, 1982
O.C. “Rusty” Sparks is a bankruptcy practitioner in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is a partner with Andrew L. Clark and Thomas W. Byarlay in the law firm of Clark, Byarlay & Sparks. Mr. Sparks joined the firm in 2002 and became a partner in 2006.
Mr. Sparks received his license to practice law in Arkansas in 1983. He worked in the financial services industry from 1982 until 1989. During this period, he served as Operations Manager/Administrative Manager and Regulatory Compliance Manager for the local brokerage offices of Prudential-Bache Securities and Merrill Lynch Capital Markets, both located in Little Rock, Arkansas. He then transitioned to the Arkansas Insurance Department as a staff counsel and left that position to serve as Assistant General Counsel for National Old Line Insurance Company in Little Rock. The AEGON Group purchased National Old Line in 1997 and Mr. Sparks joined their legal team in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, handling federal multi-district class action litigation defense throughout the country.
Mr. Sparks left the insurance industry in 2000 and returned to Little Rock to re-establish his private practice. He has devoted his practice to assisting individuals and businesses in evaluating and utilizing the federal consumer protection and bankruptcy codes to assist clients with distressed financial circumstances. In addition, he handles Fair Debt Collection Practices Act cases and Fair Credit Reporting Act cases. Mr. Sparks describes his practice as a moderate volume practice utilizing Chapters 7, 11, 12 and 13.
Mr. Sparks has recently championed the cause of bankruptcy debtors before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in two important cases, In Re Frederickson and In Re Washburn. Both cases resulted in significant changes in bankruptcy law that benefited all bankruptcy debtors in states governed by the decisions of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Sparks is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association, the Pulaski County Bar Association, and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. He lectures for the National Business Institute for CLE seminar programs targeting bankruptcy lawyers and paralegals. He is also an approved presenter for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the C.A.R.E. (Credit Abuse Resistance Education) program lecturing to colleges and high schools throughout the state.
Bill Waddell
B.A. History/Spanish, University of Central Arkansas
J.D., UALR-Bowen School of Law
Bill Waddell was appointed to the Commission in November 2008 by the Arkansas Bar Association.
Mr. Waddell is a partner and practice group leader at the law firm Friday, Eldredge & Clark. He practices business litigation and regulation with additional focuses on agricultural law as general counsel for the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, and on religious law as Chancellor of the Arkansas Conference, United Methodist Church. Mr. Waddell also has a long history of pro bono work, including approximately 200 pro bono adoption cases.
Danyelle Walker
B.S. Accounting, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, 1992
J.D., UALR-Bowen School of Law, 1995
Danyelle Walker began her legal career in bankruptcy law after completing a clerkship with Judge Andree Layton Roaf. Soon after becoming an attorney, Ms. Walker joined the Volunteer Organization of the Center for Arkansas Legal Services (VOCALS) to help clients with bankruptcy issues. She quickly proved to be a dependable asset to the program; as a member of VOCALS, Ms. Walker has accepted over 150 cases.
Along with doing pro bono work, Ms. Walker serves on several boards and committees. Ms. Walker is a board member of the VOCALS program, and is currently one of two board members who accept pro bono cases. She serves on the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission, where she works to see that equal justice reaches all Arkansans. She is a past president of the Central Arkansas Debtor/Creditor Bar of Central Arkansas. She is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association where she is serving a second term on the House of Delegates. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Arkansas Bar Association’s Commission on Diversity. She has done numerous continuing legal education seminars for both the Arkansas Bar Association and the Debtor/Creditor Bar. And Ms. Walker is a member of the Pulaski County Bar Association, W. Harold Flowers Law Society, and the Judge William R. Overton Inn of Court.
Tracye Walker
B.A. Speech Communications, UALR, 2003
J.D., University of Arkansas School of Law, 2006
Tracye Walker is a staff attorney in the Helena-West Helena office of Legal Aid of Arkansas (LAA). Previously, she worked for LAA as an Equal Justice Works Fellow (2006-2008).
Before coming to LAA, Ms. Walker worked as a Trial Advocacy Coordinator with Professor Carlton Bailey during law school (2004-2006). She was also a Research Assistant for Dean Cynthia Nance (2005-2006). And she was a Tobacco Coalition Coordinator for Phoenix Youth and Family Services in Crossett, AR (Summer 2004).
Ms. Walker attended the National Consumer Law Center Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Training Conference March 27-29, 2008. She also attended the National Institute for Trial Advocacy Program for Public Service Attorneys July 31, 2008-August 1, 2008
She is a member of the Phillips County Bar Association and the Arkansas Bar Association.
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