Jess Askew III

Jess Askew III practices in the areas of business litigation, constitutional, media and appellate law. His recent notable cases include Arkansas Blue Cross v. Little Rock Cardiology Clinic, 551 F. 3d 812 (2009), dealing with federal ancillary jurisdiction in a health-care case; Arkansas Democrat-Gazette v. District Court, Ark. S. Ct. No. 08-1435 (Dec. 18, 2008), establishing the availability of a writ of certiorari from a circuit court to an inferior court under Amendment 80 to the Arkansas Constitution; Cox v. Daniels, 374 Ark. 437 (2008), rejecting a ballot-title challenge to the Arkansas College Scholarship Lottery Amendment under Amendment 7 to the Arkansas Constitution; Pulaski County v. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc., 370 Ark. 459 (2007), affirming the right of access to emails of a public employee against privacy challenges; Beverly Enters. – Ark., Inc. v. Circuit Court, 367 Ark. 13 (2006), reversing a $25 million supersedeas requirement imposed by a trial judge in a class action and clarifying the law of supersedeas bonds, and Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. Sauer, 358 Ark. 89 (2004), and Advocat, Inc. v. Sauer, 353 Ark. 29 (2003), which together reduced by $51.5 million the largest personal injury judgment in the history of Arkansas.

Before joining Williams & Anderson in 2000, Mr. Askew practiced with the Rose Law Firm, resigning as a partner in 1994, and in his own firm. He has litigated contracts and business issues, including corporate shareholder and director cases, franchise and dealership litigation, health care business disputes, medical credentialing, trade secrets, limited liability companies, insurance coverage, fiduciary cases, fraudulent transfers, real estate and riparian disputes, employment litigation, and corporate and partnership issues. His media practice involves newsgathering and media access issues. Mr. Askew has appeared in state courts throughout Arkansas and in federal courts on a regional basis from Texas to New York to Miami. He engineered the complex foreclosure and redevelopment of Magic Springs & Crystal Falls Theme Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Mr. Askew coordinated the firm’s efforts to appeal the largest personal-injury verdict in the history of the state.

Mr. Askew is a member of the American Bar Association and its Litigation Section, Business Law Section, Forum on Franchising and Communications Law Forum, and the Media Defense Resource Institute. In the Arkansas Bar Association, he has served as a member of the House of Delegates and as Chair of the Appellate Practice Committee. He was a contributor to the Arkansas Bar Association’s treatise on Handling Appeals in Arkansas. He was the first Chair of the Arkansas Bar Association’s Litigation Section after its formation in 2000. Mr. Askew is listed in Best Lawyers in America under Appellate Law, Communications Law, Media Law, First Amendment Law and Commercial Litigation; in Chambers USA as a “Leader” in the field of General Commercial Litigation; and in Mid-South Super Lawyers in the areas of Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation.

He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of St. Francis House, a member and President of the Board of Directors of Friends of the Zoo. He served the City of Little Rock as a member of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force to address issues with the Little Rock Zoo, and was an original member of the Little Rock Zoo Board of Governors. In addition to practicing law, Mr. Askew enjoys woodworking and bicycling. Mr. Askew is a director of Central Arkansas Legal Services. He and his wife, Kate Anderson Askew, have two daughters.

PRACTICE AREAS: Business Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Media Law, Employment Law

Jess Askew III

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Harvard University

University of California Hastings College of the Law

Magic Springs & Crystal Falls

American Bar Association

Phillips Exeter Academy

Little Rock Central High School

Arkansas Bicycle Club