FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Stacy Leeds, dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law, has appointed Annie Smith, associate professor and director of the school's Civil Litigation and Advocacy Clinic and Human Trafficking Clinic, as the director of pro bono and community engagement. She assumes the post from its inaugural director Cynthia Nance, dean emeritus and the Nathan G. Gordon Professor of Law, who recently completed her two-year tenure.

Service to the community is a core obligation of practicing attorneys and a value the law school seeks to instill in its students. As director of pro bono and community engagement, Smith will help bolster traditional pro bono work, encourage community engagement by both professors and students and support the volunteer work that faculty members do for outside organizations by giving students an opportunity to help with research projects, administrative tasks and other duties connected to professors' external commitments.

Pro bono work is defined as any legal work performed by students for which they receive no academic credit and no compensation. Those who provide at least 50 hours of pro bono work and those with 100 hours or more will be eligible for a notation of such service on their law school transcript. 

The School of Law provides free legal services to the public through its clinics and other programs. Attorneys, faculty and students have also championed traditional service activities such as food and clothing drives, fund raising events and community service. Faculty members have traditionally lent their expertise to various boards and commissions on their own time and without compensation. Law school faculty, staff and students volunteer with a variety of organizations, including Legal Aid of Arkansas, Peace at Home Family Shelter and 7Hills Homeless Center. 

Smith seeks to build on the strong foundation started by Nance by increasing the number of students engaged in pro bono activities and the impact they have in the community. Her plans include helping students to connect their pro bono work to the subjects they study in class and inspiring them to continue to integrate service into their future legal careers. 

"Serving others is a professional responsibility, as well as a tremendous honor," Smith said. "Before they graduate, I want all of our students to experience the satisfaction and learning that can come from engaging in meaningful pro bono work." 

Smith's scholarship and service to the law school, the university, legal profession and the state as a whole make her the perfect fit for this role. Her research interests center on access to justice, including the impacts of mandatory arbitration and the enforcement of immigrant and low-wage workers' workplace rights. She brought legal scholars and leading practitioners to campus in February 2018 for "The Future of Human Trafficking: Contemporary Approaches to Combatting Labor Trafficking," the school's first symposium on human trafficking. Her expertise on the subject has led to TV appearances, public speaking engagements and commentary in publications.

Smith and her U of A students have represented many low-wage employees in unpaid wage and other employment matters. They have also provided training, research, and outreach materials to local and national organizations seeking to improve their capacity to address human trafficking. Prior to joining the U of A faculty, she represented trafficked individuals in lawsuits against their traffickers. 

She is the former chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Poverty Law and is a member of the section's executive committee. She serves as a board member of the Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice Center and Legal Aid of Arkansas. 

Smith has a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University, Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin School of Law and a Master of Laws from the George Washington University Law School. She is admitted to practice in Arkansas and New Jersey.