In celebration of the U of A School of Law’s centennial year, the school recently hosted a conversation with former Governors Mike Beebe and Asa Hutchinson, both graduates of the school. From Waterman Hall to the Governor’s Mansion was held Thursday at the Hot Springs Convention Center to discuss the two politicians’ journeys from the School of Law to their role as governors. Moderated by fellow alum David Matthews, who has a respectable political career in his own right, the event was open to the public with the purchase of tickets and held in conjunction with the Arkansas Bar Association Annual Meeting. About 120 guests made it to the reception.
Beebe graduated from the school in 1972 and became the 45th governor of Arkansas; he was followed by Hutchinson as the 46th, who graduated in ‘75.
The two talked about everything from their funniest experiences on the campaign trail—being born in a tar-paper shack—to their greatest accomplishments, dodging assassination attempts, playing basketball in Cuba and cooking bananas foster. Hutchinson touched briefly on his presidential campaign, saying he called his wife from Iowa on the campaign trail when their 50th wedding anniversary passed.
Matthews started by commenting that the group of men was coming into their own when the school celebrated its 50th anniversary.
“We’ve been around over half of the length of time we’ve had a school,” he said.
He addressed the first question to Beebe, asking when he decided that he wanted to attend law school. Beebe shared that his motivation for attending law school was to become an FBI agent, and there were only two routes of joining at the time – either through a law degree or an accounting degree. Hutchinson first picked to go the path of accounting during his senior year of his undergraduate studies (because it was first alphabetically, not because he wanted to join the FBI). He changed courses when he joined the debate team, and the debate topic of wiretapping led him to the Clemson University Law School, where he started reading cases and decided to change his plans.
Hutchinson said his love for the law came long before his desire to run for public office.
“People think of my career, and they just think of the public side of it,” he said. “So, I’m glad in the introduction it was mentioned that I practiced law for 25 years. I wouldn’t have practiced law that long except Mike Beebe beat me in 2006, and I had to go back to practicing law.”
Hutchinson called it a “real treat” to be on the stage with his former competitor and noted that it may be the first time the two graced a stage together since they both served as governors.
Ever an advocate for legal education, Beebe said it can prepare future politicians by teaching analytical thought. He says there are not enough lawyers in politics, citing a decrease across the board. During his tenure, 18 lawyers were in the Senate. Hutchinson agreed with the sentiment, encouraging firm leaders to make sure the option is available without adding too much of a burden on young lawyers.
“I think that the progress of analysis and the method that law school teaches you that there are two sides, and sometimes 10 sides, to a story, and you need to take all those different sides and be able to argue all those different sides and not close your mind to one side,” said Beebe. “Stood me in good stead in my legal career, but every other way in state government.”
Hutchinson said his legal background helped him stay motivated to help people and get them through difficult times.
“Being in politics is a natural extension of that,” Hutchinson said. “If you care about your clients, if you care about justice, that moves you into the public arena very easily.”
He says the skills lawyers learn are unique and a “plague to politics.” He claims lawyers think more three-dimensionally than some politicians, as they can look across the aisle and see both sides of any argument.
The two say that law school prepared them well for their political careers, but students today looking to enter the field have a much different landscape than in the 1970s. Beebe suggests that it is harder for a law school to prepare students for the industry than other programs like nursing that offer internships and in-field experience. He says law schools can better inform students about what they’ll face on the other side of their degree by reading abstracts, tracing ownership of properties, etc.
Both men were asked about their duty of appointing judges and prosecutors, which they have both done on many occasions.
“As a lawyer, I saw how important the judgeship was to practicing law,” said Hutchinson.
He called each candidate into his office and interviewed them to ensure they could make decisions and move cases along. Pardons and paroles are a huge issue for Beebe and Hutchinson, and appointing the right person can have lasting effects, as appointed judges often go on to have political careers of their own.
“So, it depends a lot on how long the appointment term is going to be for that affects the pool of people that might be interested,” Beebe said. “What I always tried to do was get input from people that knew that area the best, that I had confidence in.”
Beebe is proud of being “notoriously liberal” in pardoning nonviolent offenders after they serve their sentence to help them get their lives back on track. During his time in office, he gave over 800 pardons.
“Knocking a door down for somebody that deserves the help is one of the most rewarding things in the legislative process that you can do,” Beebe said. “And there’s not one, there’s jillions. And the same thing with the governor, it’s the little bitty things.”
The hour-long talk gave lawyers and aspiring lawyers much to consider regarding the connection between the legal and public sectors. The two governors shared their hearts for helping people and making changes and how their backgrounds in the law helped them navigate the political climate of their times while staying true to their mission.
Watch more from the event in the video here.
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