No conversation with Dustin McDaniel, former Arkansas attorney general and partner at McDaniel Wolff law firm in Little Rock, would be complete without his frequent nods to the many people he helped gain a leg up in Arkansas and beyond, colleagues who benefited from his public service and, although it could be seen as predestined, a law career that he made uniquely his own.
“I was kind of born into law,” he said. “My dad is a lawyer, and we had various relatives that were lawyers and judges. My brother and cousins are lawyers. I come from a long family history of practicing law.”
Despite that, McDaniel put off law school to attend the police academy, and although he has not been a full-time police officer since 1996, he has maintained his certification for 30 years and is an active volunteer at the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Office.
When he did graduate from law school, however, he took Arkansas by storm, becoming elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2004 and as attorney general in 2006.
When he reached his term limits as attorney general and left office in 2015, he formed McDaniel, Richardson & Calhoun, which later became McDaniel Wolff, its success accented by a snazzy new building with a view of the Arkansas State Capitol.
McDaniel’s background has put him in an interesting niche. Although McDaniel Wolff is a full-service business practice, McDaniel has built a national practice representing companies such as Amazon, the Cigna Group, Xcaliber International tobacco company and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, in their dealings with attorneys general.
“It is a unique practice,” he said. “It’s certainly different than what my dad does for a living or my brother, but I’ve been very blessed, and I love doing it, and I’m proud to be able to be in Arkansas, leading a practice that has been so successful around the nation.”
He also serves as the Democratic co-chair of the Society of Attorneys General Emeritus, and he teaches a spring-semester course on attorneys general at his alma mater, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law.
“I still get to do those things and be involved and have a voice and represent clients in the big issues of the day that AGs all over the country are working on, even though I’m not running for office, so I feel like I get the best of all worlds,” he said.
He is currently working with Vince Ward, managing partner, to provide opportunities for young attorneys and grow McDaniel Wolff over the next 10 years so that when McDaniel is ready to retire, he will have a lucrative business to hand to the next generation.
Besides growing his practice, working with attorneys general on a national level, and mentoring up-and-comers, other current activities include helping secure the Pope County casino license for Cherokee Nation Businesses, securing a law license in South Dakota, where he hunts for pheasants, and sneaking in time to duck hunt in Poinsett County.
“If I was ever worried about being bored after I left office, that has not been a concern,” he said.
Although he is often asked about the old days — entering the law field, his time in politics, founding his firm — he said he prefers to focus on the future.
“I love every minute of my public service, and I was very grateful for the opportunity to serve, but I spend my time now thinking about what the next 20 years are going to look like,” he said. “I’m really grateful that I have the opportunity to engage and still be relevant among the nation’s attorneys general.”
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