Arkie Byrd is a partner with the law firm of Mays, Byrd and O’Guinn, PLLC. Ms. Byrd received her Bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Ms. Byrd is also a former fellow of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Prior to joining Mays, Byrd and O’Guinn, PLLC, Ms. Byrd served as a staff attorney for the National Partnership for Women & Families (formerly the Women’s Legal Defense Fund). In that position, Ms. Byrd was involved in the development of national public policy in the areas of gender and race equity—which emphasized advocacy and constituency representation before the administrative, judicial, and executive branches of the federal government. She has advised corporate, governmental and individual clients in EEO matters as well as EEO claims. She has also represented clients in domestic, probate and criminal matters. Ms. Byrd has also served as a cooperating attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. To that end, she was involved in two historic Civil Rights cases, one of which changed the face of the Arkansas judiciary (Hunt vs. State of Arkansas). Ms. Byrd’s practice emphasis includes corporate, municipal, and individual representation in such areas as employment, labor and employee relations, property acquisition and closing, product liability, and EEO investigation and mediation. She is a member of the: United States District Court Bar, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Bar, Arkansas Bar Association, Pulaski County Bar Association, and the W. Harold Flowers Law Society (National Bar Association Affiliate).