Richard L. Mays is a partner of Mays, Byrd and O’Guinn, PLLC. Mr. Mays received his B.A. Degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C. where he was awarded the Phi Beta Kappa award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement. He subsequently attended the University of Arkansas School of Law where he served on the Law Review. Following law school, Mr. Mays worked at the United States Justice Department in Washington, D.C. under the Attorney General’s Honor Graduate Program and eventually returned to Arkansas to serve as Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney. Thereafter, Mr. Mays entered the private practice of law and, while practicing, was elected to the Arkansas General Assembly in 1972, becoming one of the first African Americans elected to that body in the 20th century. President Clinton, during his first term as Governor of Arkansas, appointed Mr. Mays as an Arkansas Supreme Court Justice. In 1990, Mr. Mays was also appointed to the Arkansas Ethics Commission by then Governor Clinton and served as its first chairman. In 1993, Mays served as a member of the U.S.-South Africa Business Development Committee under the late U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Mays served as Senior Vice President of Cassidy & Associates, one of the largest public affairs firms in Washington, D.C. For more than 10 years, Mays served as a consultant to CMS Energy of Jackson, Michigan in connection with the expansion and development of a 330 megawatt power plant in Takoradi, Ghana. In 2001, Governor Mike Huckabee appointed Mr. Mays to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and in 2003, appointed him to the Arkansas Banking Board. Mr. Mays was appointed to the Arkansas Claims Commission in 2006 and currently serves as Co-Chair.