Carolyn B.
Witherspoon
Director
Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus, P.C.
500 President Clinton Avenue, Suite 200
Little Rock, AR 72201
Telephone: (501) 371-9999
Email: cspoon@cgwg.com
CAROLYN B. WITHERSPOON primarily represents public and private employers in defending employment related matters, including Title VII litigation. She does extensive training in the employment area for employers. Carolyn is a frequent contributor to legal publications on topics involving employment and personnel issues. She earned her B.A. degree from UALR and her J.D. degree, with honors, from the UALR School of Law. She is a former President of the Arkansas Bar Association and former Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section. Carolyn is a long-time member of the American Bar Association, where she served as former Chair of the Commission on Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts and is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section. She is a former member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, a past Chair of the Arkansas Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, Union Internationale des Avocats, Women in Sports Law, American Employment Law Counsel, and is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Carolyn is an arbitrator of The Court of Arbitration for Sport and a member of the American Arbitration Association Roster of Employment Arbitrators and Mediators. Carolyn was inducted into the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame in 2019.
ADMITTED TO PRACTICE
Arkansas, 1978
United States District Courts: Eastern & Western Divisions of Arkansas
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States Supreme Court
EDUCATION
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, J.D., with honors, 1978
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, B.A., 1974
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Arkansas Bar Association (President, 1995-1996; Labor Law Section, Chair, 1991-1992)
Pulaski County Bar Association (President, 1989-1990)
American Bar Association (Member; House of Delegates, 1997-2021; House Select Committee, 2010; Steering Committee of the Nominating Committee; Labor and Employment Law Section and Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee; Past Chair - Commission on Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts; Associate Editor - Employment Discrimination Law, Fifth Edition, 2017)
Arkansas Association of Women Lawyers (President, 1982-1983)
William R. Overton Inn of Court (President, 1992-1993)
Arkansas Fellows, American Bar Foundation (Past Chair)
Commission on Uniform State Laws, Governor’s Appointment 2013 - 2017
Members Consultative Group for Restatement Third, Employment Law, American Law Institute
Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA)
Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
American Employment Law Council
Arbitrator, Court of Arbitration for Sport
Arbitrator, FINRA
Arbitrator, UFC Arbitration Panel
Member of the American Arbitration Association Roster of Employment Arbitrators and Mediators and the Large Complex Case Panel
National Conference of Bar Presidents, Past Member, Executive Council
Transportation Lawyers Association, Past Member, Executive Committee
Little Rock Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, Past Chair
Arkansas Real Estate Commission, Commissioner, 1978-1981
Member of Women in Sports Law
CGWG Diversity Committee Member
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, current Personnel Committee
Little Rock Sister Cities Commission, 2007 - 2017
Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault (Past Board Member)
Women’s Foundation of Arkansas (Past President)
VOCALS – Volunteer Organization, Center for Arkansas Legal Services
Arkansas Women Executives (Past President)
Advocates for Women (Now Women & Children First (Founder and Board Chair)
NOTEWORTHY
Associate Editor, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Journal, 1977-1978
Best Lawyers in America in Labor and Employment, 1995-2023
Charles L. Carpenter Memorial Award, Arkansas Bar Association, 2005
Who's Who Legal USA - Management Labour & Employment, 2005-2009
Mid-South Super Lawyers in Labor and Employment Law, 2006-2022
Top 50 Arkansas Mid-South Super Lawyers, 2010-2022
Top 50 Women Mid-South Super Lawyers, 2011-2022
Named one of the “Best Lawyers in Little Rock” by the readers of Little Rock Soirée and Arkansas Business, 2012, 2013, 2015-2017
Featured in AY Magazine's 2014 Powerful Women issue
Named one of the “Arkansas 200” by Arkansas Business, 2017
Lawyer of the Year in Little Rock Employment Law - Management, 2017
The Marquis Who's Who - Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, 2017
Named one of the “Arkansas 250” by Arkansas Business, 2018
Named to Arkansas Life magazine's list of "Top Attorneys" 2019
Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame Inductee, 2019
Legal Services Corporation Pro Bono Service Award, 2020
Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Chambers USA - America's Leading Business Lawyers