How one UA Little Rock alumna found her path in law

February 23 - March 1, 2026

By Justin Bates

The road to success is not always linear. The path UA Little Rock alumna Michelle Smith followed led her directly to her purpose in the law. As an interdisciplinary studies major, Smith expanded her sense of what was possible.

“My time at UA Little Rock didn’t just shape my career — it reshaped the way I understood possibility,” Smith said.

Rather than moving along a rigid academic track, Smith was encouraged to explore how literature, history, culture, and systems of power intersect. She said that intellectual freedom laid the foundation for how she thinks and works today.

One course, in particular, proved transformative. In Dr. Laura Barrio-Vilar’s Black Protest Literature class, Smith began to see storytelling as more than creative expression.

“That class gave language to something I had always felt but couldn’t yet articulate,” Smith said. “Stories are never separate from justice.”

Barrio-Vilar recognized Smith’s intellectual depth firsthand. In a letter of recommendation written in support of Smith’s application to law school, Barrio-Vilar described her as “without a doubt, among the top 1% students I have ever had,” praising her as “an excellent critical thinker and analytical writer, with a deep sense of empathy and compassion for others.”

She also noted that Smith’s undergraduate work demonstrated “the maturity and complexity we expect of graduate students,” particularly in her ability to connect literature, social justice, and critical analysis.

After earning her bachelor’s degree, Smith pursued a master’s degree in English at the University of Central Arkansas, where her study of literature further sharpened her analytical lens. She credits that academic background with shaping how she approaches the law.

“Law, at its core, is also a system of storytelling,” Smith said. “Literature taught me to pay attention to voice, structure, silence, and subtext. Meaning is often carried indirectly. Truth isn’t always declared outright.”

Rather than pointing to a single defining moment, Smith said her decision to pursue law developed over time, shaped by experiences that expanded her understanding of power and justice. One of the most influential came during a trip to JusticeCon with Dr. Barrio-Vilar’s class, where she heard scholars and activists speak on race, history, and systemic inequality.

“That experience reframed how I understood the role I wanted to play within systems of power,” she said.

Passing the bar marked a major milestone in that journey. Professionally, it signaled the start of her legal career; personally, it represented something deeper.

“Passing the bar felt like a moment where past and present briefly touched,” Smith said. “An achievement like that never belongs to one person alone.”

Smith joined Big Rock Legacy Law Group as an associate attorney in August 2025 after graduating with honors from the UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. She sees clear connections between her UA Little Rock education and her daily work, crediting the university with cultivating her ability to synthesize complex ideas, think across disciplines, and remain comfortable with ambiguity—skills she says are essential in legal practice.

Most importantly, Smith brings a heightened sensitivity to narrative into every case.

“How stories are constructed, how facts are framed, and how perspective shapes outcome—all of that informs how I listen to clients and advocate for clarity,” she said.

For current UA Little Rock students who may feel uncertain about how their major connects to their future, Smith offers simple reassurance.

“Your major is not a cage; it is a toolkit,” she said. “Trust that the connections will reveal themselves, sometimes long after graduation.”  

Photo Caption:

Michelle Smith 

Photo Credit:

(Photo submitted)