Downtown Lawyer

Areas of Practice

While I handle many different types of cases, they tend to fall into one of three categories, which can also overlap to some degree.

• Construction Law

This area of law encompasses various issues that can arise during and after the construction of buildings, roads, bridges, and industrial plants to name a few.  I have experience in resolving disputes on behalf of developers, owners, design professionals, prime and sub contractors, construction managers, installers, and suppliers.

Some of the problems that can develop during and after construction projects include breach of contract, breach of warranty, negligence, products liability, and collection problems.

• Business/Commercial Litigation

As with construction professionals, all businesses are faced with disputes related to failure to perform an oral or written contract, providing a substandard product or service, negligence, and collection issues.  Many times, these problems can arise between businesses that have long-standing relationships.  I understand that these relationships often need to be preserved, and I can assist the business with resolving the problem without losing that relationship, if needed.

• Insurance Coverage

What happens when a problem occurs, or worse, a law suit is filed, but the insurance company refuses to cover the incident?  Or the insurer agrees to provide a defense, but also issues a reservation of rights letter?  This can be a very confusing time for an individual or business owner.  Because of my extensive history in dealing with insurance companies, I know how they think and operate, and I am well versed in this area of law.

If you find yourself in this situation, please contact me.  I offer flat-fee arrangements for review and analysis of insurance contracts and related documents.  The fee is based upon the complexity of the policy involved.  After reviewing the relevant information and law, I can explain your rights under the policy, as well as the insurer’s duties to you.

If you are faced with a problem and would like to discuss it with me, please feel free to contact me at jodielhill@att.net or 501-940-7302 to set up a free, thirty-minute consultation.

More About Me

I grew up in central Arkansas and have deep roots here.  I owe my work ethic and attention to detail to my parents.  As a toddler, I spent many days playing in the dirt as my Mom and Dad worked to install sewer lines nearby.  During my childhood and teenage years, my parents owned and operated a roofing business, Jerry Hill Roofing.  I earned my allowance over the summer by picking up debris on the job site and helping to hold the black paper in place for someone else to nail.  I was useless in helping to carry the heavy bundles of shingles from the ground to the rooftop, as I could barely drag one bundle across the ground.  I did, however, lose any inhibition I ever had for getting dirty or crawling around on top of houses.  I also kept the local ER in business and have the scars to prove it, although I cannot remember how I got all of them.

My Mom retired from the roofing business in her forties and obtained a degree and license as a registered nurse.  My Dad continued as a roofer until his late fifties.  Since then, he has worked a job site foreman for D & H Construction Company.  For as long as I can remember, he has also worked as a carpenter and woodworker.  My sister and I joke that we knew how to operate a jig saw before the State thought we were competent to drive a car.

I decided to become a lawyer while working for a local insurance defense firm.  I was hired as an entry-level legal assistant, but my work ethic and attention to detail were soon recognized, and I was assigned to one of the senior partners.  By the end of my five-year tenure there, I had been promoted to the firm’s only stand-alone paralegal.  Also during that five years, I finished my undergraduate degree, taking classes in the evenings and weekends.  I left the firm to go to law school, but returned afterwards.  I worked there as an associate for several years before opening my own practice.

I love being an attorney. Where else can you inspect a lumber mill (in jeans and a hardhat) one day and make oral arguments to an appellate court (in a suit, no headgear) the next day.