City Segment Focuses on People

Tom Kieklak said his antique camera collection developed by accident.

But to hear clients tell it, Kieklak’s hobby is more of a metaphor for his Springdale law firm’s core area of competence.

Residential builder Mike Pennington, a client of Harrington, Miller Neihouse & Kieklak PA, said the firm has a keen eye for dealing with the people and politics involved in civil law.

“Some lawyers are not in tune,” Pennington said. “But these guys are concerned not just about the business side of what you’re doing, but the personal aspects, too. With Tom or Steve [Miller] it’s like talking to a college buddy.

“There’s no pretension, and I feel like they’re truly concerned about solving problems for their clients.”

HMNK’s lawyers serve as city attorneys for more municipalities than any other firm in Northwest Arkansas — Siloam Springs, Cave Springs, Elm Springs and Highfill. It also represents Siloam Springs Memorial Hospital, one of a dwindling number of city-owned hospitals in the state.

Kieklak said in addition to its municipal clients, HMNK annually handles about 50 matters for people who are “negotiating the twists and turns of working with a city.” In recent years, the bulk of those clients have been dealing with matters of annexation, development approval or permitting.

The firm, which has eight lawyers, charges between $125-$200 per hour. It also works on retainer. Steve Stitt, who’s of counsel to the firm, is based in Siloam Springs and serves as that city’s attorney. HMNK also has a Rogers office where Kieklak said it has a growing demand for tax work.

Other prominent clients include Fayetteville’s CMN Business Park and Gary Brandon Enterprises Inc.

“I have known Micki [Harrington] since she worked for the city of Springdale and have always thought she was knowledgeable and fair,” Brandon said. “I’m comfortable with her because she is very thorough and well accepted by the cities in this area.”

Kieklak said it’s true fellow partners Harrington and Miller, along with associate lawyer Angela Henry, have extensive real estate and municipal law backgrounds. But he stopped short of calling the firm a civil “boutique,” saying it’s still a commercial firm with a full cadre of services.

The lawyers’ unique histories with municipal law, however, are undeniable.

Kieklak, whose office display includes projectors from the 1920s to Polaroid Land cameras from the 1950s, worked for the Arkansas Municipal League for a decade ending in 2002. The North Little Rock native said his experience within the Municipal League Legal Defense Program prepared him for a practice with a concentration on cities.

The Municipal League remains a client of Kieklak’s. He, on occasion, represents them for a litany of cities in the region on cases related to employment discrimination, violations of free speech and civil rights.

After becoming familiar with cities and the way they work, he fell in love with them, Kieklak said.

“City government makes a difference in all of our lives,” Kieklak said. “They keep our toilets flushing, our roads cleared and our buildings safe. We’ve been at this long enough to know what to expect, and more importantly how to communicate with city councils and city staffs in a way that is effective and respectful.

“Two developers will go before a board for approval and one guy will get it and one won’t. There’s usually a reason why.”