Forty Under 40: D’lorah Hughes, 36

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Before arriving in Northwest Arkansas in 2008, D’lorah Hughes had a journey that included stops in North Carolina, Texas, California and China.

The opportunity she enjoys now at the UA, where she directs the criminal clinics at the School of Law as a tenure-track professor, seems appealing enough for Hughes to grow roots.

“The school is very progressive,” said Hughes, a Kentucky native and 2001 Duke Law School graduate. “Putting clinicians on a tenure track is a new thing in legal education and it makes a great statement of a great school in the South.”

Hughes supervises second- and third-year law students in both juvenile defense clinics and criminal prosecution clinics.

She is also the faculty supervisor of three externship programs she developed so students can obtain “real-world“ experience.

“To have them have success with a client and be thanked for doing something great, it’s a fabulous feeling,” she said.

Hughes also volunteers at Youth Bridge, and was appointed by Gov. Beebe to the Arkansas Coalition for Juvenile Justice.

She has a goal of competing in a sprint triathlon in the coming year, and is currently writing an article about issues involving the Marshallese community.