Forty Under 40: Erik P. Danielson

Erik Danielson springs from a family of legal eagles.

He had his own eye set on opening his practice from the moment he earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas in 2004.

Danielson started the firm in 2005 in his hometown of Booneville, renting an office that once belonged to his father, Paul Danielson, who served as a circuit court judge for more than ten years and was elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2006.

Today, the law firm has seven full-time employees and three attorneys — including Danielson’s mother and uncle — and Danielson opened a satellite office in Fayetteville in May 2012.

It’s now fully staffed as a second office for the firm, which deals largely with work in the civil realm. Litigation involving oil, gas and property make Danielson, who was licensed to practice in Oklahoma in 2011 and Texas two years later, a frequent traveler.

Danielson said his goal is to turn the small-town practice into a statewide or even regional firm, specifically in Oklahoma and Texas. He said he’s even hoping to convince his father to head up a Little Rock office when his judgeship is up.

Danielson, who has done legal work for various local option alcohol sales measures, also owns Walton Boulevard Wine and Spirits, which opened Dec. 20 in Bentonville.

He also plays tennis and won a pair of state titles in high school.

“I still play, but it’s a young man’s game,” he joked. “It’s more social these days.”