Fast 15: Caroline Currier

Caroline Currier is known as “the fixer” to many of her elderly clients.

In her practice as an elder law attorney, she helps seniors get their financial and personal affairs in order, so as they age, they are ready for events like incapacity or healthcare crises.

“Nursing facilities in our state cost thousands of dollars each month, and the Medicaid system is extremely complex,” she said. “The bulk of my cases involve helping full-time care residents qualify and apply for Medicaid benefits to fund their healthcare needs.”

Currier cares for each client, treating them like family and being available after hours when they are in need.

“I find a smile, a gift, or a bad lawyer joke go far when my clients are moving from their home to a nursing facility, mourning the loss of their spouse, or experiencing a decline in mental or physical health,” she said.

Originally from Little Rock, Currier graduated with a writing degree from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth in 2015.

A semester-long internship during her senior year for a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., inspired her to go to law school. It helped her realize she wanted to work with people one on one, not companies or corporations.

At the University of Arkansas School of Law, Currier held various positions on the Student Bar Association’s executive board, was the student liaison on the search committee for a new dean and clerked for Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Robin Wynne.

Upon graduation in 2018, Miller, Butler, Schneider, Pawlik & Rozzell PLLC hired Currier as an associate attorney to do estate planning and corporate tax work.

Given the flexibility in charting her course, Currier chose to add a new area of elder law to the firm to serve underrepresented populations like the elderly and disabled. She built a profitable practice while becoming one of the highest performing first-year associates the firm ever had, exceeding all revenue targets.

After meeting the requirements, Currier intends to become a certified elder law attorney (CELA). There are only three in Arkansas, and none are women.

Currier is the Arkansas Bar Association’s vice chairman of the elder law section and performs legal services pro bono for the underprivileged through Legal Aid of Arkansas. A founding member of Heartworks Inc., she also volunteers for Arkansas Miss Amazing Pageant.