Walter Cox, Fayetteville attorney of 54 years, dies at 79

Walter Cox, a longtime medical malpractice attorney and founding partner of Cox, Cox & Estes in Fayetteville, died Sept. 12 in Rogers. He was 79. No cause of death was included in the obituary.

Cox practiced law in Fayetteville for 54 years. A Forrest City native, he earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas in 1966. He immediately joined the Fayetteville firm of Putman, Davis and Bassett, where he made partner in 1970. The firm was later known as Davis, Cox & Wright.

After 34 years with that firm, Cox and his son, Lance Cox, left Davis, Cox & Wright, and, together with James (“Jamie”) R. Estes, established the firm of Cox, Cox & Estes PLLC. He was a frequent guest lecturer to medical groups on issues involving risk management and litigation.

In 2016, Cox told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that former Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt once nominated him as a federal judge.

“I was interviewed by the Justice Department and the FBI, but they halted the process when it was clear Bill Clinton was soon to become president,” Cox told a reporter.

In 2012, the Arkansas Bar Association and the Arkansas Bar Foundation named Cox the state’s Outstanding Attorney of the Year. In 2015, Gov. Asa Hutchinson appointed Cox as a special associate justice to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

A celebration of Cox’s life is scheduled Wednesday (Sept. 16) at 2 p.m. at Fellowship Bible Church in Fayetteville. Masks are required, according to the obituary. Nelson-Berna Funeral Home and Crematory of Fayetteville is handling the arrangements.