Then & Now: Relationships define attorney’s success

Relationships are key for Todd Lewis — those with his clients, his family and the young attorneys he mentors. Originally from Fort Smith, Lewis was interested in law from an early age, drawn to the profession to help people and resolve complex matters.

An attorney for 28 years and partner with Conner & Winters law firm, Lewis enjoys “establishing relationships with clients and building trust, and they come to rely on my advice. I think that’s an honor for me that I’ve gotten to that point in my career. That’s something I’m really proud of.”

Committed to “bringing good results,” he tells his clients, “I will think about your case when you don’t think I am. I will worry about your situation when you don’t think I am,” he said. “I do think and worry about my clients’ concerns when we’re not sitting face to face talking about them. I’m dedicated to making sure things are taken care of effectively and properly.”

Named to the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class of 2008, Lewis has been on “The Best Lawyers in America” list, a peer-reviewed publication, every year since 2013 in the areas of banking and finance law and commercial litigation. He was named the 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” for banking and finance law in Fayetteville by Best Lawyers.

Lewis graduated from the University of Arkansas with a history degree in 1993, and then from the UA law school with high honors in 1996. He worked as in-house counsel for Ozark Marketing, a poultry commodities brokerage, and then spent about two years as in-house counsel for Walmart Inc.

In 2002, he joined Conner & Winters law firm in Fayetteville and made partner in 2005. A commercial litigator, Lewis’ experience includes litigation in banking, real estate, insurance, health care, manufacturing, food processing and construction. His clients include regional banks, restaurant franchisers, large corporations, global food suppliers, industrial manufacturers and small business owners.

While he’s dedicated to his clients, Lewis stressed that he’s worked hard to balance his work life with his family life throughout his career. “I’ve been very fortunate to be able to balance both of those over the years, putting the time in that you need to be as a father and the time you need to put in as a contributing partner in a firm to assist your clients.”

The way he did that was working after his children went to bed and with “very little sleep. I joke that I napped between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.,” the father of three said, crediting his wife with “handling the home labor.”

The biggest challenge in his career as an attorney is “to continue to remain positive and enthusiastic,” Lewis said. “The nature of the profession can take both of those away from you over time, if you allow it. I’ve been fortunate I’ve maintained both, but I’m cognizant of the need to continue to be optimistic and still be excited about what I do every day. And I am.”

Lewis also values mentoring.

“I enjoy bringing younger attorneys along in their practice,” he said. “I had the benefit of that when I was a young lawyer. A senior attorney, John Elrod, in my firm taught me a lot, and I’ve valued that. So, one of my goals is, if I can help a younger attorney along, I enjoy that.”

He advises young attorneys to “be comfortable in their own skin,” and “find an area of the law you enjoy and do that, and it will make your career more satisfying and rewarding. I’ve been fortunate that the area I’m in, I really do enjoy practicing — that world of commercial litigation and banking.”

A volunteer judge at the UA law school, Lewis hopes to one day teach a class at the UA in the area of law.

Now empty nesters, he and his wife, Missy, enjoy volunteering and cycling on the local trails. Lewis is also a “very amateur gardener.”