Forty Under 40: Leslie Copeland

Before Leslie Copeland founded Leslie Copeland Law & Mediation, she had to find her voice. That came in the theater.

Growing up in Little Rock, she sang in the choir and acted on the stage. Her favorite character to play was Bloody Mary in the musical “South Pacific.”

Through those experiences, she gained confidence in using a microphone and meeting new people. Eventually, she left theater behind and attended Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. After she graduated, she moved back to her hometown and received her juris doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law in 2014. Her focus was family law.

“I think that most people who go to law school want to help people,” she said. “Because of my personal history, I was drawn to family law. A good attorney can make a difference in a child’s life when they are going through a crisis.”

She and her husband, Aaron, decided to move to Northwest Arkansas where she formed her law practice. In addition to being a lawyer, Copeland is a licensed mediator.

If two parties are involved in a lawsuit, they sometimes will sit down with a neutral, third-party mediator to try and resolve some of the issues outside the courtroom, she said.

Mediation is an optimal route for several reasons when it involves family disputes such as divorce, she said. It relieves tension and can save both parties money, she said. It’s a voluntary process that gives the parties more control over the outcome.

At some point, Copeland said she hopes to return to the theater.

“It’s really magical. I’d love to do that one day,” she said.