JoAnn C. Maxey practices primarily in the areas of employment law and business litigation. Born in Iwakuni, Japan, Ms. Maxey graduated in 1977 from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science, and she received her Juris Doctorate in 1982 from University of Arkansas-Little Rock School of Law. Ms. Maxey was admitted to the Arkansas Bar in 1983. Prior to obtaining her law degree, Ms. Maxey worked in the non-profit sector for a fledging statewide community foundation.
Immediately upon obtaining her law degree, Ms. Maxey became an associate in the firm of Kaplan, Brewer, Bilheimer and Miller, P.A. She became a named partner in the firm and continued in that practice until 2007 when she joined Williams & Anderson as Of Counsel.
Ms. Maxey has served as Adjunct Law Faculty, UALR William H. Bowen School of Law; Chair, Supreme Court Client Security Fund Committee; board member, Volunteer Organization of Central Arkansas Legal Services; past Chair of the Labor and Employment Section of the Arkansas Bar Association; and, Special Associate Justice to the Arkansas Supreme Court in the Unborn Child Amendment Committee, et al. vs. Dr. Harry Ward, et al.She is also a Master of the Bench, Henry Woods Inn of Court. Ms. Maxey is a member of the Pulaski, Arkansas and American Bar Associations, and the Arkansas Association of Women Lawyers.
Ms. Maxey has been involved in complex employment and commercial litigation in both federal and state courts. She has defended successfully a grocery distributor sued under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) and a foreign trust sued under the Arkansas Dissenter's Rights statute. Most recently, in association with others, she defended a large discount store in a nationwide race discrimination class action brought against its transportation division. She has also represented successfully at trial and on appeal a state university in connection with a widely publicized employment discrimination suit brought against it by a former coach. Additionally, she has represented local, regional and nationwide companies on matters involving employment discrimination issues, non-competition agreements and the Employee Retirement Insurance Security Act (ERISA). As well, Ms. Maxey has practiced extensively in the area of family law.
Ms. Maxey is listed in Best Lawyers in America under Labor and Employment Law; inChambers USA as a “Leader” in the field of Labor and Employment Law; and in Mid-South Super Lawyers in the areas of Employment and Labor Law and Family Law.
