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William H. ‘Buddy’ Sutton Dies at 84

3 min read

William H. “Buddy” Sutton, a former chairman and managing partner of the state’s largest law firm, died Thursday, the law firm confirmed.

He was 84.

The funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday at Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock. 

Sutton joined the Friday Eldredge & Clark of Little Rock in 1959. He led the firm’s trial department, and he was the first chairman and managing partner of the firm after the death of Herschel Friday in 1994. He retired in 2005 but continued serving of counsel.

“The Friday, Eldredge & Clark family is deeply saddened by the passing of Buddy Sutton and our prayers and deepest sympathies go out to his wonderful family,” the firm’s managing partner, J. Shepard Russell III, said in a news release.

“The impact he made not only on our firm but on countless lives through his service to his church, and civic and service organizations cannot be overstated,” Russell said. “He leaves a legacy of influence that will be felt for generations to come.”

Sutton’s clients included some of the top names in Arkansas business, including publicly traded department store chain Dillard’s Inc. of Little Rock, and his philanthropy and volunteer efforts bolstered universities, a law school and nonprofits throughout the state.

While maintaining a legal career that spanned six decades, Sutton served on numerous boards, including those of Dillard’s, Baptist Health of Little Rock, Ouachita Baptist University of Arkadelphia and the Pulaski Technical College Foundation of North Little Rock. He was a chairman of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Foundation.

“One of the most impressive aspects of Buddy’s life is how many people and organizations he touched,” said Troy Wells, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “He certainly made a profound impact on Baptist Health through his service on our board.”

Late in his career, Sutton and his wife Peggy created the William H. Sutton Barrister’s Union Fund at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville School of Law. In 2002, four years after creating the fund, they donated $100,000 to endow it.

Sutton graduated with a doctorate of juridical sciences in 1959 from the University of Arkansas. In 1994, he was given the Arkansas Association of Defense Counsel Outstanding Defense Attorney award. He also was president of the Pulaski County Bar Association in 1992-93 and a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers and International Association of Defense Counsel.

Sutton’s work in the community also earned him many accolades. In 1990, he received the Brooks Hays Award and the Arkansas Bar Association Lawyer of the Year Award. In 1994, he received the Arkansas Association of Defense Counsel Outstanding Defense Attorney Award. In 1999, he received the Distinguished American Award from the Arkansas Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, and the Arkansas Boys and Girls Sheriff’s Ranch Award.

“There’s hardly an organization or worthy cause that Buddy wasn’t somehow involved in during his life,” said Kevin A. Crass, a member of the Friday firm’s management committee. “He got involved in causes because he believed in their missions and wanted to do his part to make them successful. And he did.”

In 2002, he received the National Humanitarian Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice of Arkansas. Easter Seals named him Arkansan of the Year in 2004. And OBU named the W.H. Sutton School of Social Sciences in his honor.

Sutton remained active at the firm long after retirement age. Arkansas Business interviewed Sutton in 2004 when the then 72-year-old was still working full time. A litigation veteran and a partner for more than 40 years at the time, he had adapted to a more administrative role.

“They’ve been pretty kind to me. I’ve developed personally engaging relationships, and I feel the experience I have is valuable to them,” Sutton said of his legal staff.

“They’re easy to work with from my standpoint. They’re very smart, but there is something you learn each year at a law practice that just accumulates.”

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