Arkansas Business

Rainwater Holt & Sexton evolved in 2006 out of Duncan & Rainwater, said CFO Rick Gunther. At that time it had five or six lawyers, Gunther said. Now, the firm has 12, with three of those hired just this year.

Gunther said Rainwater Holt & Sexton was seeing explosive growth. The firm started a bankruptcy practice this year. It opened an office in Conway a year ago and one in Hot Springs in April. It also maintains an office in Rogers.

"Our main goals are to continue to increase our Social Security disability cases and our bankruptcy cases and continue to spread through Arkansas," he said. "I'm not sure where we're going to open our next office, but we don't have any plans to slow down growth anytime soon."

J. Bruce Cross with 11th-ranked Cross Gunter Witherspoon & Galchus PC of Little Rock, said his firm's business was "probably pretty steady" compared with last year.

"I think clients are much more attuned, obviously, to costs," he said. "I think there's some recovery in some industries. Some are still struggling pretty bad. The construction industry is still struggling. But there are other industries that are picking up the pace," Cross said, citing manufacturing. Cross Gunter represents clients such as ABF Freight System, Nabholz Construction, Welspun and Dassault Falcon Jet.