Arkansas Business

Joey Nichols

Joey Nichols started at the Friday firm right out of law school, hired, he said, by Walter M. Ebel III and Byron M. Eiseman, who was for many years managing partner of the firm.

And it’s Ebel’s example in particular that Nichols has sought to follow. Ebel, Nichols said, has the ability to put clients at ease even in complicated and stressful situations. “There’s kind of an art to making clients feel comfortable and Ebel is real good at that,” Nichols said.

Nichols himself is no stranger to complicated legal issues, having served as lead counsel to USA Drug of Pine Bluff in its acquisition of more than 100 pharmacies in Arkansas and surrounding states.

In addition, Nichols works with high-profile business clients like Dillard’s Inc., construction firm VCC, First Security Bank and Oaklawn Park.

Nichols, who became a partner at the Friday firm in 2007, said he works hard to balance career, community service and family life.

He has a passion for golf, having played the sport in college and at the U.S. Amateur Championship. That love of the game and the wish to expose young people to golf lie behind his service as a member of the board of the First Tee of Central Arkansas, and he remains active with the nonprofit.

He also sits on the board of the Arkansas State Golf Association and has worked on behalf of the Arkansas chapter of the American Heart Association.

Nichols said that in addition to Ebel and Eiseman his parents were good role models, instilling in him a strong work ethic and a desire to succeed.