Community and Rural Enterprise Development (CRED) Clinic

About the Clinic

Contact Us

Professor Peter Norman
Assistant Professor
and Director of the Community and Rural Enterprise Development Clinic
pnorman@uark.edu
(479) 575-3035

The Community and Rural Enterprise Development (CRED) Clinic represents small businesses, non-profits, cooperatives, and small municipalities throughout Arkansas. Recently, the clinic has helped a software start-up draft a licensing agreement, a community advocacy organization submit state and federal freedom of information requests, a small town draft its first municipal ordinance, a local social services agency create template contracts for an entrepreneurship program, a conservation nonprofit consider risks and opportunities for expansion, and several non-profits focusing on the arts, education, religion, mutual aid, sustainable agriculture, addiction recovery, and economic development obtain or maintain their tax-exempt status. Under Professor Norman’s supervision, students are lead attorneys on their matters, interviewing clients, conducting research, drafting legal documents, and counseling clients on their options. Students learn to approach lawyering from a client-centered perspective, developing a deep understanding of their clients’ goals and the context in which they operate, while fostering their clients’ autonomy and efficacy. Through client work and the weekly seminar, students break down complex real-world legal issues, engage in self-directed study of new fields of law, manage professional relationships, and reflect critically on the ethical and strategic implications of their lawyering choices.

CRED Public Resources

In August 2026, the CRED Clinic released “Arkansas Incorporated Towns: Their Governance Capacities and Legal Needs,” a report documenting and analyzing the clinic’s comprehensive survey of incorporated towns in Arkansas with fewer than 500 residents. The survey, which was conducted in collaboration with the Arkansas Municipal League, is a first-of-its-kind assessment of the gap between the legal powers of small towns and the legal, administrative, and financial resources they need to solve their highest-priority issues. Advanced CRED student attorneys Adam Hagler, Haley Smith, and Joshua Han worked with Professor Norman to develop and distribute the survey and co-authored the report. A copy can be downloaded {here}.

For Prospective Clients

The CRED Clinic represents small businesses, non-profits, cooperatives, small municipalities, and other organizations on a variety of matters, including forming entities, drafting contracts, researching legal compliance issues, applying for tax-exempt status, and navigating regulatory systems. All legal services are free of charge, though clients are responsible for out-of-pocket expenses such as government filing fees.

To request legal services from the CRED Clinic, please call the Legal Clinic office at (479) 575-3056 or email Professor Peter Norman at pnorman@uark.edu. We are open Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If your matter involves the kind of legal services we can provide, we will schedule a brief initial discussion and then send you an application form to complete. Applications received before December 15 will be considered for our Spring semester (starting in January) and applications received before August 1 will be considered for our Fall semester (starting in late August).

For Students

CRED Clinic students must be eligible for practice under Rule XV of the Arkansas Rules Governing Bar Admission. For transactional clinics such as CRED, Rule XV does not require students to have taken criminal procedure or evidence. However, students must have passed professional responsibility before entering the clinic. While not required, students will find it helpful to have taken courses in business organizations and/or non-profit organizations.

Like all legal clinics offered at the Law School, CRED can be personally rewarding, intellectually enriching, and professionally beneficial – and a major time commitment. Clinic responsibilities each week include, at minimum, a two-hour seminar, a one-hour supervision session, a one-hour team meeting, and at least ten additional hours committed to clinic work. Students should be prepared to work as many hours as needed to provide excellent representation to their clients.

If you would like to learn more about the clinic, please reach out to Professor Norman to set up a time to talk.