Here to Serve
Whether he is standing in front of a Pulaski county judge or advocating for the Natural State, Will Bond is an individual with a passion for helping others through his work.
The medical malpractice lawyer of McMath Woods in Little Rock, former Arkansas state senator, former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, former chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas and father of three got his start in the field of law after attending Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. With an original dream of being a baseball player, Bond retired a collegiate career after one season with the Commodores and was drawn to the legal field.
“I decided to go there because of the reputation of the school and because … I wanted to play college baseball,” Bond said. “I made the team and was a walk-on. … I was on the team for a year and traveled and played a little bit.”
After graduating with a degree in political science in 1992, Bond enrolled at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and began law school.
“I always had in the back of my mind that I would go to law school … so that kind of turned into a political science degree,” Bond said. “I wanted to be a trial lawyer — somebody who went to court.”
After graduating law school in 1995, Bond spent his first two years at Friday, Eldredge & Clark in Little Rock, where he learned the basics of his trade yet still felt a calling for something different. Like any strong-willed individual might, he decided to open his own firm and became a partner at Bond & O’Brien.
“I wanted to have a broader practice to get into court more quickly,” Bond said. “[I] moved to Jacksonville and set up a practice with my longtime childhood friend Pat O’Brien. … We did a little bit of everything. I did a lot of divorce, custody, and I started doing personal injury cases there. I had an interest in helping folks who were injured, and my practice began to move more in that direction.”
Around the same time Bond launched Bond & O’Brien, which soon morphed into Bond & Chamberlain, he decided to run for his mother’s seat as a state representative for his hometown. Bond won the seat, but he said the move narrowed what he could do legally due to the time commitment.
“Folks want to talk to their lawyer frequently, so I had to streamline the practice a little bit more. I got more focused on personal injury … insurance disputes and civil litigation,” Bond said.
“When I went to the legislature, I think I’d been practicing law for about eight years. That was helpful entering the legislature because I was familiar with different areas of the law [and] how legislative acts actually affected people, so that was very helpful.”
His stint in politics was not short lived, and only three years later, he was elected chair of the Democratic Party of Arkansas in 2011. He served there until 2013. Like clockwork, Bond was once again headed for the statehouse four years later, becoming a member of the Arkansas Senate representing the 32nd district.
“It made me a better trial lawyer,” Bond said. “That was very helpful to me getting ready to be in court even more as my career went on.”
During his service to the 32nd District, Bond & Chamberlain merged with McMath Woods in 2010. The McMath Woods law firm offers a wide and varied scope of experienced lawyers covering everything from personal injury to environmental law.
“They really focus on trying to help people and then doing good work — professional work for our clients,” Bond said. “One thing that we try to do is never sort of take our eye off the ball. We’re trying to win for our clients in every case and do the best job we can for them every time.”
Bond said lawyers rarely meet perfection, and although they strive for it, another aspect of being a lawyer is humility.
“You’re going to have days that aren’t perfect,” Bond said. “You’re going to make some mistakes. You’re not always going to be perfect, so you have to be able to know to laugh at yourself, not take yourself too seriously, but always know that every day we come to the office, we’re trying to do our best in a very professional manner for each one of our clients.”
When Bond is not conquering the legislature, advocating for his clients or reading over his upcoming court appearances, he lives a simple life.
Bond and his wife, Gabriel, have recently declared themselves “empty nesters” and enjoy visiting their children at their universities. Bond says he still keeps up with baseball and politics.
The multifaceted lawyer wears many hats: a dad, a former politician, a partner and a voice for Arkansans. Through his dedication to his clients and his state, Bond’s service heart does not go unnoticed.
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