PRAIRIE GROVE -- Local attorney Steven Parker has a private law practice in downtown Prairie Grove but he also wears several other hats when it comes to legal matters.
Parker serves as city attorney and prosecuting attorney for both Prairie Grove and Lincoln and his days became much busier when his former law partner, Steven Zega, left Jan. 1 to become full-time attorney for Washington County.
Before he left, Zega served as deputy city attorney and prosecuting attorney for the city of Prairie Grove. Parker now has taken on that responsibility, along with taking in most of Zega's former clients.
"It's gotten a lot busier, particularly taking over prosecuting in Prairie Grove," Parker said. "That's been the biggest change. All in all, it is a lot bigger."
The downside, he said, is that he does not have a partner to call on if he needs someone to cover for him.
Previously, the two owned a law practice called Parker and Zega PLC. His firm's new name is West Washington County Law PLC.
Parker, who lives in West Fork, has served as city attorney for Prairie Grove and Lincoln since November 2006. He has a contract with both cities to provide this service.
He is a Fayetteville High School graduate and earned his undergraduate degree in environmental science from the University of Arkansas. He has a master's degree in environmental science and law degree from Indiana University.
After law school, he worked for Environmental Protection Agency for five years in Dallas before returning to Fayetteville to open a private practice and also serve as the attorney for Boston Mountain Solid Waste District. In 1996, he became director of the Solid Waste District and served in that capacity for 10 years.
"I was a bureaucrat," Parker said.
During his tenure as director, he was instrumental in Boston Mountain building a new transfer station west of Prairie Grove and moving its office to an old house on the same property.
After working for Boston Mountain, he returned to private practice in 2006 with an office in Lincoln before he and Zega decided to relocate and open a practice in Prairie Grove. At the same time, he began serving as attorney for both cities.
Parker said he was interested in being a city attorney because of his experience with local officials.
"I got interested in all the local government work when I was involved with the Solid Waste District and developed relationships with people like the mayors and Larry Oelrich (with city of Prairie Grove)," Parker said. "So I know all these people and I like working with them."
For now, he said he is not looking for a new partner but said he will continue to monitor his caseload. He hopes to continue as attorney for both cities.
"It gives me two clients with some level of business that is always there every month," Parker said. "You can rely on that month in and month out. But it's not enough for me to live on that but it provides for a good base, a reliable base."
When he is not practicing law, Parker said he likes to spend time outdoors. His hobbies include fly fishing, hiking, backpacking and camping. He is married to Betsey Mann and he has two daughters.
Parker jokes that one of his claims to fame was that in 2010 the Northwest Arkansas Times named him a "proto typical male" of northwest Arkansas, based on the 2,000 census. The average resident in the area grew up in Fayetteville, went away to school, worked somewhere else and then came back.
"I was a Washington County average male," Parker said. "I fit the profile."
General News on 04/15/2015