Frank Cardoza was the first in his family to graduate from law school, college or high school. While he was in high school, his family moved from California to Van Buren seeking a better life.
In college, he identified issues within the legal system and sought to address them. He found that people were going to jail or getting in trouble with the system “just for being poor.”
After graduating from University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, he earned a law degree from The University of New Mexico and a Master of Laws in taxation at Northwestern University.
In 2017, he started as an attorney at a Dallas firm, focusing on high-net-worth divorce cases. He returned to Fort Smith in March 2018 and spent about three years at Dennis Sbanotto P.C., handling cases such as estate and medical insurance planning, probate and civil litigation. He also did pro bono work.
He enjoyed it, but the COVID-19 pandemic impacted his ability to gain clients.
Wanting to move to Northwest Arkansas, he joined J.B. Hunt in October 2020 as assistant corporate counsel before being named to his existing role.
“It turned out well,” he said. “A lot of my drafting experience and a lot of my analysis and research skills that I developed during law school and private practice paid dividends here at J.B. Hunt.”
He provides legal advice to the company’s dedicated and final mile segments. He also develops and presents educational material on legal issues to operational and sales staff. In the coming years, he looks to take on a management role, overseeing other attorneys.
Cardoza is a board member of Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation and supports American Bar Association’s Tax Section. He enjoys riding bike trails, smoking meats and traveling.