Baxter D. Drennon
Biography
Baxter D. Drennon is a Partner in our office in Little Rock, Arkansas, and he has more than a decade of legal experience. His practice is a testament to a career built on safeguarding clients’ rights across the complex landscape of products liability, commercial transactions, and banking and finance law. Baxter also successfully defends doctors, nurses, and other medical providers as he helps them navigate through difficult medical malpractice cases.
Baxter has built a reputation for his work in managing high-exposure cases such as catastrophic personal injury and complex business disputes. He has served as lead counsel in hundreds of cases and as trial counsel in over a dozen more — most of which have consistently led to complete defense verdicts.
Beyond the courtroom, Baxter works closely with each client’s leadership team to ensure the legal strategy aligns with broader business goals while resolving each matter effectively and efficiently. He represents clients across various manufacturing sectors, including aerospace, automotive, heating and cooling, electrical component, and vertical transportation industries.
In addition to products liability defense, Baxter often advises businesses on commercial disputes and other day-to-day operational matters. He also represents several municipal water and wastewater entities. His noteworthy contributions include serving as legal counsel in the pioneering privatization of a water utility for a military installation in Arkansas, and his tenure as the City Attorney for Benton, Arkansas.
Baxter earned a Juris Doctorate, magna cum laude, from the University of Arkansas and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Considered a leader among his peers, Baxter has been actively involved in the Defense Research Institute (DRI) since 2010, and previously served as the Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee. In 2019, Baxter was elected to the DRI Board of Directors in 2019 – the first young lawyer elected to the Board. Baxter is also a Future Leader in the Products Liability Advisory Council. He has been repeatedly named a “Rising Star” by Mid-South Super Lawyers.
Experience
Baxter has over a decade of legal experience, protecting the rights of clients inside the courtroom, as well as in their day-to-day business dealings. Baxter’s influence spans high-exposure personal injury cases, complex business litigations, and beyond. His dedication to his clients is mirrored in his tireless defense of manufacturers, his strategic litigation in commercial disputes, and his commitment to achieving summary judgments in multimillion-dollar controversies.
In commercial litigation, Baxter’s deep understanding of business complexities has helped him guide clients through issues related to intellectual property rights, shareholder disputes, and contractual enforcement, showcasing his versatility and strategic acumen.
Baxter represents manufacturing companies in a wide range of sectors, such as aerospace, automotive, electrical component, heating and cooling, and vertical transportation. He has handled many high-risk, high-exposure cases.
Credentials
Admitted
State Courts:
- Arkansas, 2010
- Georgia, 2022
U.S. District Courts:
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
Education
- J.D., magna cum laude, University of Arkansas, 2010
- B.A., Political Science, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, 2007
Memberships
- Arkansas Association of Defense Counsel
- State Representative, 2023-2025
- President, 2021-2022
- President Elect, 2020-2021
- Secretary, 2019-2020
- Treasurer, 2018-2019
- Defense Research Institute
- Board of Directors, National Director, 2019-2022
- National Membership Committee, Chair, 2021-2022
- Young Lawyers Committee, Chair, 2018-2019
- Products Liability Advisory Council (PLAC), Future Leader
Recognition
- The Best Lawyers in America®, Personal Injury Defense Litigation; Best Lawyers®; 2021-2024
- Mid-South Rising Star, Super Lawyers®, 2013-2023
- Richard H. Krochock Award, Defense Research Institute (DRI), 2022
Presentations
- Luddite or Technophile: Stark Warnings of Technology Competency
Products Liability Advisory Council (PLAC) 2023 Fall Conference; October 5. 2023 - Modern Day Litigation: Using Multiple Media to Appeal to Jurors of All Ages
DRI, 2021 Annual Meeting, October 2021 - An Afternoon in HR
HBS Helping Businesses Succeed Series; September 21, 2023 - Lessons from the Trenches: Civil Jury Trials During COVID & Beyond
Products Liability Advisory Council, 2021 Fall Conference, September 2021
- Luddite or Technophile: Stark Warnings of Technology Competency Requirements
2021 Texas Association of Defense Counsel Annual Meeting, September 2021 - Defusing the Nuclear Verdict
Products Liability Advisory Council, September 2021 - Technology Competency Requirements in Tennessee and Nationwide
Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association, Virtual Annual Meeting & Awards Presentation, September 2020 - Annual Case Law Update
DRI Product Liability Committee Meeting, November 2019 - Legal Hot Topics
Arkansas Water and Wastewater Managers Association, 2018 - The Ethical Pitfalls of Representing Friends and Family
Arkansas Association of Defense Counsel, Tennessee Association of Defense Counsel, Kentucky Defense Counsel, and Nebraska Association of Defense Counsel; April 2018 - Luddite or Technophile: Start Warnings of Technology Competency Requirements
Arkansas Association of Defense Counsel, September 2017 - The Ethical Pitfalls of Representing Friends and Family
DRI Lawyers’ Professionalism and Ethics and Young Lawyers Committees, June 2016 - Ethical Pitfalls of Representing Friends and Family
Arkansas Association of Defense Counsel, Tennessee Association of Defense Counsel, Kentucky Association of Defense Counsel, and Nebraska Association of Defense Counsel; June 2016 - Ethics in Negotiations and Mediations
DRI Young Lawyers Seminar, June 2015