Hayden Marshell, Grant Johnson, and Will Balestrino—took different paths after graduation, but all found their way into the legal profession. Their story, from the class of 2018 to law school, the bar exam, and careers back home in Arkansas, reveals the power of friendship, perseverance, and community influence.
After the Fort Smith Northside High School class of 2018 graduated, 557 seniors belted out Drake’s “God’s Plan” before tossing their graduation caps skyward. It wasn’t the typical graduation song, but it fit. This class, who’d been born at the turn of a new century, seemed comfortable with change. Among the cheering graduates were Hayden Marshell, Grant Johnson, and William (Will) Balestrino.
The trio was leaving high school behind, but they had some great memories. Hayden and Grant were on the baseball team, and Will played football for the Grizzlies. They had teachers they admired, friends they cared about, and families they loved. All that was left to do was decide how to spend the rest of their lives.
Grant’s mother had often told him he should be an attorney because he was “good at arguing.” Sebastian County Circuit Judge Leigh Zuerker and attorney Scott Zuerker were close family friends, so he was familiar with the profession. In Grant’s senior year, he decided to follow in their footsteps.
Will’s parents wanted two things for their son. To find a career he enjoyed every day, and to live and work in an area he loved. Debate class, along with a mock trial competition he entered while at Northside, sealed the deal. Will wanted to practice law.
Hayden loved history, hated math, and was a sports fanatic. “I definitely spent more time in school studying sports and stats than I did [with] whatever was going on in class, and if I wasn’t playing baseball, I was probably watching it or whatever other sport was on, and so I definitely would not describe myself as studious,” Hayden says. When he thought about a career, he envisioned something impactful and meaningful. Which turned out to be the law.
The summer of 2018 came and went, and the three left for different colleges. But in 2022, they reunited at the University of Arkansas School of Law. For Will, his undergrad years had been relatively easy, even while working two or three jobs. But now, he had to really study.
Grant found the first year the hardest. “The best advice I got while going through law school was to embrace the difficulty.”
Hayden remembers writing an appellate brief, which is a rite of passage in the first year of law school. After the brief is finished, the student argues the case before three “judges.” “I decided to cram most of my writing a day before it was due (which we were warned not to do), and it was miserable. I did not leave my room or sleep for over thirty hours.”
Those crammed long hours paid off. Hayden and his opponent won best overall round with their oral arguments.
When the trio graduated earlier this year, they’d reached a milestone, a lofty goal, a dream come true. But there was another hurdle: the dreaded bar exam. “The pressure is immense, and then you add in the cost, the time, and any other outside force working against you, and it truly was one of the most difficult experiences of my life,” Will says.
Hayden adds, “Day one was all writing, and I walked out feeling alright at first, but as the night went on, I felt my mood start tanking drastically. Day two is all multiple choice, and after I finished, I got in my truck, left Little Rock as fast as I could, only stopping in Conway for dinner before I got home and passed out from exhaustion. The bar was the first time I ever felt physically drained by an exam. It is a brutal two days.”
All three had passed the bar, although they wouldn’t know it for a while. “I was very anxious,” Grant says. “It took five weeks to get results back, but it felt like months.”
The waiting may have been a bit more intense for Will. He’d been told by a lawyer who took the exam the year before to expect a one-day warning from the Bar Examiners before scores were released. Instead, his group received a two-day notice—stretching the suspense. “It’s safe to say there was not a lot of sleep during those days,” Will says. When the results finally arrived, the relief was instant and overwhelming.
The three had the honor of being sworn in at the Arkansas Supreme Court during its full session in October of 2025. Hayden called it a “wow” moment, as everything he’d worked for had finally come to fruition. Grant was overwhelmed by gratitude. Will was overcome by a sense of peace.
The three are now practicing law, and all have stayed in the region. Hayden is an associate attorney at Legacy Law Firm, PLLC, in Fayetteville. Will is an associate attorney at Daily and Woods, PLLC, in Fort Smith. Grant is associate legal counsel at ABB (formerly Baldor), which is also in Fort Smith.
Tell them that the grass is always greener somewhere else, and they’ll argue that it’s not. They find the people here kind. And then there’s the land itself. Hayden, who started hunting with his dad at an early age, agrees. “I love Arkansas, and I love the people here. I have never had any inclination to leave, and this is where I want to spend my life and career.”
Grant trout fishes, duck hunts, plays golf, and mountain bikes, so he can’t think of a better set-up than the Natural State.
And Will hunts, fly fishes, camps, and kayaks. “Arkansas has all of that for me,” he says.
Each finds satisfaction in what they’re doing. The law is about solving real-life problems, organizing relevant timelines and events so they are easy to understand, and articulating a client’s position. Grant explains it like this. “Lawyers have the ability to do many positive things in the world. They can stop a family from losing a home, exonerate the wrongfully convicted, defend those who cannot defend themselves, and prevent harm before it happens.”
Grant can see himself, years from now, as general counsel for a large corporation. Hayden, who embraces the idea of the “small-town lawyer,” may one day dip his toe in state-level politics. Will’s long-term dream is to become a judge.
None of their futures have been possible without the help of their families, community, and a library of great books. Hayden remembers reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, in Ms. Robin Owen’s eighth-grade English class at Chaffin Junior High. The wise, good-hearted lawyer at the heart of this Southern novel is Atticus Finch, and Hayden loved him.
At the University of Central Arkansas, Professor Tom Courtway influenced Hayden, playing a big role in his acceptance to UA School of Law. Before that, at Northside, Ms. Wendy Peer and Mr. Brad Molder encouraged and motivated him, as Mr. Gary Hartwig did for Will.
Along the way, they’ve gotten some valuable advice. Hayden remembers an evening with his grandfather, Gary Marshell. “He said, ‘Son, if someone asks you for help and you can do something to help, help.’ It is a pretty simple quote, but in today’s world, it seems to be a really complicated idea.”
Helping can feel complicated, but it’s worth it. Kindness has a way of multiplying, covering differences that seem insurmountable in the absence of goodwill.
In 2018, when Northside graduates Hayden Marshell, Grant Johnson, and Will Balestrino threw their graduation caps in the air, no one knew if they’d hit their target. Hard work, sharp minds, and determination brought them through and settled them close to home. Not in small part due to the kindness they’ve felt here, which they experienced growing up in our little part of Arkansas.
