Ashley's "original partnership with the well-connected Robert Crittenden had dissolved over political differences.

Watkins was Arkansas Attorney General from 1848 to 1851; "however, his primary focus continued to be his private practice.

[11] Rose Law Firm members have historically been active in politics and civic affairs.

By the late 1970s, the firm had nine partners and a long name – Rose, Nash, Williamson, Carroll, Clay, & Giroir.

[12] In the economic realm, Rose has been termed "the ultimate establishment law firm"[12] in the state and "the legal arm of the powerful".

[13] During the 1970s, for example, its clients included Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart, large brokerage Stephens Inc., and Worthen Bank, as well as the Arkansas Democrat and other Hussman family media holdings.

Webster Hubbell, Vince Foster, and William H. Kennedy, III were also partners, before becoming Assistant Attorney General, Deputy White House Counsel, and Associate White House Counsel in the Clinton administration, respectively.

"[5] Rose Law Firm entered the national news during the 1990s as part of the Whitewater controversy, as investigators sought to determine how much work Clinton had done for the firm while representing Jim McDougal in cases involving the latter's Madison Guaranty and Castle Grande enterprises.