Judge Mark Klappenbach graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1981 with a bachelor of science in accounting. He then graduated with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law in 1984. Judge Klappenbach holds both an attorney’s license and a certified public accountant’s license.
Judge Klappenbach was first elected to the Arkansas Court of Appeals in 2016 and was reelected in 2020. He began a four-year appointment as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals in 2025.
Prior to serving on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, Judge Klappenbach worked over thirty-one years in the legal and accounting fields, including work as a public defender, deputy prosecuting attorney, and in private practice.
Judge Klappenbach is a lifelong resident of Fordyce, Arkansas. He is married to Glenda and has an adult daughter, Kristin.