ATTORNEYS
James E. Atchison (Attorney) admitted to bar, 1968, Alabama and U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama; U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit; U.S. Supreme Court. Education: University of Alabama (J.D., 1968). Attorney for: Mobile County School Board; Mobile Area Water and Sewer System; Mobile County Sheriff's Department. Special Assistant Attorney General. Member: Mobile County and American Bar Associations; Alabama State Bar; Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys. Practice Areas: Civil Trial Practice; Governmental Law; Commercial Trial Practice; Personal Injury Law.Email: James E. Atchison
Elias J. Saad (Attorney) born Mobile, Alabama, December 5, 1948; admitted to bar, 1978, Alabama. Education: University of Alabama (B.A., 1972); Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (J.D., cum laude, 1978); University of South Alabama. Phi Delta Phi. Member, Cumberland Moot Court Board. Member, 1976-1978 and Managing Editor, 1977-1978, Cumberland Law Review. Licensed Civil Law Notary, Alabama, 2003. Co-Author: Hood, Hardy and Saad, Alabama Workmen's Compensation with Forms, The Harrison Company Publishers, 1990; Hood, Hardy and Saad, Alabama Workmen's Compensation, The Harrison Company Publishers, 1982 (with supplements). Member: Mobile Bar Association; Alabama State Bar. Practice Areas: Personal Injury; Workers Compensation.
Vaughan Drinkard, Jr. (Attorney) born Mobile, Alabama, July 27, 1951; admitted to bar, 1977, Alabama and U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama; U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit; U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama. Education: University Military School; Springhill College (B.A., 1973); Birmingham School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1977). Sigma Delta Kappa (Chancellor, 1975). Lecturer, University of South Alabama Continuing Education Division, 1980-1984. Law Clerk, Honorable J. Russell McElroy. Member, National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys. Member: Mobile Bar Association (Member, 1988; Chairman, 1991, Unlawful Practices Committee); Alabama State Bar (Member, Unlawful Practices Committee, 1989-1992; Vice-Chairman, 1988); Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (Director, 1992-1994); Defense Research Institute. Practice Areas: Class Actions; Insurance Law; Trial Practice; Estate Planning.Email: Vaughan Drinkard, Jr.
Derek Atchison (Attorney) admitted to bar, 1998, Alabama; U.S. District Court, Southern and Middle Districts of Alabama; U.S. Tax Court; U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Education: Emory University (B.A., 1988); University of Alabama (J.D., 1998); New York University (LL.M., Taxation, 1999). Bench & Bar Legal Honor Society. Student Editor, American Journal of Tax Policy. Attorney for Mobile County School Board. Member: Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys (Member, Board of Directors); Estate Planning Council of Mobile. Practice Areas: Business Law; Corporate Law; Commercial Law; Tax Law; Trusts and Estates; Wills; Probate; Real Estate; Nonprofit and Charitable Organizations; Tax Exempt Organizations; Governmental Law.Email: Derek Atchison
Jacqueline M. McConaha (Attorney) admitted to bar, 1984, Alabama; 1988, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama; 1995, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. Education: University of Tennessee (B.A., 1973); University of Alabama (J.D., 1984). Phi Alpha Theta. Member: Order of Barristers; Moot Court Board. Recipient: Dean Christopher Award. Assistant District Attorney, Mobile, Alabama, 1985-1988. Member: Mobile County Bar Association; Alabama State Bar. Practice Areas: General Litigation; Governmental and Administrative Law; Contracts.Email: Jacqueline M. McConaha
Frank G. Taylor (Attorney) born Atlanta, Georgia, September 3, 1950; admitted to bar, 1975, Alabama, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits. Education: Emory University (B.A., 1972); Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (J.D., 1975). Civil Litigator, areas of insurance coverage litigation, education law, environmental law, business litigation and construction litigation. Assisted clients, with negotiation of consent decrees with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. President, Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys; Special Assistant Attorney General, Alabama State Tenure Commission. Member: Mobile County and American Bar Associations; Alabama State Bar; Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys (President, 1998-1999). Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Insurance Coverage Litigation; Environmental Law; Education Law; Municipal Law; Administrative Law; Construction Litigation.Email: Frank G. Taylor
K. Paul Carbo, Jr. (Attorney) born New Orleans, Louisiana, July 13, 1957; admitted to bar, 1982, Alabama; U.S. District Court, Southern and Northern Districts of Alabama; U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. Education: University of South Alabama (B.A., 1979); University of Alabama (J.D., 1982). Member: Mobile Bar Association; Alabama State Bar. Practice Areas: Government Law; Employment Law; Commercial Litigation; Personal Injury Defense; Workers Compensation.Email: K. Paul Carbo, Jr.
Edgar P. Walsh (Attorney) admitted to bar, 1978, Alabama. Education: Loyola University (B.B.A., 1973; J.D., 1978). Beta Gamma Sigma; Alpha Sigma Nu; Phi Alpha Delta. Member: Mobile and American Bar Associations; Alabama State Bar; Alabama Trial Lawyers Association. Practice Areas: Labor and Employment; Employment Discrimination; Appellate Practice; Civil Practice; Municipal Law; Governmental Law.Email: Edgar P. Walsh
Keith Franklin (Attorney) born Mobile, Alabama, 1964; admitted to bar, 1989, Alabama and U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama. Education: Spring Hill College (B.S., 1986); Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (J.D., 1989). Curia Honoris. Associate Editor, Cumberland Law Review, 1988-1989. Member: Mobile County Bar Association; Alabama State Bar. Practice Areas: Personal Injury; Negligence; Torts; Family Law; Wrongful Death; Employment Discrimination.Email: Keith Franklin
Christopher A. Arledge (Attorney) born July 18; admitted to bar, 1998, Mississippi; 2007, Alabama; U.S. District Court, Southern and Northern Districts of Mississippi; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama; U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. Education: University of Southern Mississippi (B.S., 1994); University of Mississippi (J.D., 1998). Christopher A. Arledge began his practice in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, in 1998, with the firm of Armstrong, Thomas, Leach, Lampton & Arledge, PLLC, focusing on the areas of real estate, forestry, wills and estates, corporate law, municipal law and creditors' rights. Mr. Arledge represented numerous banks and timber companies and regularly handled all types of real estate/timber transactions and estate matters. Mr. Arledge served as Town Attorney and Prosecutor for the Town of Wesson, Mississippi, and was subsequently appointed Municipal Judge for the Town of Wesson. Mr. Arledge, who is from Gulfport, Mississippi, relocated to Mobile, Alabama in 2007 and joined The Atchison Firm, where he continues to practice in the same areas. Member: Mobile Bar Association; Alabama State Bar; The Mississippi Bar.Email: Christopher A. Arledge
Tara Drinkard Barber (Attorney) born Birmingham, Alabama, August 11, 1974; admitted to bar, 2000, Alabama and U.S. District Court, Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Alabama; 2001, Mississippi. Education: Spring Hill College (B.A., 1996); Loyola University (J.D., 2000). Moot Court. Member: Mobile Bar Association (Member, Young Lawyers Executive Committee), Alabama State Bar (Young Lawyers Executive Committee). Practice Areas: Civil Practice; Insurance Defense; Probate; Estates; Trusts; Wills.Email: Tara Drinkard Barber
Jennifer E. McDonald (Attorney) born Birmingham, Alabama, September 19, 1971; admitted to bar, 1998, Alabama; 1999, Florida; 2002, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama. Education: University of Mississippi (B.A., cum laude, 1993; J.D., 1998). Jennifer Elaine McDonald was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1971. Her family moved to Mobile in 1978 and she grew up in Mobile, attending Murphy High School where she graduated in 1989. She attended the University of Mississippi on an Academic Excellence Scholarship, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1993. Thereafter, Ms. McDonald attended the University of Mississippi School of Law in Oxford, Mississippi. While at Ole Miss Law, Ms. McDonald participated in a semester long public service internship with the Honorable Henry L. Lackey, Circuit Judge before obtaining her Juris Doctorate degree in 1998. She was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1998 and to the Florida State Bar in 1999. After graduation from law school, Ms. McDonald spent four years practicing marital and family law in Fort Myers, Florida, prior to returning to Mobile in 2002 to work with Galloway, Smith, Wettermark & Everest, LLP. While at Galloway Smith, she worked in the areas of corporations, bankruptcy, as well as insurance defense and the research and writing of appellate briefs. She returned to the practice of marital and family law in 2004 with Claude D. Boone, P.C. where she worked for three and a half years before joining the Atchison Firm. Member: Alabama State Bar; The Florida Bar; Mobile Bar Association; American Bar Association. Practice Areas: Premises Liability; Products Liability; Family Law; Insurance; Civil Practice; Environmental Law.Email: Jennifer E. McDonald
Michael M. Linder, Jr. (Attorney) admitted to bar, 2004, Alabama and U.S. District Court, Northern and Middle District of Alabama; 2007, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama. Education: University of Alabama in Huntsville (B.A., History and Philosophy, cum laude, 2000); University of Alabama School of Law (J.D., 2003). John Campbell Moot Court Board. Member: Alabama State Bar. Practice Areas: Municipal Law; Police Civil Liability Defense; Civil Litigation; Trial Practice; Appellate Practice.Email: Michael M. Linder, Jr.
R. Darrin Thompson (Attorney) born Mobile, Alabama, October 10, 1966; admitted to bar, 2001, Alabama. Education: University of South Alabama (B.A., 1989); Jones School of Law (J.D., 2000). Recipient, Corpus Juris Secundum Award for Excellence in Contracts. Past Member, Committee for Student Affairs. Member: Mobile Bar Association; Alabama State Bar. Practice Areas: Civil Practice; Automobile Accidents and Injuries; Automobile Negligence; Bodily Injury; Motor Vehicle Accidents and Injuries.
Matthew I.D. Andrews (Attorney) born Des Moines, Iowa; admitted to bar, 2008, Alabama; 2009, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama. Education: Spring Hill College (B.S., Business Management, 2001); Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (J.D., 2008). Matt Andrews received his undergraduate degree from Spring Hill College in 2001. Prior to and after graduation from Spring Hill College, he entered the field of commercial construction first as an assistant project manager and then as a project manager and estimator for a large commercial construction firm in the Mobile area. He has been the project manager on several schools, office buildings, and other commercial facilities in southern Alabama. In 2005, Mr. Andrews entered law school at Cumberland School of Law and graduated in 2008 with his Juris Doctorate. Mr. Andrews practices in the general field of civil law, with special emphasis in construction and insurance litigation. Mr. Andrews was admitted in Alabama in 2008 and to the Southern District of Alabama in 2009. Member: Mobile Bar Association; Alabama State Bar. Practice Areas: Personal Injury(10%); Construction Law(70%); Business Law(20%).Email: Matthew I.D. Andrews
OF COUNSEL
Donald G. Beebe (Of Counsel) born Jacksonville, Florida, May 9, 1951; admitted to bar, 1976, Alabama; U.S. District Court, Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama; U.S. District Court, Middle District of Illinois; U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi; U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits. Education: Mercer University (B.A., 1973); Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (J.D., cum laude, 1976). Executive Editor, Cumberland Law Review, 1975-1976. Author: "Constitutionality of Louisiana Sequestration Statute," 5 Cumberland Law Review 139, "Dealing With Contributory Negligence In Alabama," Alabama Trial Lawyers Journal, 1982; "Preparation of Worker's Compensation Case From Plaintiff's Viewpoint," presented Alabama State Bar, 1982. Instructor, Preparation of Worker's Compensation Case from Plaintiff's Viewpoint, 1982 and Worker's Compensation and Heart Attacks presented, 1985, Alabama CLE Program. President, Trial Advocacy Board, 1975-1976. Member: Mobile and Birmingham (Member Executive Committee, Young Lawyers Section, 1977-1978) Bar Associations; Alabama State Bar; Birmingham Trial Lawyers Association (Vice President, 1979); Alabama Trial Lawyers Association (Member, Board of Governors, 1978-1983); Alabama Judicial College Faculty Association; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Defense Research Institute. Practice Areas: Civil Law; Business Insurance Claims; Insurance Fraud; Products Liability.
Alvin K. Hope, II (Of Counsel) born Mobile, Alabama; admitted to bar, 1997, Alabama. Education: University of Alabama (B.A., 1993; J.D., 1997). Alvin Hope has worked in both private practice, as well as, the corporate sector, as a labor and employment law attorney representing management in employment, litigation, labor matters, contract negotiation, contract management, grievance arbitration, mediation, and union avoidance. A graduate of UMS Preparatory School (1988) and an inductee into the UMS Sports Hall of Fame, Mr. Hope matriculated from the University of Alabama in 1993 with a major in History and a minor in Mathematics. As an undergraduate, he was a three year letterman in football and a member of the 1992 National Championship Football Team. He graduated from the University of Alabama School Of Law in 1997 and is a member of both the Alabama and Georgia state bars. In addition, he is a registered mediator in the State of Alabama. Currently, Mr. Hope is a member of the University of Emory's Goizueta Business School Modular Executive MBA program. After graduating law school, Mr. Hope returned to Mobile and began his law career as an associate attorney with Huntley, Jordan & Associates, P.C. practicing employment law and general litigation. Thereafter, he worked for the Alabama Education Association as a part of the in house counsel division. In 2000, he accepted the role of Director of Labor Relations for Integrated Health Services, a Maryland based health care service provider. Later, he joined the Macon office of Constangy, Brooks and Smith, a labor and employment defense firm. After completing a federal clerkship in the Middle District of Alabama for the Honorable Delores Boyd, U.S. Magistrate, he exited the traditional practice of law and founded the consulting firm of St. Amant Chatman Group. In addition to his role as Of Counsel with The Atchison Firm, Mr. Hope also serves as an advisor to the global environmental engineering firm of Montgomery Watson Harza. Member: Alabama State Bar; State Bar of Georgia. Practice Areas: Labor and Employment.Email: Alvin K. Hope, II