I began my legal career in the Tuscaloosa County Public Defenders Office as a Senior Assistant Public Defender in 1974. After four and a half years in the Public Defender’s Office, I decided to enter private practice in 1978. I started my own firm in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and was joined in 1979 by Joel Chandler, an associate from the Public Defender’s Office. We formed a partnership and practiced together until 1992, when Joel Chandler was elected to one of the two District Court Judge positions in Tuscaloosa County. I have been in solo practice since 1992.
I have thirty years of legal experience defending and advocating the rights of individuals accused of a crime. I also practice in the areas of personal injury, products liability, civil rights, constitutional law, education law and family law. My extensive trial experience includes both civil and criminal litigation and appeals in the Alabama state, federal, and appellate courts. I am licensed to practice in all Alabama state courts, the U.S. District Court Middle District of Alabama, the U.S. District Court Northern District of Alabama, the U.S. District Court Southern District of Alabama, the U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
My practice is built on personal and individual attention. I care about my clients, and I listen to their problems in order to understand their needs and concerns. I promise to do the very best job I can for my clients when providing representation or advise in any legal matter.
I am very active in the community and in local and national bar associations. I am a member of the American Civil Liberties Union and have worked with the ACLU on cases involving First Amendment issues, such as freedom of religion and prayer in school. I am an adjunct professor teaching trial advocacy at the University of Alabama School of Law. I have also lectured on criminal law, the First Amendment, and trial advocacy as part of conferences, conventions, and legal education seminars.
As an experienced attorney, I can help inform you of your rights, protect those rights, and offer you skilled representation. I was awarded the Roderick Beddow, Sr. Award in 1991 by the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers, “For Many Years of Distinguished Service in the Field of Criminal Law” and I was voted the title of SuperLawyer in Criminal Law in Alabama in 2008. My work as a public defender and a private attorney has given me a wealth of knowledge, experience, and skills as a trial lawyer and an appellate attorney.
