January 2024

News

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Come Celebrate the 2024 Alabama Law Alumni Society Award Recipients

The Alabama Law Alumni Society Banquet will be held on Friday, March 1, at Haven in Birmingham. Seven distinguished alumni will be honored this year for their significant contributions to the legal community and the Law School:

Sam W. Pipes Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
W. Mike House (’71)

Alabama Lawyer Hall of Honor Inductees
Judy Whalen Evans (’75)
Vanessa Leonard (’95)
Robert F. Prince (’74)
M. Wayne Wheeler (’66)

Alabama Rising Young Attorney Award Recipients
Stanley E. Blackmon (’15)
Christopher B. Driver (’15)

Come celebrate with the 2024 Alabama Law Alumni Award recipients. Purchase your tickets today.

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Alabama Law Ranked #7 for Federal Clerkship Placements

Law.com recently released their rankings for federal clerkships placements, compiled from 2022 ABA employment data. Alabama Law ranked #7 overall, and #2 for public law schools, in federal clerkship placements. The rankings were determined by comparing the percentage of 2022 JD graduates from each law school who secured federal judicial clerkships. Click here to read more about Alabama Law’s federal clerkship ranking.

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3L Swapanthi Mandalika Awarded WWCDA Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Outstanding Law Student Award

3L Swapanthi Mandalika was awarded the Women’s White Collar Defense Association’s (WWCDA) Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Outstanding Law Student Award. This award is “given to a woman in the final year of her legal education who best exemplifies the Justice’s commitment to excellence, perseverance, resilience, extraordinary work ethic, and tireless efforts to ensure justice for all.” Read more about Mandalika’s award here.

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Alabama Law Review Announces 2024 Symposium

The Alabama Law Review is proud to announce its 2024 Symposium, Allen v. Milligan: The Intersectionality of Race, Elections, and Democracy, to be held at The University of Alabama Law School on February 16. This symposium explores the history of the Voting Rights Act—an Act with deep ties to the state of Alabama—and considers the changing landscape of election law.

The keynote speaker, Evan Milligan, will provide especially enriching commentary on the intersectionality of election law and race. Mr. Milligan, the named representative plaintiff in Allen v. Milligan, brings a unique personal perspective on these issues. The Symposium will include panels of government officials, litigants, and academics in an effort to provide as complete an analysis as possible of this complex issue. In the current political environment, questions surrounding the franchise are more salient than ever—Alabama Law Review is excited to host this insightful and thought-provoking event. Click here to learn more about the Symposium.

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Gifts

Recognition of gifts of $5,000+ over the past month

Robert C. (Mike) Brock (’84) contributed $10,000 to the Alabama Law Summer Scholars Program. 

Summerville/Trion Bancshares Southeast First National Bank of Chattooga County contributed $5,000 to the Law School Foundation in Honor of Edward F. Hurley (’83). 

Laura L. Crum (’82) contributed $18,146 to the Crum Family Endowed Lecture for Law and Business. 

Billy G. Hall (’85) contributed $5,000 to the Alabama Law Alumni Society.

Dean and Mrs. Nathaniel Hansford contributed $10,000 to the Nathaniel Hansford and Frances Fincher Hansford Endowed Scholarship. 

The Hobbs Foundation contributed $5,000 to the Alabama Law Alumni Society. The donation was facilitated by Hon. Truman M. Hobbs, Jr. (’83) and Deborah R. Hobbs.

The Honorable R. Austin Huffaker, Jr. (’99) and Suzanne D. Huffaker pledged $40,000, with an initial payment of $10,000 to establish The Huffaker Family Endowed Scholarship in honor of family members who graduated from the Law School and in memory of Robert Austin Huffaker (’66), Matthew Lee Huffaker (’01), and Cecily Trussell Huffaker (’99).  

Jimmy G. McLaughlin (‘94) and Caroline V. McLaughlin contributed $10,000 to The Huffaker Family Endowed Law Scholarship in memory of Matthew Lee Huffaker.

M. Dale Marsh (’74) committed $40,000 to establish the M. Dale Marsh Endowed Law Scholarship through an estate gift.

The firm of Marsh & Cotter, LLP pledged $10,000 to establish the M. Dale Marsh Endowed Law Scholarship.

Kim Bessiere Martin (’94) and Clay Martin (’95) pledged a gift to establish the Martin Family Endowed Scholarship.

James H. Richardson (’78) and Nancy Richardson contributed $5,180 to the Patrick W. Richardson Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Henry U. Sims and Henry G. Sims Memorial Foundation contributed $9,000 to the Henry G. Sims and Henry U. Sims Memorial Fund. 

John A. Smyth (’96) and Leigh Ann Smyth contributed $25,000 to the Dean’s Discretionary Fund and committed an additional $125,000 to the Law School Foundation through an estate gift.

The following alumni and friends (not mentioned above) either made or renewed an annual giving contribution to the Alabama Law Alumni Society this past month.

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Class Notes

David D. Anthony (‘14) was selected as one of Mobile Bay’s “40 Under 40.”  

Sarah M. Atkinson (‘23) joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate in Birmingham. 

Spencer Bachus (‘72) was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a second term on the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.  

Robert Baxley (‘16) was named partner at Balch & Bingham LLP in Birmingham.  

William P. Burgess III (‘23) joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate in Birmingham. 

Bailey C. Cormier (‘23) joined Bass, Berry & Sims PLC as an associate in Nashville.  

Seth F. Capper (‘12) was named shareholder at Maynard Nexsen in Birmingham.  

Aubrey Coleman (‘14) was featured in the ABA Journal’s Meet 12 ABA members who inspired us in 2023. 

Chandler Combest (‘10) was named partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Birmingham.  

Ryan Dardard  (‘21) joined Burr & Forman LLP as an associate in Mobile.  

Tiffany J. deGruy (‘08) was named in Birmingham Business Journal’s 2024 Leaders in Diversity Award honorees list.  

Bingham D. Edwards, Jr. (‘96) was named a board member at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.  

Mary Ena Heath (‘90) joined Thompson Burton as an attorney in Huntsville. 

Danielle M. Hunt (‘23) joined Bass, Berry & Sims PLC as an associate in Nashville. 

Ben N. Kearns (‘17) joined Starned Davis Florie LLP as an associate in Mobile.  

Mary Pat Lawrence (‘00) was named to Yellowhammer News’ 2024 Women of Impact list.  

John David Lind (‘16) was elected to membership at Miller & Martin in Atlanta. 

Angelica M. Mamani (‘22) joined Hudson, Jones, Jayword & Fisher LLC as an associate in Dover, Delaware. 

Stuart M. Maples (‘86) joined Thompson Burton in Huntsville.  

Elizabeth Davis McCoy (‘16) was named partner at Huie, Fernambucq & Stewart, LLP in Birmingham.  

Woods Parker (‘16) was named partner at Huie, Fernambucq & Stewart, LLP in Birmingham. 

Laura A. Pizzitola (‘15) was named counsel at Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C. in Birmingham.  

T. Brooks Proctor (‘16) was named partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Birmingham. 

Jillian M. Purdue (‘23) co-authored an article with Professor Fred Vars, Time to Heal: Trauma’s Impact on Rape & Sexual Assault Statutes of Limitations, that was published in the Texas A&M Law Review. 

Michael W. Rich (‘12) was named partner at Burr & Forman LLP in Mobile.  

Emily M. Ruzic (‘14) was named partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Birmingham. 

Caroline Sims (‘15) was named partner at Copeland Stair Valz & Lovell LLP in Atlanta.  

Rachel M. Sims (‘23) joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate in Birmingham. 

Catherine S. Spann (‘16) was named partner at Burr & Forman LLP in Mobile.  

Mitchell T. Theodore (‘12) was elected principal at Cory Watson Attorneys in Birmingham. 

Zachary Walden (’16) was selected as one of the Knoxville News Sentinel’s “40 Under 40.” 

Jennifer H. Wheeler (‘10) was named shareholder at Maynard Nexsen in Birmingham.  

Adam G. Williams (‘22) joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate in Nashville. 

Jim H. Wilson (’96) was named Executive Director of the Birmingham Bar Association.

Katelyn (Katie) H. Wilson (‘12) was named counsel at Bressler, Amery & Ross P.C. in Birmingham.   

Richard Whitaker (‘06) joined Swift Currie LLP as an associate in Birmingham.  

Rebecca A. Young (‘09) was named partner at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP in Birmingham.  

The following alumni were honored by the Alabama State Bar Women’s Section for being licensed for 50+ years:
Jane Smelley Grubbs (’67)
Linda Stoker James (’71)
Shirley Crawford Dorrough (’71)
Rosa Hamlett Davis (’72)
Sarah Steward Frierson (’72)
Sydney S. Smith (’72)
Katharine Palmer Smith (’73)
Terry Tumlin Everett (’73)
Hon. Inge Prytz Johnson (’73)

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Faculty Notes

Professor Russell Gold was quoted in an article from The Cullman Times about a bail reform case appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.  

Professor Amy Kimpel’s article from the Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology (2022), Paying for a Clean Record, was reviewed by Cornell Law professor Jessica Eaglin.

Professor Fred Vars co-authored an article, Time to Heal: Trauma’s Impact on Rape & Sexual Assault Statutes of Limitations, that was published in the Texas A&M Law Review.  

Professor Joyce Vance was interviewed on MSNBC regarding appeals of 14^th Amendment and presidential immunity issues. She also conducted an interview of NYU Law professor Rachel Barkow on Café’s Insider Podcast, which touched on this term’s administrative law cases before the Supreme Court. She also authored a piece on MSNBC Daily titled What the Legal System Owes America in the Era of Donald Trump, and was quoted in two articles about the anniversary of January 6^th: one from USA Today and one from NBC News.