Alumni News

December 2024

Year-End Giving to Alabama Law

As you consider your charitable giving prior to the end of the year, please keep Alabama Law in mind. Your gift goes toward a number of initiatives that help the Law School remain one of the best in the country. Click here to learn how to complete your 2024 gift to The University of Alabama School of Law by year-end. Gifts can be made via check, credit card, securities, wire transfer, and IRA charitable rollovers. 

Maynard Nexsen Contributes $250,000 to Honor First Black Graduates at Alabama Law

Maynard Nexsen and the firm’s Alabama Law alumni have pledged $250,000 to support the construction of the Path Makers Legacy Plaza at the University of Alabama School of Law. Established in 2023, the Plaza will honor the Law School’s first Black graduates and celebrate their historic contributions to the institution. The Law School also received a $25,000 pledge for the Plaza from the law firm of Lightfoot, Franklin & White and an additional undisclosed commitment from the Caring Foundation of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. Click here to read more.

To learn how you or your organization can make a difference and explore donor recognition opportunities, please contact our Advancement Office at 205-348-5752 or email Caroline Strawbridge at cstrawbridge@law.ua.edu. 

Judge Michelle Childs Delivers Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Memorial Lecture

On November 22, Judge J. Michelle Childs of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered the Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Memorial Lecture in Constitutional Rights and Liberties as part of a reunion hosted for former clerks of Judge Johnson and the Law School community. In her address, Judge Childs emphasized the lasting importance of voting rights—which Judge Johnson fought to uphold throughout his judicial career. Following the lecture, Daiquiri Steele, Associate Professor of Law, provided a reflection on the lecture and moderated a question-and-answer session.

Click here to read more about the reunion and lecture.

Judge L. Scott Coogler to Join Faculty Following Retirement

Judge Scott Coogler will be retiring from the federal bench in January. Following his retirement, Judge Coogler will join the Alabama Law faculty as Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law. This spring, Judge Coogler will teach Federal Jurisdiction and Complex Litigation. We are fortunate to have someone with Judge Coogler’s experience, abilities, and passion for student success join our faculty.

Click here to read more.

Law & Psychology Review Volumes Available

If you were a member of the Law & Psychology Review, you may be interested in receiving a past volume! Volumes available include Volumes 34-42 (2010-2018) and Volumes 45-48 (2020-2024). Please respond via this form if you’d like to request a copy for your personal collection for only the cost of shipping. 

Art Competition Kick-Off for the 25th Anniversary of the Public Interest Institute

The Public Interest Institute at Alabama Law will be celebrating its 25^th anniversary in 2025. We invite students and alumni to help us kick off this celebration by submitting an original work of art that represents the theme “cultivating a lifelong commitment to service.” The winning piece from this competition will be featured and paired with the theme throughout the year. Learn more here.

Gifts

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

Dr. Jonathan J. Davies (’80) contributed $6,500 to the Alabama Law Alumni Society.

Steven L. and Anna M. (’98) Grizzle contributed $10,000 to the Anna and Steven Grizzle Endowed Law Scholarship.

Stephen D. Kane (’69) contributed $25,000 to the Stephen Douglas Kane Endowed Scholarship in Honor of Former Dean Kenneth C. Randall. He also contributed $25,000 to the Program for Law and Business Support Fund.

Wesley L. Laird (’86) contributed $5,000 to the Path Makers Legacy Plaza.

Lightfoot Franklin & White LLC pledged $25,000 to the Path Makers Legacy Plaza.

Maynard Nexsen P.C. and the firm’s Alabama Law alumni pledged $250,000 to the Path Makers Legacy Plaza.

Robert Ellis Parsons (’57) Estate contributed $338,087 to the Alabama Law Alumni Society.

Jerry F. Perkins (’97) contributed $10,000 to the Jerry and Suzanne Perkins Endowed Scholarship.

Hon. Luther Johnson Strange III contributed $100,000 to the Attorney General Luther Strange Public Service Endowed Lecture Series.

The Survival and Flourishing DAF through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation contributed $20,000 to the Alabama Law Artificial Intelligence Initiatives Support Fund.

M. Wayne Wheeler (’66) contributed $100,000 to the Judge Robert J. Wheeler Scholarship.

Wilmer & Lee, P.A. contributed $9,000 to the Wilmer & Lee, P.A. Endowed Scholarship.

James W. Wright Jr. (’10) pledged $10,000 to the Douglas Arant Professorship.

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. Visit www.give.ua.edu to make or renew your contribution.

Class Notes

Ben Barrow (‘22) joined Balch & Bingham as an associate in Birmingham.  

Shomari C. Figures (‘10) was elected to Congress. He will represent Alabama’s Second Congressional District.  

Gregory D. Hyde (‘79) received the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham Outstanding Professional Advisor award from The Association of Fundraising Professionals Alabama Chapter. 

Daniel A. Jones (‘03) was named general counsel for the University of New Mexico.  

Cason M. Kirby (‘12) was named to Birmingham Business Journal’s 2025 40 Under 40 list.

Jay C. Lester (‘11) was named to Birmingham Business Journal’s 2025 40 Under 40 list.  

Kim B. Martin (’94) was named to Super Lawyers’ Top 50 Women list.

Blaize Naman (‘24) joined Adams & Reese’s Intersection of Business and Government practice in Mobile.  

Ava Ringhoffer (‘24) joined Adams & Reese’s litigation practice in Mobile.  

Tony Thedford (‘96) was appointed an At-Large Judge in for the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.  

Ryder Winborn (‘24) joined Dentons Sirote as an associate in Huntsville.  

The following alumni joined Maynard Nexsen as part of their 2024 associate class:  
Hunter M. Drake (‘24) joined the Huntsville office. 
Spencer C. Haynes (‘24) joined the Birmingham office. 
Chris T. Hellums (‘24) joined the Charlotte, North Carolina, office.
Demarcus A. Joiner (‘24) joined the Birmingham office.
Hyang Gi “Emily” Shin (‘24) joined the Birmingham office.
Carolyn A. Weeks (‘24) joined the Huntsville office.

The following alumni were named to Super Lawyers’ 2024 Mid-South Super Lawyers list:
Wendell Allen (’98)
Simon T. Bailey (’11)
Julian L. Bibb IV (’15)
Lindsey C. Boney IV (’09)
Jennifer H. Clark (’05)
Ty E. Dedmon (’04)
R. Alan Deer (’88)
Hall B. Eady (’04)
Chris Glenos (’93)
Glenn E. Glover (’00)
Chris R. Grissom (’97)
Stephen H. Hall (’98)
Judd A. Harwood (’01)
David G. Hymer (’85)
Kim Martin (’94)
Chuck J. Mataya (’85)
David W. Owens (’00)
George R. Parker (’98)
Edward Sledge IV (’03)
David K. Taylor (’84)
Jesse S. Vogtle Jr. (’88)

The following alumni were named to Super Lawyers’ 2024 Mid-South Rising Stars list:
Julian L. Bibb IV (’15)
Stanley E. Blackmon (’15)
Mazie R. Bryant (’20)
Carolyne B. Hess (’14)
Rudy C. Hill (’10)
Matt A. Hinshaw (’12)
Cason M. Kirby (’12)
Jonathan R. Kolodziej (’12)
Grant A. Premo (’11)
Emily M. Ruzic (’14)

Faculty Notes

Professor Mirit Eyal-Cohen was invited to present at the 117th National Tax Association Conference in Detroit, Michigan. She presented on the topic of Tax Complexity and Its Impact on Compliance and Equity. She also presented a paper titled Fiscal Levers for Safer AI Safety at the Tax Workshop of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  

Professor Heather Elliott spoke on a panel on academic freedom as part of the Justice William O. Douglas Memorial Lecture at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. The keynote speaker was Judge William A. Fletcher, Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Also on the panel was Prof. Liz Porter of the University of Washington School of Law. 

Prof. Elliott also spoke at the Alabama Judicial Education Conference in Montgomery. Organized by Alabama Supreme Court Justice Will Sellers, the conference involved speakers from a wide range of industries, legal fields, and academic institutions. Prof. Elliott spoke about Alabama’s unusual approach to standing doctrine. 

Professor Russell Gold’s essay (co-authored with Prof. Kay Levine, Emory University Law School), Exoneration Finance, was published in the N.Y.U. Law Review Online.  

Professor Paul Horwitz participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Notre Dame Law School Center for Church, State, and Society, in Kylemore, Ireland, in October. The roundtable brought together leading scholars on law and religion from England, Italy, and the United States and focused on a book manuscript on traditionalism and the law, along with other papers.  

In November, Prof. Horwitz presented a paper at a conference at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. The conference, Revolutionary Incitement and the Limits of Free Speech, focused on the Supreme Court’s decision in Gitlow v. New York, which marks its centennial next year. It was hosted by ASU’s Center for Constitutional Design. He joined Prof. Helen Norton on a panel on Free Speech and Deference to Legislative Judgments and spoke on epistemic influences on the majority and dissenting opinions in Gitlow and their relationship to contemporary free speech law.  

Also in November, Prof. Horwitz assisted in conducting mock interviews of the University of Alabama’s finalists for the Rhodes Scholarship; one of those finalists, undergraduate student Katie Herndon, succeeded in her final interviews and was awarded one of 32 Rhodes Scholarships across the United States.   

Professor JD Hsin commented on how the Trump administration’s education policies could affect special education in an article from Education Week.  

Professor Ron Krotoszynski published an essay, Reforming Pickering to Better Protect Government Employees’ Speech, with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University about protecting the freedom of expression rights of government employees.  

Vice Dean Joel Nichols’ book, Research Handbook on Family Law and Religion (with Karin Carmit Yefet) has been accepted for publication in 2026. Another of his books, Religion and the American Constitutional Experiment (5th ed.) (with John Witte Jr. And Richard W. Garnett) has been picked up for Arabic language translation.  

Vice Dean Nichols also provided a keynote/plenary speech at the Council of Bar Admissions Administrators, a subgroup of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, titled Between the Lines: Law School Honor Code Violations.  

Professor Shalini Bhargava Ray recently participated in a panel discussion, When “No Action” Means “Final Action”: Current Issues in Agency Guidance, at the fall conference of the ABA Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section. The Regulatory Review at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School recently published an essay by her, Promoting Transparency and Consistency in Individualized Guidance. She also presented a paper at an immigration enforcement scholars’ workshop at Cardozo Law School.  

Professor Clare Ryan served as an organizer and moderator for the Younger Comparativists Program of the American Society of Comparative Law Annual Meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 17-19.  

Prof. Ryan also presented her article, The Public/Private Home, at the 2024 Southeast Junior/Senior Workshop, hosted by Alabama Law, on November 8.  

Professor Tobie Smith presented Postconviction Remedies: When All Hope is … Lost(?) for an Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association CLE.  

Professor Fred Vars and his work on gun suicide prevention, Donna’s Law, was featured in an article from The Trace and in a piece from KCUR, Kansas City’s local NPR station. He also published an op-ed with Ian Ayres (Yale Law School) in the Washington Post about the way Hallie Biden handled finding Hunter Biden’s gun – by throwing it in a dumpster.