Alabama Law Alumni Awards

Paula Hinton received her BA, magna cum laude, in political science from The University of Alabama in 1976, before enrolling in Alabama Law’s dual degree program and earning her MPA and JD in 1979. During law school, she was Chief Justice of the Law School’s Honor Court and a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Delta Phi, and the Farrah Law Society. She was also a Rotary International Graduate Fellow in international comparative law at the Universidad de Seville in Spain.

Until her recent retirement, Ms. Hinton was a litigation partner at international law firm Winston & Strawn in Houston, where she developed a reputation as a go-to trial lawyer. Her practice focused on representing some of America’s largest corporations in complex civil litigation, including the NFL, AT&T, BP, Shell Oil, Jiffy Lube, and Krispy Kreme. 

Ms. Hinton has also dedicated her career to uplifting women in the legal profession. She previously chaired Winston & Strawn’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, for which the firm was recognized as an “Outstanding Firm in Advancing Gender Diversity and Inclusion” by ChambersUSA in 2017. Additionally, Ms. Hinton previously served on the board of the National Association of Women Lawyers and in the ABA Commission on Women in Law. In recognition of her efforts, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Minority Counsel Program in 2021.

Ms. Hinton’s service and support to Alabama Law are multifaceted, long term, and continuing. She has served on the Law School Foundation Board of Governors, funded the Paula W. Hinton and James F. Hinton Scholarship, and, for the past five years, successfully chaired the Law School’s Capital Campaign Committee.

Ms. Hinton will be celebrated at the reception in Birmingham on May 21. Click here to RSVP.

Penny Davis received her bachelor’s degree in education, master’s degree in counseling, and law degree from The University of Alabama. After graduating from Alabama Law in 1978, she clerked for former Chief Judge Walter P. Gewin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Following her clerkship, Ms. Davis joined the Alabama Law Institute, where she served until her retirement in 2016. She served on numerous drafting committees, including 11 in which she was the committee reporter. She has written multiple publications for the Institute and has published three books. Ms. Davis also planned and presided over countless conferences to ensure that elected officials in Alabama had the legal training to support them in performing their duties to the citizens of this state.

Ms. Davis has received several awards in recognition of her service to the State of Alabama, including the Lifetime Service to the Law and to the Courts of Alabama Award from the Supreme Court of Alabama, the Award of Merit from the Alabama State Bar and the Lifetime Service Award from its Family Law Section, and the National Association of Secretaries of State Award. She was also named a Pillar of the Bar by the Tuscaloosa County Bar Association.

Since 1984, Ms. Davis has been an adjunct faculty member at the Law School, educating generations of Alabama Law students in family law topics and legal writing. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Tuscaloosa County Bar Association, the Alabama State Bar, and the American Bar Association.

Ms. Davis will be celebrated at the reception in Birmingham on May 21. Click here to RSVP.

Curtis O. Liles III graduated from Auburn University in 1970 with a degree in economics before enrolling at The University of Alabama School of Law, where he earned his JD in 1973 as a member of Order of Coif and the Alabama Law Review. Upon graduation from Law School, Liles fulfilled his commitment to the U.S. Army with service at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana.

Mr. Liles began his career as a tax attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel to the IRS in Miami. After four years, he was called home to Alabama and returned to Birmingham to join a law firm with a significant tax practice, which, in 1987, became part of Maynard, Cooper & Gale (now Maynard Nexsen). After 20 years, he co-founded the firm of Liles & Rushin in 2007. 

Mr. Liles continues to be a loyal supporter of both his alma maters. He has served on the advisory council to both Auburn University’s College of Liberal Arts and Graduate School, and, in 2016 he established a Professorship in Auburn’s Department of Political Science. At Alabama Law, Mr. Liles has been a member of the Board of Governors since 1998, serving as a steadfast advisor to Law School leadership. He contributes annually to the Order of Coif, the Alabama Law Alumni Society and, in 2017, established the Curtis O. Liles III Endowed Scholarship in Tax Law, which awards annual scholarships to Alabama Law students studying tax law. In the future, the fund will be converted to a Professorship supporting faculty who specialize tax law.

Mr. Liles remains active in his community and in the legal profession. He is a member of the American, Alabama, and Birmingham Bar Associations, including in the ABA Tax Section. He served on the Board of Directors of St. Martin’s in the Pines for many years and has provided significant leadership at the United Way of Central Alabama.

Mr. Liles will be celebrated at the reception in Birmingham on May 21. Click here to RSVP.

A Gadsden native, Bob McCurley received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from The University of Alabama before earning his JD from Alabama Law in 1966 as a member of Order of the Coif. 

Mr. McCurley served as Director of the Alabama Law Institute (ALI) from 1975-2011, where he oversaw major statutory revisions and facilitated the adoption of numerous laws. Under his leadership, ALI began providing support for legislative committees and established training programs for elected officials. He has published numerous books on law and government, and led a two‑year drafting project for the Constitution Revision Commission.

Mr. McCurley has been a dedicated mentor and educator for generations of students. For over four decades, he has served as an adjunct faculty member at Alabama Law and has taught in UA’s Honors College. In recognition of his years of dedication to The University of Alabama, Mr. McCurley received the E. Roger Sayers Distinguished Service Award in 2005.

Mr. McCurley is a life member of the American Law Institute and the Uniform Law Commission, and is a fellow of the American Bar Association, the Alabama State Bar, and the Council of State Governments. He previously served on the board of the National Conference of State Legislatures and as president of the Kiwanis International Foundation. Mr. McCurley has received both the Walter P. Gewin Award and Bar Commissioner’s Award from the Alabama State Bar, and he was named a Pillar of the Bar by the Tuscaloosa County Bar Association. He is married to Babs, and they have a daughter, Leah.

Mr. McCurley will be celebrated during the Alabama Law alumni reception at the Alabama State Bar annual meeting in July.

A native of Holyoke, Massachusetts, Irving Silver’s path to Alabama began during his service in the US Air Force on Mississippi’s gulf coast. Mr. Silver met his wife, Frances Grodsky, during a visit to Mobile for Shabbat services. They married 18 months later and moved to Florida, where Mr. Silver completed his military service at Eglin Air Force Base.

The Silvers then relocated to Tuscaloosa, where Mr. Silver earned his bachelor’s degree from The University of Alabama in 1964 before graduating from Alabama Law the following year. He began his legal career in Mobile as in‑house counsel for a multistate financial services company before entering private practice. Mr. Silver now serves as President of Silver, Voit, Garrett & Watkins, a Fairhope-based law firm, and has been a trusted advisor to families, businesses, and charitable organizations for over 60 years. He has been recognized as an Accredited Estate Planner® and is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Special Needs Alliance.

In addition to his legal work, Mr. Silver has served as a leader for numerous local and state civic organizations and in the Jewish community, including as chair of the B’nai B’rith Foundation. He also played a key role in establishing the Alabama Law Foundation’s endowment and its Atticus Finch Society.

The Silvers have generously invested in Alabama Law through the Silver Faculty Scholar Support Fund, which supports the research efforts of junior faculty. Mr. Silver also serves on the Law School’s Capital Campaign Committee. He and his wife, Frances, are the proud parents of Hedy and Evan, and grandparents of Jill, Scott, Adam, Eric, and Dylan.

Mr. Silver will be celebrated at the reception in Mobile on July 17. Click here to RSVP.

Caroline Stephens Milner is a partner in the Washington, DC, office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Originally from Huntsville, Alabama, she graduated from Auburn University summa cum laude in 2015 and as valedictorian of her class at The University of Alabama School of Law in 2018.

After graduating from Alabama Law, Caroline clerked for Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and Judge Neomi Rao on the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. She worked in private practice as a litigation associate at Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville, Tennessee, and at Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, DC.

Caroline clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court of the United States during the October 2023 Term. She was the first Alabama Law alum to clerk at the Court in more than forty years. Upon completion of her clerkship, Caroline returned to Kirkland & Ellis as a partner, where she handles a mix of trial and appellate work in courts across the country.

Caroline is married to Clark Milner, and they are proud parents of their son, Porter. Caroline’s roots with Alabama Law run deep. Her father Harold Stephens (‘80), sister Jordan Hennig (‘15), and cousins Bill (‘00) and Ingrid (‘99) Lunsford are graduates of the law school.