In May, the Law School hosted a reception in Birmingham, to honor Paula W. Hinton (‘79) as the 2026 Sam W. Pipes Distinguished Alumna Award recipient. This award is the highest honor presented by the Law School Foundation to an outstanding alumnus/a of The University of Alabama School of Law who has distinguished themselves through service to the Bar, The University of Alabama, and the School of Law.
At that same event, the Law School also inducted Penny A. Davis (‘78) and Curtis O. Liles III (‘73) into the Alabama Law Hall of Honor, which was stablished in 2020 by the Law School Foundation Board of Governors to recognize the outstanding achievements of Alabama Law alumni and faculty. Photos from the Birmingham event are available here.
The Law School will be hosting a reception in Mobile on July 14 to celebrate Irving Silver (‘65) and another in Point Clear on July 16 (during the Alabama State Bar meeting) to celebrate Robert (Bob) L. McCurley Jr. (‘66) who are also being inducted into the Alabama Lawyer Hall of Honor. Caroline Stephens Milner (’18) was recognized at the 2026 Alabama Rising Young Attorney at a reception in DC earlier this spring.
Paula W. Hinton (Class of 1979)
2026 Sam W. Pipes Distinguished Alumna Award Recipient
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.
Penny A. Davis (Class of 1978)
2026 Alabama Lawyer Hall of Honor Inductee
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.
Curtis O. Liles III (Class of 1973)
2026 Alabama Lawyer Hall of Honor Inductee
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.