Alumni News

October 2024

3L Kyle Wise Leads Apache Helicopter Flyover for Football Game Against South Carolina

On Saturday, Oct. 12, Kyle Wise, Alabama Law 3L and Alabama Military Law Society President, led his company in a four AH-64 Apache helicopter flyover for the Alabama vs. South Carolina football game. Though alumni from Alabama’s ROTC program are often involved in the game day aerial showcases, it is rare to have a current student leading the company and piloting the aircraft. 

In addition to attending law school, Wise is a commander in the 1-151 Attack Battalion, a South Carolina National Guard aviation unit where he oversees a 36-member Attack Aviation Company. In this position, he travels to South Carolina several times a month to conduct flights and support his crew while juggling classroom responsibilities. Click here to read more. 

Dawn Oliver (‘00) Completes White House Leadership Development Program Fellowship

Tailgate on the Quad with Alabama Law for the Iron Bowl

Come tailgate on the Quad with Dean Brewbaker and reconnect with fellow Alabama Law alumni on November 30 before the Iron Bowl against Auburn! The tailgate will begin three hours before kickoff. Click here to RSVP. 

Hon. Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Memorial Lecture

Join us for the Hon. Frank M. Johnson Jr. Memorial Lecture in Constitutional Rights and Liberties on Friday, November 22, from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. in the Bedsole Moot Courtroom at the Law School. Hon. J. Michelle Childs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will be presenting, and Professor Daiquiri Steele will give her reflections. Lunch will be provided, so please click here to RSVP. 

Gifts

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

An anonymous $10,000 gift was received to support the Albritton Fund.

Fournier J. “Boots” Gale III (’69) contributed $100,000 to the Path Makers Legacy Plaza.

Gregory D. Hyde (’79) contributed $5,000 to the L. B. Feld Scholarship in memory of L. B. Feld (’72).

Prince, Glover & Hayes, P.C. pledged $50,000 to the Robert Franklin Prince Endowed Scholarship.

Hon. Roman A. (’98) and Caroline T. Shaul pledged $100,000 to the Dean’s Discretionary Fund.

Frederic Lee Smith Jr. (’96) pledged $12,500 to the Douglas Arant Professor of Law Professorship.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP contributed $8,200 to the Alabama Law Alumni Society on behalf of the following graduates:
James Mark Adams (’14)
William Harold Albritton IV (’85)
Frederick Wendell Allen (’98)
Jason Avery (’06)
Stanley E. Blackmon (’15)
Cortlin Lee Bond (’19)
Lindsey C. Boney IV (’09)
Mazie Rose Bryant (’20)
Russell Kane Burnette (’09)
Stewart M. Cox (’87)
Daniel S. Culpepper (’16)
Halle B. Diaz (’22)
Hallman Blair Eady (’04)
Bruce P. Ely (’80)
N. Chris Glenos (’93)
T. Parker Griffin Jr. (’08)
Stephen H. Hall (’98)
Judd A. Harwood (’01)
K. Wood Herren (’80)
Carolyne B. Hess (’14)
Jonathan C. “Rudy” Hill (’10)
Angela Holt (’02)
David G. Hymer (’85)
Stephen Daniel Kaufmann (’01)
Collin M. Keller (’19)
Jonathan Riley Key (’11)
Mason A. Kruse (’22)
James E. Long Jr. (’06)
Kimberly B. Martin (’94)
Charles J. Mataya (’85)
Jamie L. Moore (’98)
David W. Owen (’00)
George R. Parker (’98)
Hunter W. Pearce (’18)
Gregory B. Pipes (’13)
Thomas Brooks Proctor (’16)
Ryan P. Robichaux (’09)
Laura S. Robinson (’94)
Emily M. Ruzic (’14)
Jack W. Selden (’81)
Rachel M. Sims (’23)
Edward S. Sledge IV (’03)
Frederic L. Smith Jr. (’96)
George A. Smith III (’91)
Gabrielle A. Spiro (’21)
David K. Taylor (’84)
William Hunter Webb (’22)
Mary Katherine White (’20)

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

Harrison Adams Jr. (‘23) was promoted to Policy and Communications Director in the Office of Senator Reed in the Alabama State Senate.  

Gavin Baum-Blake (‘21) has received seed funding for his urban management AI company, City Detect, in Tuscaloosa.

Chad R. Brown Sr. (‘99) was named Chief Executive Officer of Thompson Holdings in Birmingham.  

William C. Burch (‘24) joined Foley & Lardner LLP as an associate in Chicago.  

Alison O. Gee (’12) was elected vice president of the Wyoming State Bar.  

Fred Helmsing (‘96) joined Jones Walker as a partner in Mobile.  

Laura M. Lee (‘09) received the Friend of Cumberland Award from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.  

Angel M. Sims (‘23) joined Starnes, Davis, and Florie as an associate in Birmingham.  

Andrew H. Smith (‘13) was named partner at Boies Schiller Flexner in Washington, D.C.  

Alex Steadman (‘15) joined Jones Walker as a partner in Mobile. 

The following alumni have been named to the Leadership Alabama Initiative class for 2024-2025:  
Jerome Dees II (‘13) 
Martha M. Griffith (‘12) 
E. Nathan Harris (‘10) 
Christy B. Kiklinski (‘17) 
Wilson Nash (‘12) 
Harrison Proctor (‘16) 
Wesley Smithart (‘20) 

Faculty Notes

Professor Susan Pace Hamill was quoted in an AL.com article regarding IVF treatment in Alabama.  

Professor Ron Krotoszynski was a panelist at “Is Democracy a Democratic Form of Government?” at Georgetown University. The event was co-sponsored by the Free Speech Project at Georgetown University and the Future of the Humanities Project at Georgetown University and Blackfriars Hall and Campion Hall at Oxford University. Professor Krotoszynski also participated in a book talk with Oxford University’s Faculty of Law Bonavero Discussion Group for his book, Free Speech as Civic Structure: A Comparative Analysis of How Courts and Culture Shape the Freedom of Speech.  

Professor Benjamin McMichael was quoted in a Medscape article about Nurse Practitioners in New York suing the State over gender inequality issues.  

Professor Frederick Spight presented a CLE at SPLC’s Legal Retreat entitled “A New Horizon: Perspective of Community Economic Development Through Economic Justice.”  

Professor Joyce Vance was quoted in an NPR article about the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on a Mississippi law that provided a grace period for mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day.