Lisa M. Ramirez

Lisa is a rising second-year student at Samford University’s Cumberland School of law. She is expected to graduate in the Class of 2015. Lisa is a full-time law student with academic success and continues to be placed on the Dean’s List. She is vice-president of the Hispanic Interest Law Student Association which strives to promote the understanding and awareness of the Hispanic/Latino culture and the legal issues facing the Hispanic/Latino community and the legal issues facing these communities in the Birmingham area. Lisa shared with us, “I am very grateful to receive the Christian & Small Diversity Scholarship. The scholarship greatly helps with the financial burdens while I pursue my dream of a legal education.”

Lisa is married and is raising two children. Prior to living in Birmingham, the Ramirez family lived in Pennsylvania.

Read the entire article by clicking the link: Get Ready for Crowdfunding – Free Enterprise with a Shadow Side.

Mike Vercher argues before the Alabama Supreme Court

On May 8, 2013, Mike Vercher orally argued before the Alabama Supreme Court on an important case affecting the intersection of government interests and private property rights. Vercher had successfully tried the case and obtained for his clients an award of approximately $5 million. On appeal, the Supreme Court initially reversed that award. After reviewing our application to reconsider that decision, the Supreme Court granted Vercher the opportunity to orally argue his case, the first time in seven years it has done so on an application for rehearing. The case generated significant media attention, including the Birmingham News, which covered the oral argument. See the full article by clicking the link: Alabama Supreme Court hears latest oral arguments in the Gurley quarry lawsuit. Christian & Small attorneys Deborah Alley Smith and Abbott Marie Jones assisted with brief writing on appeal and, along with Jonathan Hooks, assisted Vercher with preparations for the oral argument.

Mike Vercher

Deborah Alley Smith

Abbott Marie Jones

Jonathan M. Hooks

The program was the brainchild of Duncan W. Manley who recognized there are food needs in our community year-round, not just during the holidays.  He began by asking Christian & Small staff to bring in a can-of-food a week that would then be donated to the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama. Collection bins were placed throughout the office and regular donations were made every few weeks to the food bank.

Another attorney, Ken Simon, had the idea to leverage his donation by using coupons. He shared this idea with Janna Bearden and Julie Holderfield, super couponers.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Janna and Julie came up with a plan to allow everyone to participate. Everyone who wishes to participate pledges a specific amount per week to be withdrawn from their paycheck. Pledges currently range from $5 to $50. The money is deposited into a fund established by the firm. Then Janna and Julie take their coupon skills to purchase groceries and personal care items to be donated to the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama.

To date, Janna and Julie have bought approximately $2,500 worth of products for approximately $800. Their first delivery to the food bank was 461 pounds and wouldn’t fit into one SUV – required two trips.

Larry Logan, executive director of the Community Food Bank, said, “If every business in Birmingham did this, we would be in great shape.” In 2012, the food bank distributed 7.7 million pound of food to more than 460,000 people.

The firm plans to continue these efforts and Janna and Julie hope to expand into school supplies for area students and care packages for the servicemen.

Janna Bearden and Julie Holderfield

There are three components, the Journey for Justice Gala, the Preserving Justice Documentary and the Journey for Justice Teaching Modules.

The first of these events, the Journey for Justice Gala was held Saturday, May 4, 2013 and honored 28 legal pioneers in Birmingham’s Civil Rights Movement. This event was co-chaired by Deborah Alley Smith, managing partner. Visit the link: Journey for Justice Gala to see full coverage.

To learn more about the Journey for Justice project, visit preservingjustice.org.

Partner LaBella S. Alvis is profiled in the Alabama Super Lawyers 2013 publication.

2013 Alabama Super Lawyers

LaBella S. Alvis – Personal Injury Defense, Top 25 Female Attorneys

James B. Carlson – Personal Injury Defense

Thomas W. Christian – Civil Litigation Defense

Robert E. Cooper – Personal Injury Defense

Edgar M. Elliott, IV – Civil Litigation Defense

James C. Huckaby, Jr. – Class Action/Mass Tort

Greer B. Mallette – Real Estate

Rick D. Norris, Jr. – Personal Injury Defense

Richard F. Ogle – Business Litigation

Kenneth O. Simon – Alternative Dispute Resolution

Deborah Alley Smith – Appellate, Top 50 Attorneys, Top 25 Female Attorneys

Richard E. Smith - Business Litigation

Daniel D. Sparks – Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor, Top 50 Attorneys

Sharon D. Stuart – Business Litigation, Top 25 Female Attorneys

Michael A. Vercher – Civil Litigation Defense

2013 Alabama Rising Stars

Bradley R. Hightower - Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor

John W Johnson, II – Insurance Coverage

Abbott Marie Jones - Appellate

William R. Pringle – Business Litigation

R. Jordan Wood – Personal Injury Defense

Dan Sparks, Richard Smith and Bob Cooper

Christian & Small will compete in the 2013 Birmingham’s Brightest Company Trivia Competition, Tuesday, April 9, 2013.

Last year, the Christian & Small team was in first place at the end of round one and round two. But in the final round, the Birmingham Public Library made a strong comeback knocking Christian & Small into fourth place.

The 2013 team consists of Richard Smith, Steven Benefield, Lynn Darty, Jeremy Carlson, Jonathan Hooks, Abbott Jones and alternate, Dan Sparks.

Birmingham’s Brightest Company Trivia Competition invites companies from the Birmingham region to participate in an evening of trivia to raise money both for Impact Alabama and the winning teams’ selected charities. Christian & Small will be playing for Teach for America Alabama. 

Smith and Jones offer historical context and in-depth analysis of the cases and offer likely outcomes. They anticipate that Supreme Court opinions will be released in June.

The Next Loving or Wait and See?

Sharon D. Stuart

On March 8, 2013, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed a $600,000 jury verdict from Madison County which had been entered in a suit where a minor plaintiff, age 15, was struck in the eye with a firework shot by another minor.  The injured minor and his parents sued the boy who shot the firework as well as the boy’s parents, claiming, among other things negligent entrustment or negligent supervision of the son by the parents.  The Alabama Supreme Court refused to extend its holdings in negligent supervision cases to recognize a cause of action based on a parent’s negligence or wantonness in supervising his or her own child.  The court noted that it could not find an Alabama case addressing negligent supervision outside the employer/employee context, nor any case that describes the claim of wanton supervision.  The court also rejected the jury’s finding that the minor tortfeasor was strictly liable for the plaintiff’s injuries.  The Supreme Court remanded the case for a new trial on the remaining claims.