As reflected in our strategic vision,  “Christian & Small is committed to being a dedicated, diverse, and supportive team of legal professionals partnering with our clients to render superior service and exceptional value in the areas of litigation and business.” Diversity is one of the firm’s core values. We believe that diversity in backgrounds, experiences, and ideas enriches our lives and enhances the quality of the work performed by the professionals at Christian & Small.

Our priority is to retain and mentor diverse attorneys and staff and to provide opportunities for diverse lawyers through hiring, both laterally and from law schools. This goes beyond recruitment and includes educating diverse groups of elementary to high school students about law as a career, actively engaging our lawyers with diverse educational institutions and student groups, and funding annual law school scholarships for minority students for more than ten years.  Our attorneys and leadership are actively engaged in ongoing conversations concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion, and our DEI Committee routinely reviews best practices and participates in DEI studies and training. Christian & Small was the first Alabama-based firm to join the prestigious Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD). Formed in 2009 to advance diversity in the legal profession, LCLD is an organization of corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners dedicated to a truly diverse profession. In 2023, Christian & Small became a Mansfield Rule™ Participating Law Firm.

In 2010, we partnered with Teach for America Alabama as the first corps members were placed in our state. In our thirteen-year partnership, we have coached mock trial teams, hosted supply drives, welcomed new corps members from all over the country, collected and distributed prom dresses after devastating tornadoes, assisted teachers in funding and organizing new experiences for students, and helped students find mentors to nurture and guide them. We have attended numerous graduations and are thrilled to see one of the first TFA students we mentored entering law school.

Teach For America-Alabama Executive Director Khadijah Abdullah and Christian & Small Former Managing Partner Debbie Smith (2018)

Former Managing Partner Deborah Alley Smith served five years on the Advisory Board of Teach for America Alabama and Debbie served and was chair of the board for three years. Julie Ellis Moebes, Director Of Business Development, currently serves on the Advisory Board and has been an active board member since its inception in With over 500 TFA Alabama alumni living and working in Alabama, we have witnessed our “Bamaly” grow and expand in ways we never could have imagined. We can’t wait to see what the next ten years will bring to students across the state.

Christian & Small is an equal opportunity employer.