Christian & Small is pleased to announce that James L. Pattillo has joined the firm as a partner focusing his practice on matters involving insurance coverage and bad faith liability, business and commercial litigation, professional and product liability, class action, toxic torts, and transportation.
“I am very excited about joining forces with Christian & Small – a firm with a long history and a well-regarded reputation in the Birmingham community,” Pattillo said. “With its commitment to being nonstop advocates for its clients, the strength of Christian & Small’s values and core principles will be a huge asset to my practice and my clients’ interests.”
Pattillo comes to Christian & Small with over 15 years of litigation experience in both state and federal courts in Alabama and more than 70 trials to verdict – including over 15 trials to verdict in direct actions against insurers. He is counsel for multiple insurers, including a major national personal lines insurer for bad faith, enterprise, and company litigation for claims involving significant breach of contract claims, bad faith, and extra-contractual litigation. He is a frequent speaker and writer in the areas of trial practice and technique, litigation management, and social media policy and practice, has been a monthly legal columnist for CLM Magazine, and was the 2012 Chair of the Defense Research Institute’s (DRI) national Young Lawyers Section.
Pattillo is licensed to practice in all state and federal courts in Alabama, including the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Furman University, his M.A.M.C. from the University of Florida, and his Juris Doctor degree from the Samford University Cumberland School of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Alabama State Bar, the Birmingham Bar Association, DRI, the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA) and the Birmingham chapter of the American Inns of Court. His community involvement includes the Alabama Policy Institute, where he is an Associate Board Member, the Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation Board of Directors, and Chair of the Vulcan Select Youth Sports Board of Directors.