Ben Acheson

Crawford McGivaren is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has been listed in Chambers USA for Commercial Litigation since 2002. He has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America in Business and Personal Injury Litigation since 1989, and is recognized for Antitrust Law, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Professional Malpractice Law and Railroad Law. He has been named by Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top 50 lawyers in the state of Alabama and was listed...

Brian Williams’ practice includes estate planning, estate and trust litigation, estate and trust administration, federal and state tax, and corporate and business transactions and issues. He practiced for 6 years as an in house counsel for a publicly traded corporation before entering private practice with his present firm in 1986. Brian graduated cum laude from the University of Alabama in 1976, B.S. degree/accounting major. He obtained his J.D. degree in 1979 from Cumberland School of...

Bill Athanas represents companies and individuals in government enforcement matters, focusing on federal grand jury investigations. He has almost 30 years of white-collar experience, roughly a third of which was spent as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. and Birmingham. Bill has handled hundreds of complex criminal cases and represented clients in all facets of those matters – whether as subjects, targets or witnesses, or those who simply receive subpoenas for documents. In repre...

Alan Truitt primarily represents manufacturing and other heavily regulated industrial clients in complex litigation and administrative matters. He regularly defends environmental and toxic tort litigation , and handles general commercial litigation on behalf of foundries, pipelines, plastics and chemical companies, steel mills, mining operations, coking facilities and similar industrial and manufacturing operations. Alan also provides compliance counseling and permitting advice and represents...

Brooke M. Nixon is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Brooke M. practices law in Birmingham, Alabama Best Lawyers has recognized Brooke M. Nixon since 2021. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Brooke M. Nixon is held by other lawyers.

Emily Ruzic advises leading natural gas pipeline companies and other infrastructure clients on issues involving location, land acquisition, construction, and operations. Currently, she is advising on multiple large-scale pipeline projects in the Southeast, including serving as the lead outside lawyer on several significant projects for one of the country’s largest energy companies. Emily also regularly litigates land and operational issues, including disputes over survey access, eminent...

Samuel D. Friedman is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he is a member of the Real Estate and Banking and Finance practice groups. Sam’s practice primarily focuses on commercial real estate and commercial lending. Sam helps clients buy, sell, develop, lease, and finance commercial property in his commercial real estate practice, including large apartment complexes, senior living communities, hotels, office buildings, and shopping centers. In Sam&r...

Anne Knox Averitt has extensive experience in labor and employment matters and commercial litigation. She works in the Birmingham office and represents clients of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to family-owned businesses in a number of industries, including retail, automotive, natural resources, manufacturing, healthcare, non-profit, communications, construction, and financial services. She also handles cases before arbitrators, administrative law judges, and federal and state court ju...

Mr. Palmer is an experienced litigator specializing in both employment litigation and general civil litigation in state and federal courts. His interest in litigation began early in his legal career when as a law student at Vanderbilt University, Mr. Palmer won the Harlan Dodson Moot Court Competition and was appointed to the position of Associate Justice of Vanderbilt’s Moot Court Board. Mr. Palmer began his career in 1988 as an associate and later a partner in a large general practice...

Donald Johnson is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he is a member of the Tax practice group. Don counsels business owners and businesses in areas of mergers and acquisitions, entity formation, and tax and business planning. He counsels developers and investors with regard to real estate income tax planning, including capital gain planning, like-kind exchanges, opportunity zone planning, tax incentives, and debt restructurings and workouts. Don represen...