Christopher Driver

Meade represents clients nationwide in a variety of industries, including mortgage servicing, auto finance, farm credit, automotive, insurance, and construction. Her financial services practice includes representing financial institutions, auto-finance lenders and mortgage companies in defensive litigation matters throughout the country. She also spearheads regulatory compliance services in response to pending or new legislation. Her product liability work includes personal injury and class a...

Melisa Zwilling is a shareholder with Carr Allison and is a resident in its Birmingham (AL) office. Her practice focuses on labor and employment, insurance defense and Medicare compliance. Melisa has published countless articles and spoken at numerous conferences and seminars across the United States. For her outstanding legal work, she earned an AV Preeminent ® rating from the national lawyer ranking service Martindale Hubbell ® and has been selected as one of The Best Lawyers in Ame...

Stephen B. Porterfield is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he leads the Dentons Sirote Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy team and also serves as Dentons Sirote's General Counsel. Stephen handles a wide variety of commercial litigation matters that routinely arise in bankruptcy proceedings or involve other creditors' rights or creditor liability issues. He tries cases in both state and federal courts, representing creditors and trustees in insolv...

Richard Smith, one of the founding partners of Christian & Small and a partner with its predecessor, Rives & Peterson, has been an integral member of the firm’s litigation group for his entire legal career. He served as the firm’s Managing Partner for five years. Richard’s practice focuses primarily on complex and corporate litigation for clients in the financial services, health care and construction industries, as well as corporate entities in other industries. His...

Dawn has broad experience representing both lenders and borrowers in commercial lending transactions, with a particular emphasis on transactions involving commercial real estate. She also represents public companies, privately held entities and individuals in all types of commercial real estate transactions, including the buying, selling, leasing and developing of commercial real estate nationwide. Dawn represents a number of financial institutions on syndicated and non-syndicated constructio...

Matthew A. Mantle is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote's Birmingham, Alabama office. As a member of the Tax Practice group, he is part of the State and Local (Subnational) Tax team and the Tax Controversy team. Matt is a nationally-known State and Local Tax (SALT) attorney with over a decade and a half of experience helping taxpayer clients with state and local tax planning, legislative, and audit/litigation matters in Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and on a multistate basis. He has represented c...

Ed Sledge represents businesses, including private equity groups, product manufacturers and financial services institutions, in high-exposure civil disputes in a variety of industries. Ed’s national practice focuses on complex business and commercial litigation in courts across the country; he also routinely represents businesses in consumer finance disputes and in personal injury and wrongful death matters. With his strategic, problem-solving approach and ability to anticipate and see ...

Jason Walters is a litigation partner in the firm's insurance group and serves as national and regional counsel for several life and health insurance companies. His practice focuses on both individual and class action litigation, with particular emphasis in the area of fraudulent sales practices and the bad faith denial of benefits for life insurance, annuities, and long term care products. Jason also has extensive experience defending insurers in litigation filed by agents and independent ma...

Priscilla K. Williams is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Litigation - Insurance. Priscilla K., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Priscilla K. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Mike's practice focuses on advising clients concerning antitrust and competition law, and intellectual property issues, as well as litigating those issues. His practice spans the breadth of the antitrust and intellectual property arena. His antitrust practice encompasses not only litigation and advising work, but also working with our corporate practice group on merger analysis and preparing transactions for premerger review pursuant to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. In addition to screening and ...