Dawn Stith Evans

Leon Ashford has been a trial lawyer for 42 years. Throughout the course of his career, Mr. Ashford has a proven record of consistently obtaining multimillion dollar jury verdicts and settlements for his clients, their families and their small businesses. Though he has always focused his practice on complex litigation involving catastrophic personal injuries and wrongful death, he has recently been called upon to represent family-owned and closely held businesses in litigation which threatene...

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...

Zac Madonia is a litigator who primarily practices in the areas of class action defense and complex commercial litigation. He represents corporate clients from a diverse range of industries – including mortgage and consumer lending, pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution, and healthcare – facing class and mass actions in federal and state courts across the country. Zac's practice spans the substantive spectrum. For example, Zac recently obtained dismissal with prejudice of ...

Jason Avery is a member of the Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group and the Natural Resources and Banking and Financial Services Practice Teams. Unlike many other lawyers who concentrate in either a transactional practice or litigation, Jason represents clients in both areas, splitting his time between real estate transactional matters and real estate and mortgage litigation. This hybrid practice allows Jason to think progressively on transactional matters by understanding potential areas ...

Personal relationships have always been the backbone of Sonny Ferguson’s law practice. He says parties respond to someone who will listen to their issues and provide them with a truthful evaluation of the facts. Once the parties engage the firm’s services, as a mediator or as a Private Judge, Sonny believes they deserve 100% of his attention to their issues and a timely resolution to their matter. Sonny joined Christian & Small after serving as a judge for 15 years in the Dome...

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...

Brian C. Richardson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation and Insurance Law. Brian C., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Brian C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Elizabeth Neal Pitman is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Health Care Law. Elizabeth Neal, who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Elizabeth Neal is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Dr. Blaudeau is a person uniquely qualified to understand the complex issues involving medicine and the law. He established the Southern Institute for Legal and Medical Affairs to build a bridge between to his dual professional experience to benefit people who have been injured. He has litigated high profile medical malpractice claims on behalf of clients around the country. His experience and perspective is an asset in investigating what exactly happened in a medically negligent situation. D...

Timothy J. Tracy is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Compliance Law, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. Timothy J., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2007. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Timothy J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.