Ellen T. Mathews

James has experience with both debtor and creditor representation in bankruptcy, out-of-court workouts and restructurings, and bankruptcy-related litigation. He also regularly represents commercial lenders and mortgage servicers in federal court commercial litigation. James has represented debtors in Chapter 11 bankruptcy in matters involving numerous complex issues under the bankruptcy code, including termination of employee and retiree benefits and going concern sales free and clear of clai...

Carolyne counsels public and private clients on a range of transactional matters, including commercial real estate, real estate-based financing, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory issues and other corporate matters. She advises and represents buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants and developers on acquisitions, development and leasing transactions across the country. In law school, Carolyne participated in Alabama Law’s Federal Externship Program in Washington, D.C., where she served as...

Melinda Mathews is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office. She serves as the co-chair of the Trusts, Estates and Wealth Preservation practice group. Melinda helps clients navigate complex trust and estate matters to manage and preserve their wealth. She focuses on business and succession planning, estate planning for individuals and families, and prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, as well as probates and trusts. Melinda also taught estate planning as an adjunct...

Bill Bensinger focuses his practice on commercial dispute litigation, bankruptcy and restructuring litigation. He represents creditors, franchisors, landlords, unsecured creditors’ committees and financial institutions in a wide variety of matters, including preference and avoidance actions, workout transactions and insolvency matters. Bill represents franchisors in bankruptcy, including matters concerning the assumption of franchise agreements, and represents landlords in bank matters ...

Rachel Moore is an accomplished attorney with more than 25 years of legal experience. She practices in the areas of commercial, banking, and construction litigation, and appellate work. Licensed to practice in Alabama since 1992, her experience includes trying complex cases on behalf of financial institutions; handling foreclosures, judicial foreclosures, redemptions and deficiency actions, asset recovery, and negotiating and preparing workouts. In Rachel’s construction practice, she re...

Julia Bernstein’s practice focuses on all aspects of the representation of lenders and borrowers in secured and unsecured transactions, finance transactions involving commercial real estate, corporate finance transactions and multi-state transactions. Julia frequently issues legal opinions in connection with multi-state projects and as local counsel for transactions originated outside of Alabama secured by real property located within the state.

Since 2003, Jon Patterson has represented clients nationwide in a variety of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, industrial equipment, mobile technology and retail services. Jon is an experienced litigator and trial lawyer who helps clients protect their business interests in disputes related to contracts, torts, premises liability, auto accidents, trade secrets and non-competes. Throughout his career, Jon has handled cases through all stages of the litigation process, in...

Andrew Saag is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Real Estate Law. Andrew, who practices law in Homewood, Alabama, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Andrew is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Brad is a member of the Firm’s Trusts and Estates Practice Group. Brad’s practice primarily involves estate and trust planning and administration, with an emphasis on the related income, estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax issues. In addition, Brad is actively engaged in representing individual and corporate fiduciaries (executors and trustees) in administrating and litigating estate and trust matters. Brad has more than 15 years experience in advising clients in an ...

Ronald Levitt is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he is a member of the Tax practice group and leads the Dentons Sirote Conservation Easement team. His practice focuses on federal and state controversy matters, including planning and defending conservation easements. Additionally, his practice focuses on business and tax planning, particularly for closely-held and family-owned businesses. Specifically, he counsels clients in business, succession, estat...