F. Jerome Tapley

Denise Pomeroy practices in the areas of family law and adoption law. Denise graduated from Auburn University in 1985, with a B.A. degree and from Cumberland School of Law with a J.D. degree in 1989. She served as writing editor of the Cumberland Law Review and graduated magna cum laude. Denise is a member of the American, Alabama and Birmingham Bar Associations and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She was the Birmingham Bar Association’s Young Lawyer of the Y...

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...

Mr. Pape’s practice is almost solely focused on guiding boards of education through complex governance, policy, civil rights, special education, and employment issues; and, when those issues result in litigation, he defends boards of education. A large part of his practice consists of assisting boards of education navigate complex, modern constitutional and equity matters. Mr. Pape has extensive expertise in the area of modern school desegregation. Between current and past matters, he h...

Cheryl Howell Oswalt is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Tuscaloosa, Alabama office, where she is a member of the Litigation practice group. Cheryl’s practice focuses on representing individuals and businesses in a wide range of business and commercial litigation matters, including financial services litigation, insurance-related litigation and minority shareholder issues. She has years of experience in representing financial institutions and members of the mortgage banking indus...

Justin is a partner in our litigation group. Justin seeks to apply a client's business objectives to the efficient management of legal matters. Justin proactively partners with clients to seek effective, practical and cost-effective resolutions to matters entrusted to him. As a product liability lawyer, Justin manages and tries cases across the country including in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Tennessee, Oklahoma, South Carolina a...

J. Winston Busby is a shareholder at Dentons Sirote in Birmingham, Alabama, where he serves as co-chair of the Trusts, Estates and Wealth Preservation practice. He is also a member of both the Dentons US Region Board of Directors and the Dentons Sirote Board of Directors. In his practice, Winston provides counsel to individuals, families, and business owners on estate planning, trust planning, wealth preservation, probate, and tax planning, emphasizing strategies to minimize both estate and i...

C. Fred Daniels is a partner in the firm’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where his practice emphasizes estate and gift planning, administration of estates, taxation, closely-held businesses, and litigation involving the rights and duties of personal representatives and beneficiaries. Mr. Daniels has been the lead trial and appellate counsel in numerous estate, gift and income tax cases including O’Neal v. United States, 258 F.3d 1265 (11th Cir. 2001) (establishing that, in the Eleve...

Gordon L. Blair is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Gordon L., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2017. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Gordon L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Andy is a member of the firm's Corporate & Securities Practice Group and is co-chair of the Family-Owned Business Team. He advises public and private clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, divestitures, joint ventures, corporate finance transactions, proxy contests and general corporate and securities law matters in various industries, including manufacturing and distribution, professional services, retail, real estate development, banking and financial...

Michael Sansbury has represented clients in trial and appellate courts across the United States. He has argued in courts ranging from Oregon Circuit Court to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He has examined countless witnesses—from the president of a multi-national corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to a newspaper publisher from Auburn, Alabama—and has tried issues in state and federal courts in Alabama. Always thinking of the long-term impact, Sansbury spec...