James R. "Jim" Bussian

M. Tae Phillips is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. M. Tae, 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 M. Tae is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

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...

John H. Cooper is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he is a member of the Corporate practice group. As the previous managing partner of Dentons Sirote (formerly Sirote & Permutt, PC) (1999–2005; 2006–2015), John’s practice spans corporate, securities and tax law, with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, securities, business and succession planning, corporate finance, corporate tax, directors...

April Danielson is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Municipal Law. April, 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 April is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Bryan Balogh focuses his practice on complex business litigation involving disputes with significant risk and damages, with a particular emphasis on class action litigation involving corporations and financial institutions. Industry sources praise Mr. Balogh on his practice, saying: "He is extremely knowledgeable and an expert on class actions. He also has a good demeanor with judges and other lawyers, he will take the higher ground and get the best result because of it." – Chambers USA...

Jane Mauzy is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs. Jane, 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 Jane is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

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...

Stephen represents public companies from a variety of industries on corporate and securities matters, including SEC filings, securities offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. He also regularly advises private companies and companies preparing to go public on their corporate and securities needs. Stephen’s experience includes advising clients in connection with public and private offerings, corporate governance, joint ventures, takeover defenses, compliance with stock exchange listing ...

Keith Windle is chairman of the firm's Real Estate Practice Group and a member of the firm's Banking and Financial Services Practice Group. His primary areas of practice include real estate finance and development, commercial lending, foreclosure law, retail property leasing, and low-income housing investment and development. While maintaining a general real estate practice, Keith has devoted a substantial portion of his practice to representing banks and financial institutions in connection ...

Rusty has extensive experience in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate and tax law. Rusty works with closely held and family businesses on business planning and taxation, including their formation, operation and sale. He is recognized as being highly knowledgeable in tax issues related to estate and succession planning, trusts and probate.