Michael Gahan

Dan Sparks is head of Christian & Small’s Creditor & Lender Rights Practice Group. He focuses his practice in the areas of bankruptcy and business litigation involving creditors’ rights, consumer finance, lender liability and injunctive relief. Dan represents commercial lenders, debt buyers, corporations, Trustees, individuals and other secured and unsecured creditors in all aspects of commercial litigation, loan workouts, loan restructuring, asset recovery, foreclosure an...

J. Rushton McClees is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he is a co-chair of the Dentons Sirote Litigation practice group. For more than 35 years, Rushton has tried jury and bench trials in state and federal courts throughout Alabama; including securing a $20 million verdict representing plaintiffs in a class action breach of fiduciary duty case. He routinely prosecutes and defends claims for injunctive relief, including enforcement and defense of non-co...

Sloane Phillips is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Construction. Sloane, 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 Sloane is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Joel Kuehnert's primary areas of practice include complex environmental litigation, enforcement actions and citizen suits, franchising, licensing, appeals, and patents. He has represented clients in many different industries ranging from those with global operations to the small, local business. Joel has a technical background in civil and environmental engineering and is a registered member of the patent bar of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. His intellectual property experien...

Ed R. Haden is a partner with Balch & Bingham LLP, chairs the firm's Appellate Practice Group, and is the author of the Alabama Appellate Practice (LexisNexis) . Ed has twenty years of legal experience in the government and private sectors, has worked on over 100 appeals, and his practice focuses on appellate litigation in the Supreme Court of Alabama and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Ed specializes in knowing the written and unwritten rules and practices necessary t...

There’s a lot that goes into it, but to really succeed in this profession, I’ve come to believe these three qualities are 90% of it: courage, humanity, and humility. Courage. You must be unafraid. Following a particularly nasty trial, my wife summed up my job: “They are schoolyard bullies. They’ve already bullied your client once, and now they want to use the trial to do it again. But you walk up, stand next to them, put your hand on their shoulder, steel yourself, and...

William A. Ratliff is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Mediation. William A., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2011. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which William A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jesse S. Vogtle Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Banking and Finance, Litigation - Bankruptcy and Litigation - Real Estate. Jesse S., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2010. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jesse S. is held by other top lawyer...

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

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.