Nathaniel M. "Nate" Cartmell IV

Chris J. Williams is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Energy Law, Environmental Law, Litigation - Environmental and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants. Chris J., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Chris J. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Ashley L. Neese is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Trusts and Estates and Trusts and Estates. Ashley L., 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 Ashley L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

R. Michael Murphy is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he serves as the chair of the Dentons Sirote Corporate practice group. Mike’s work focuses primarily on financial services, mergers, acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, regulatory, compliance and risk management. He has experience advising businesses in connection with a broad range of corporate matters, including corporate structure, formation and reorganization, contract negoti...

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

Michael places paramount importance on understanding a client’s business and developing tailored solutions that work for each individual client. He aims to build a trusted partnership with his clients to help navigate the difficult and ever-changing issues employers face daily. While he has had numerous victories as an attorney, Michael takes the most pride in helping his clients avoid litigation through a common sense and cost-effective approach. Through serving as interim in-house emp...

Stephen B. Porterfield is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where he leads the Dentons Sirote Restructuring, Insolvency and Bankruptcy team and also serves as Dentons Sirote's General Counsel. Stephen handles a wide variety of commercial litigation matters that routinely arise in bankruptcy proceedings or involve other creditors' rights or creditor liability issues. He tries cases in both state and federal courts, representing creditors and trustees in insolv...

Graham Gerhardt represents financial institutions in civil litigation throughout the country. He regularly assists clients in both the forward mortgage and reverse mortgage industries. Graham frequently litigates in federal court where he defends lenders and loan servicers accused of violating federal statutes, most commonly TILA, RESPA, the FDCPA, the FCRA, and the TCPA. He also represents clients in state court, defending against claims such as wrongful foreclosure, fraud and deceptive trad...

Having already established a reputation as a trial lawyer with another firm, Scott Powell came to Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton as a full partner in 1986. Since that time, his diverse practice has taken him throughout the states of Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri as well as Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia, and Louisiana. Among the types of cases he has handled include litigation under the False Claims Act for qui tam plaintiffs, class action litigation involving complex legal issues, commer...

Kris Cross is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where she is a member of the Litigation practice group. With over 20 years of general litigation experience at Dentons Sirote, formerly Sirote & Permutt, PC, Kris focuses on defending insurance companies in the area of life, disability, and ERISA litigation. Her work for insurers has included not only benefits litigation but also defensive litigation where insureds claim fraud in the marketing and sale of in...

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...