Riley Murphy

Ralph Smith is special counsel in the Corporate Practice Group. He handles general corporate and business matters, international transactions, healthcare, higher education, and NCAA compliance. Prior to joining Jones Walker, Ralph spent 25 years in private law practice in Washington, DC, and Birmingham before joining the University of Alabama System in 2004 as general counsel and member of the Chancellor's Senior Policy staff. Ralph also served the university as a distinguished lecturer of la...

John Graham’s practice includes a significant amount of personal injury litigation, much of which is involved in the regular representation of Norfolk Southern Corporation and its subsidiaries and affiliated companies. He also has a general litigation practice in which he has represented a number of companies and businesses in various commercial disputes. He has extensive experience in jury trials as well as appellate practice in both state and federal courts. Mr. Graham has been assign...

Charles A. Burkhart is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Construction Law and Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Charles A., 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 Charles A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Tom Ansley is a shareholder in Dentons’ Birmingham, Alabama office, where he is a member of the Real Estate and Corporate practice groups. He serves as corporate counsel to a diverse range of clients, including real estate developers and investors, commercial and project lenders, and healthcare providers, advising them on the intricacies of state and local laws and regulations, financial matters, industry concerns, and risk allocation. Ansley is involved in the financing, negotiation, e...

For over 25 years, Buddy has assisted a wide variety of clients facing property damage and personal injury lawsuits brought by neighboring residents, administrative claims brought by state and federal regulatory agencies under various environmental statutes and regulations, disputes among persons responsible for clean up costs at numerous remediation sites under the Superfund Act or CERCLA, natural resource damages claims, and opportunities to re-develop potentially contaminated properties. H...

Elizabeth H. Hutchins is a shareholder in Dentons Sirote’s Birmingham, Alabama office, where she is a member of the Trusts, Estates and Wealth Preservation practice group and serves on the Firm's board of directors. Her practice includes planning for the management and distribution of clients' estates to accomplish their goals and to minimize estate taxes using sophisticated estate planning tools and techniques. She counsels business owners regarding succession planning. In probate admi...

Trey Dowdey is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Workers' Compensation Law - Employers. Trey, 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 Trey is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Bruce Ely’s more than 40 years of experience have allowed him to handle projects as diverse as serving on the recruiting teams that successfully induced both Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai to locate their first U.S. manufacturing plants in Alabama to representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service, the Alabama Department of Revenue and local taxing authorities. His practice focuses on three concentric areas: representing taxpayers in federal, state and local administrative and jud...

A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Drew has developed a diverse business, commercial, and real estate practice and has experience in construction, healthcare, and professional liability litigation. Drew represents a wide range of businesses from closely-held, small businesses to publicly traded hedge funds in litigation and transactional matters. He routinely represents professionals and businesses in asserting and defending breach of contract, negligence, fraud, and business tort claims. Drew ...

Tom Dutton is one of the founding partners of the Pittman, Dutton, & Hellums firm. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama and attended college at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1973. He earned his J.D. Degree with honors (cum laude) in 1976 from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and was admitted to practice law in the State of Alabama in 1976 and the State of Mississippi in 1977. Tom is admitted to prac...