Will A. Smith

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...

Harry Ollinger is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law. Harry, 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 Harry is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Tiffany deGruy is a trial lawyer who has considerable experience trying high-stakes business and commercial litigation. Tiffany represents clients in a variety of industries, such as healthcare and e-commerce. Most recently, she was a key member of a trial team in a 10-week jury trial and conducted witness examinations before a jury. Tiffany represents the interests of clients in the healthcare industry in various types of commercial litigation. Tiffany also regularly advises clients on matte...

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.

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...

Jeremy N. Trousdale is a shareholder in the firm’s Birmingham, Alabama office. Jeremy focuses his practice on defending workers’ compensation, retaliatory discharge and outrage claims. He represents both self-insured clients and insurance carriers. A frequent speaker, Jeremy regularly presents current information on workers’ compensation issues for the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Organization, where he served as president (2015-2016), and the Alabama Self Insured Ass...

Brandon Hughey is a partner in the Tax Practice Group. While he has advised clients in many aspects of federal and state taxation, Brandon’s practice currently focuses on partnership taxation and the representation of lenders and investors in connection with affordable housing transactions using tax credits under Section 42 and 47 of the Internal Revenue Code and housing and historic state tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, tax-exempt loans, MTEBs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt, HOME loan...

A native of the LaGrange, Illinois , Brad graduated from Lyons Township High School and then received his Bachelors of Science degree from the University of North Alabama where he double majored in Business Management and Political Science. While there he was elected and served as president of the Student Government Association during both his junior and senior years.He thereafter attended Cumberland School of Law at Samford University where he was awarded a Juris Doctorate degree. Prior to c...

Kane is particularly active in the public education sector, where he has represented both public universities and boards of education on tax and finance matters, and he currently serves on the faculty of the University of Alabama's academy for finance training for new school superintendents and chief school financial officers. In addition to bond counsel engagements, he has served as company counsel and bank counsel in letter-of-credit backed transactions, as lender’s counsel in direct ...

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...