William W. Smith

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...

James A. Bradford is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Real Estate and Real Estate Law. James 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 James A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jason Walters is a litigation partner in the firm's insurance group and serves as national and regional counsel for several life and health insurance companies. His practice focuses on both individual and class action litigation, with particular emphasis in the area of fraudulent sales practices and the bad faith denial of benefits for life insurance, annuities, and long term care products. Jason also has extensive experience defending insurers in litigation filed by agents and independent ma...

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.

Thomas L. Casey III is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Environmental Law and Litigation - Environmental. Thomas L., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Thomas L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

David K. Bowsher is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Banking and Finance Law, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, Commercial Transactions / UCC Law, Corporate Law, Government Contracts, Government Relations Practice and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. David K., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high estee...

Beau Grenier is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group and co-leader of the firm’s mergers and acquisitions and private equity team. He provides comprehensive legal and strategic counsel on M&A, capital raising, and other business transactions; securities matters; and corporate governance. Beau is a leading corporate and securities lawyer with more than 35 years of experience. For more than 17 years, he also served as the managing partner and board chairman for a diversified AmLa...

Chris Grissom practices primarily in the areas of state and local tax planning, LLCs, federal and state tax disputes, and state and local tax and non-tax incentives. Through his tax controversy, planning and incentives work, he deals with a wide variety of industries, including pulp and paper, software technology, automotive, finance, telecommunications, and textile manufacturers. In his tax practice, Chris regularly counsels many of the Fortune 500 on Alabama tax matters. He also conducts mu...

Julia Bernstein’s practice focuses on all aspects of the representation of lenders and borrowers in secured and unsecured transactions, finance transactions involving commercial real estate, corporate finance transactions and multi-state transactions. Julia frequently issues legal opinions in connection with multi-state projects and as local counsel for transactions originated outside of Alabama secured by real property located within the state.

David Hymer is an accomplished trial lawyer who has 40 years of experience trying and arbitrating high-stakes disputes for a variety of corporate and individual clients across many disciplines. That broad-based trial experience gives him a unique perspective, enabling him to team with his clients to develop strategies that will guide them through complex and challenging disputes while staying focused on achieving his clients’ objectives. David’s practice concentrates on complex bu...