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About Us

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Our Mission & Areas of Focus

The mission of the Alabama Association for Justice is to preserve and protect the constitutional right to a trial by jury guaranteed by the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution by ensuring that every person or business harmed or injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can hold wrongdoers accountable in the one room where everyone is equal – the courtroom.

Areas of Focus:

  • Eliminate civil justice restrictions.

  • Provide our members with excellent educational opportunities.

  • Strengthen the civil justice system.

  • Support adequate court funding.

  • Participate in the selection and election of a qualified and impartial judiciary.

  • Work in campaigns and the Legislature to positively affect the discourse of public policy.

Officers 
(2024-2025)

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Ben Baker is a principal with Beasley Allen and his practice focuses on product liability and crashworthiness cases. He is a Sustaining and Executive Committee member of ALAJ and a member of the American Association for Justice, Mont­gomery County Bar, and the Southern Trial Lawyers Association. Ben has also been included in Super Lawyers consistently since 2010 and Best Lawyers since 2013. He has also recently published a book titled "Tire Litigation: A Primer." Ben is married to Kimberly Baker and they have three children. He is also admitted to practice law in Georgia, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Washington D.C. 

Ben Baker

President

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Clint Mountain is the managing partner with the law firm of Mountain & Mountain in Tuscaloosa. Raised in Montgomery, Alabama, he obtained his undergraduate degree in business management from the University of Alabama in 2000 and his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law in 2003. Clint has been named Business Alabama Magazines Top Young Lawyers, Alabama Super Lawyers Top 40 under 40, served as past chair of the AAJ’s Emerging Leaders Caucus and as Junior Board President of the Alabama Civil Justice Foundation. Clint has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Alabama Civil Justice Foundation and T-Town Paws. 

Clint Mountain

President-Elect

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Lucy E. Tufts is a partner with the firm of Cunningham Bounds, LLC in Mobile. An Alabama native, she graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown Law Center in the top 5% of her class. Her areas of practice include business litigation, complex litigation, product liability, industrial accidents, personal injury, trucking litigation, and wrongful death. Lucy is a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and is a Certified Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Lucy has obtained multi million dollar verdicts, judgements, and settlements on behalf of her clients. She was recently named a "Winning Litigator" by the National Law Journal, and several of her multi-million dollar results were profiled in its special report, "Winning."

Lucy Tufts

1st Vice President

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Derrick A. Mills is a partner with the law firm of Marsh, Rickard & Bryan in Birmingham, Alabama, where he handles all types of civil litigation on behalf of plaintiffs, including product liability, insurance fraud and bad faith, wrongful death and medical malpractice. Derrick is a former Alabama State Bar Commissioner, former Alabama State Bar Committee member, Past President of the Magic City Bar Association, and he has been annually recognized as a Super Lawyer for the State of Alabama and the Mid-South. While Derrick has obtained multi million dollar verdicts, judgments, and settlements on behalf of his clients, he is most proud of giving back to the community. Derrick and his wife, Tamesha, created a foundation and award thousands annually to students at Fayette High School, the University of North Alabama, and the University of Alabama School of Law.

Derrick Mills

2nd Vice President

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Christy began practicing law with the firm now known as Jinks Crow in 1997. With over 25 years of experience in civil litigation. Christy has represented individuals and families throughout Alabama and Georgia in claims involving personal injuries, wrongful death, product liability, class actions, and a variety of other claims. Christy served as the President of the Alabama State Bar in 2019-2020. Christy is a past chair of the Women's Caucus of ALAJ. Christy and her husband, Van Wadsworth, continue to live in Union Springs and have three children and a son-in-law.

Christina D. Crow

Secretary

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Bo is a member of Belt, Bruner & Barnett in Birmingham. Bo focuses his practice on complex personal injury and wrongful death cases, including products liability claims, construction related injuries, commercial vehicle cases and medical malpractice. He and his firm have also developed a niche practice handling third-party negligent / bad faith failure to settle claims against liability insurers on behalf of defendants financially devastated by verdicts in excess of their insurance coverage. Bo is board certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. In addition to board certification, Bo has been recognized as among the “Top 50: Alabama Super Lawyers” and included in The Best Lawyers in America for his work in product liability litigation. He also holds the “AV Preeminent” rating conferred by the national legal publication Martindale-Hubbell.

Robert "Bo" Bruner

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Treasurer

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Wes Laird began his own law firm in Covington County in 1987, now known as Laird, Baker & Blackstock in Opp.  Wes concentrates his practice in personal injury and wrongful death, with a primary focus on trucking litigation.  He is a sustaining and executive member of ALAJ, a member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), and has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers Association as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Alabama.  Wes is President of the Alabama Civil Justice Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of Southern Independent Bank, which he helped organize in 2006.  Wes is married to Deidra Rice Laird and they have two daughters who are both married with careers in Huntsville.

Wes Laird

Immediate Past President

Board of Directors
(2024-2025)

Ginger Avery

Alabama Association for Justice

Drew Barnett

Belt, Bruner & Barnet

Nathan Harris

Abogados Centro Legal

Beau Darley

Beasley Allen

Doug Dellaccio, Jr.

Cory Watson Attorneys

J. Ben Ford

Marsh, Rickard & Bryan

Christin French

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Petway, French & Ford

David Hodge

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Morris, King & Hodge

Chuck James

Serious Injury Law Group

Leslie Wright Rubio

Rubio Law Firm

Brett Turnbull

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Turnbull, Holcomb & Moak

Josh Hayes

Josh Hayes

Prince, Glover & Hayes

Greg Brockwell

Brockwell Smith, LLC

Darius Crayton

Darius Crayton

Farris, Riley & Pitt

Ken Riley

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Farris, Riley & Pitt

Ashley Peinhardt

Hare Wynn Newell & Newton

David P. Nomberg

Nomberg Law Firm

Thomas O. Sinclair

Sinclair Law Firm

Executive Team

Chief Executive Officer

Ginger Avery

Administrative Chief of Staff

Cathy Givan

Chief Development Officer

Johnnie Smith

Deputy Director of Development

James Able

Our History

ALAJ has been a constant, powerful influence for more than half a century. Leaders in generation after generation have stood up on behalf of their brethren to better their profession. The names echo in the annals of our state’s history – Hare, Hogan, Cunningham, Heflin, Hobbs, Hornsby, Cook.

According to the history written by the late Francis H. Hare, Sr., who served as president from 1954-1955, the late W. E. Brobston of Bessemer had this dream of a better civil justice system for the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s attorney. He brought his dream to fruition in 1953 when he founded the Alabama Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Association, known as the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, and served as the Association’s first president. In effect, it was the Alabama Branch of the National Association of Claimants Compensation Attorneys (founded in 1946), which was known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Our first publication was called the APLA Bulletin. In April 1953, the first APLA Bulletin was printed. It consisted of only five pages plus one and a half pages listing the membership as of March 14, 1953. ATLA’s first printed issue of the Journal was in 1957.  In this Journal, Francis Hare, Sr.  and Ed Brobston were asked to write a brief statement on what our Association stands for. This is what they wrote:

 

“It is the purpose of this Association to maintain the practice of personal injury law on the loftiest plain from the standpoint of skill and integrity.”

In October 1973, we began a bi-monthly newsletter and established a political trust fund known as Trust Representing Involved Alabama Lawyers (TRIAL). On August 6, 1974, the American Trial Lawyers Association selected the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association as the “Most Outstanding State Association.”

In June 2007, the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association changed its name to the Alabama Association for Justice. The name “Trial Lawyers Association” was what we called ourselves and did not reflect what we did. Our mission is not about helping ourselves, but rather about protecting and strengthening the civil justice system for everyone. Our name should be about what we do, not who we are.

Past ALAJ Presidents

Presidents of the Alabama Association for Justice serve a one year term acting as the standard-bearer for the Trial Lawyer profession. Their responsibilities include overseeing the activities of the other officers, heading the association's legislative efforts and ensuring the staff maintain the day to day activities of the organization.

W. E. Brobston

Deceased

 1953-1954

Francis H. Hare, Sr.

Deceased

 

1954-1955

John C. Godbold

Deceased

 

1955-1956

Waldrop Windham

Deceased

 

1956-1957

Glen T. Brashore

Deceased

 

1957-1958

Frank J. Tipler

Deceased

 

1958-1959

Richard L. Jones

Deceased

 

1959-1960

George Hawkins

Deceased

 

1960-1961

Roscoe B. Hogan

Deceased

 

1961-1962

Robert T. Cunningham

Deceased

 

1962-1963

Howell Heflin

Deceased

 

1963-1964

Truman Hobbs

Judge

 

1964-1965

Neal C. Newell

Deceased

 

1965-1966

Richard Bounds

Deceased

 

1966-1967

Carey Walker, Sr.

Deceased

 

1967-1968

Sidney Fuller

Deceased

 

1968-1969

T. Eric Embry

Deceased

 

1969-1970

Albert W. Copeland

Deceased

 

1970-1971

Francis H. Hare, Jr.

Deceased

 

1971-1972

Ernest C. Hornsby

Birmingham

 

1972-1973

David B. Cauthen

Deceased

 

1973-1974

Richard Jordan

Deceased

 

1974-1975

Edward L. Hardin, Jr.

Birmingham

 

1975-1976

Robert L. Byrd, Jr.

Deceased

 

1976-1977

William W. Smith

Birmingham

 

1977-1978

Ted Taylor

Deceased

 

1978-1979

John David Knight

Cullman

 

1979-1980

Warren L. Hammond, Jr.

Deceased

 

1980-1981

Lanny S. Vines

Deceased

 

1981-1982

James A. Yance

Mobile

 

1982-1983

Ralph Hornsby

Deceased

 

1983-1984

Alva Caine

Huntsville

 

1984-1985

Gregory S. Cusimano

Gadsden

 

1985-1986

Clay Alspaugh

Deceased

 

1986-1987

L. Andrew Hollis

Birmingham

 

1987-1988

Larry W. Morris

Alexander City

 

1988-1989

C. Delaine Mountain

Tuscaloosa

 

1989-1990

John T. Crowder, Jr.

Mobile

 

1990-1991

Lloyd W. Gathings, II

Birmingham

 

1991-1992

John E. Higginbotham

Deceased

 

1992-1993

W. Lee Pittman

Birmingham

 

1993-1994

John W. Haley

Birmingham

 

1994-1995

James R. Knight

Cullman

 

1995-1996

William L. Utsey

Deceased

 

1996-1997

James R. Pratt, III

Birmingham

 

1997-1998

Gregory B. Breedlove

Mobile

 

1998-1999

Keith Givens

Dothan

 

1999-2000

Tyrone Means

Deceased

 

2000-2001

Randall Haynes

Alexander City

 

2001-2002

Kenneth W. Hooks

Birmingham

 

2002-2003

David Marsh

Birmingham

 

2003-2004

Tom Edwards

Montgomery

 

2004-2005

Scott Powell

Birmingham

 

2005-2006

Ralph Cook

Birmingham

 

2006-2007

Robert F. Prince

Deceased

 

2007-2008

C. Gibson Vance

Montgomery

 

2008-2009

Toby D. Brown

Mobile

 

2009-2010

G. Courtney French

Birmingham

 

2010-2011

Rebekah Keith McKinney

Huntsville

2011-2012

Clay Hornsby

Birmingham

 

2012-2013

Jeff Rickard

Birmingham

 

2013-2014

Mike Ermert

Deceased

 

2014-2015

Josh Wright

Birmingham

 

2015-2016

Ken Riley

Birmingham

 

2016-2017

Frank Woodson

Montgomery

 

2017-2018

Steve Nicholas

Mobile

 

2018-2019

Joshua P. Hayes

Tuscaloosa

 

2019-2020

Rip Andrews

Birmingham

 

2020-2021

Gina D. Coggin

Gadsden

 

2021-2022

Erik D. Heninger

Birmingham

 

2022-2023

Wes Laird

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Opp

 

2023-2024

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