Appellate Practice

Justice Bill Lewis Related Seminars and Products

Alabama Supreme Court

Justice Bill Lewis currently serves on the Alabama Supreme Court following his service on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Prior to his appellate tenure, he served as the Presiding Judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit, where he had been a Circuit Judge since 2016. Before taking the bench, he was the senior partner of the Law Offices of Bill Lewis, a firm he founded, and he previously served as an Assistant District Attorney for the 19th Judicial Circuit. With experience as a prosecutor; defense attorney; and civil, family, and administrative-law practitioner in both state and federal courts across three states, Justice Lewis is among the few judges in Alabama with such a broad legal background. He has tried thousands of cases—including bench and jury trials and capital litigation.

Justice Lewis earned undergraduate degrees in political science and economics from the University of the South and received his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law. Justice Lewis is an active leader in community and charitable work. He has held leadership roles with the Alabama Circuit Judges Association and the Elmore County Bar Association and has served on the boards of several local organizations, including the River Region United Way and the Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce.

Wesley Gilchrist Related Seminars and Products

Lightfoot, Franklin & White, LLC

Thomas W. H. Buck Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Maynard Nexsen, PC

Tommy’s practice covers a variety of litigation at both the trial and appellate levels. He has defended clients in the healthcare and education industries against claims brought under the False Claims Act and has represented individual, corporate, and governmental clients across a wide range of proceedings, including whistleblower actions, commercial and employment disputes, class actions, and federal criminal prosecutions.

Tommy has extensive experience as an appellate lawyer. He has presented oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and he frequently litigates before the Alabama Supreme Court, where he has secured numerous victories for his clients. Having served as a law clerk to Alabama Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell, and as a member of the Supreme Court of Alabama’s Standing Committee on the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure, Tommy is uniquely qualified to provide counsel to clients litigating appeals in Alabama’s highest court.  Tommy has been named to the Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum and has been recognized as One to Watch by Best Lawyers since 2021.

Before attending law school, Tommy served as a Surface Warfare Officer, Public Affairs Officer, and admiral’s aide in the United States Navy. Tommy received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law. He also holds a B.S. in Political Science and English from Vanderbilt University and an M.T.S. from Candler School of Theology.

Edmund LaCour Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Solicitor General

Office of the Attorney General

Edmund G. LaCour received a Bachelor of Arts from Birmingham-Southern College in 2007, a Master of Philosophy from Trinity College Dublin in 2008, and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 2011. He has served as Solicitor General of Alabama since 2019 and Deputy Solicitor General from 2018-19.  Prior to joining Attorney General's office, he was in private practice.

Justice Gregory Carl Cook Related Seminars and Products

Supreme Court of Alabama

Justice Gregory Carl Cook (“Greg”) was elected to the Supreme Court in 2022. Justice Cook is the son of Gene and Dottie Cook and is from Florence, Alabama. From an early age, his parents instilled in him faith, the value of hard work, and the importance of public service. He discovered early his passion for the conservative, optimistic principles of President Reagan’s shining city on a hill.  Justice Cook attended Duke University on an Air Force ROTC scholarship, graduated in 1984 magna cum laude, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He then served our country in the United States Air Force, reaching the rank of Captain. Justice Cook received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1991, magna cum laude, where he served as an Executive Editor of the Federalist Society’s Journal of Law and Public Policy.
 
After finishing law school, Justice Cook moved back to Alabama and practiced law at Balch & Bingham for over 31 years. He handled a wide variety of matters in over 40 of Alabama’s 67 counties and in over 15 different states, including jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations. A large part of his practice involved complex commercial litigation including a number of class actions. He is the author of the two-volume treatise Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure Annotated (5th Edition) and is the co-author and editor of two books: Class Action Strategy & Practice Guide (2018) and The Class Action Fairness Act: Law and Strategy (2013 and 2022). Before taking the bench, Justice Cook also served for many years on the Alabama Supreme Court Standing Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure.  Justice Cook has been active in the American, Alabama, and Birmingham Bars, including: as a member of Council and a Life Fellow (Section of Litigation, American Bar); as a Past Chair of the Business Torts and Antitrust Section and a Bar Examiner (subject-matter expert) (Alabama Bar); and as a Life Fellow, a member of the Grievance Committee, and a Past Chair of the Civil Courts Procedure Committee (Birmingham Bar). In his private practice, he received numerous awards and rankings, including from: Chambers USA, Best Lawyers (multiple areas), BTI Client Service All-Star, Benchmark (multiple areas), Super Lawyers, and Martindale-Hubbell. He is a long time member of the Federalist Society and the American Inns of Court, among other legal groups.

Justice J. Christopher McCool Related Seminars and Products

Alabama Supreme Court

Justice Chris McCool, a lifelong resident of Pickens County, Alabama, grew up on his family's farm in the Zion Community near Gordo, Alabama. He is the oldest son of Diane McCool and the late Harold McCool, also of the Zion Community. Judge McCool grew up on the farm that has been in his family for five generations, and which he now manages for his mother.

In 1985, Justice McCool graduated from Pickens Academy as valedictorian. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 1990, with a double major in History and Classics (With a Concentration in Greek). In 1990, he received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for outstanding senior man at the University of Alabama. He also served in the Student Government Association as a member of the Student Senate and as Chief Justice of the Student Court during his undergraduate tenure.

Justice McCool graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1993, where he served as an Associate Justice and ultimately as Chief Justice of the Honor Court. He was a member of the Alabama Law Review and the Farrah Law Society. Immediately after graduation, Justice McCool returned to his hometown of Gordo to practice law with local attorney C.O. Burkhalter. In 1995, he was appointed to serve as a full-time Assistant District Attorney for Pickens County, and in 2001 he became District Attorney for the 24th Judicial Circuit, comprising Fayette, Lamar, and Pickens Counties. In 2018, he ran successfully for a full term on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, taking office on November 9, 2018.  He served on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals from 2018 to 2025 and was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2025.

Marc James Ayers Related Seminars and Products

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Marc James Ayers is a partner in the Birmingham, Alabama office of the Bradley firm, and is a member of Bradley’s Appellate Litigation Group.  Marc represents individual, corporate and governmental clients before state and federal appellate and trial courts throughout the country. Marc is listed in Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America® and Mid-South Super Lawyers in the field of Appellate Law, and has represented clients on petitions for certiorari and amicus curiae briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court. Marc has also presented oral argument in the Fourth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and D.C. circuits, and in various state appellate courts in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Maryland, Mississippi, Texas and Wyoming.

Marc’s accomplishments have been recognized by his election as a Fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Marc served as chair of the Appellate Practice Section of the Alabama State Bar from 2008-2010, and is board certified in appellate practice by the Florida Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization and Education. He is frequently invited to lecture on appellate practice and is the author of several articles on that subject, among others. He also was nominated by the Justices of the Alabama Supreme Court to serve on both the Alabama Pattern Jury Instructions Committee as well as the Standing Committee on the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure.  Prior to joining Bradley, Marc clerked for Alabama Supreme Court Associate Justice J. Gorman Houston, Jr.  Marc has also taught as an adjunct professor of law, teaching constitutional and public interest law, administrative law, and legal writing/appellate advocacy. His work on statutory interpretation was cited as one of the most pertinent sources that influenced Justice Antonin Scalia and Bryan Garner in their treatise Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts.

Charles Prueter Related Seminars and Products

Fortif Law Partners, LLC

Mr. Prueter received his B.A. in 2009 from The Ohio State University and his J.D. in 2012 from The University of Alabama School of Law, where he was the Editor in Chief of the Alabama Law Review. After law school, he served as a law clerk first to Judge Sim Lake of the Southern District of Texas, and then to Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the Fifth Circuit. A member of Waller’s Trial and Appellate Practice Section since 2014, he represents individuals and businesses in a variety of complex litigation matters. Mr. Prueter writes a monthly column for the Alabama Bankers Association entitled “Supreme Court Update for Banking and Financial Services Professionals” and is listed in the Birmingham Business Journal’s Rising Stars of Law for 2018.

Judge Roman Shaul Related Seminars and Products

Alabama State Bar

Roman was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  He attended undergraduate, graduate and law school at the University of Alabama.  He practiced law in Tuscaloosa for a couple of years then practiced with the Montgomery, Alabama firm of Beasley Allen for 17 years.  As a lawyer, Roman had a multi-jurisdictional practice and was licensed to practice law in 8 states and over 35 federal jurisdictions.  He has represented individuals, businesses, insurance companies and state governments.  Roman previously served as a trial judge in Montgomery County, Alabama.  In June of 2018, he resigned his judgeship to become the General Counsel of the Alabama State Bar.  He is married to Caroline Thames Shaul and has three daughters, Anne Kingsley (16), Isabel (15) and Thompson (8).

Seth Rhodebeck Related Seminars and Products

Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

Seth P. Rhodebeck was appointed as the Clerk of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on January 21, 2025. Before his appointment as Clerk, Mr. Rhodebeck served as a staff attorney on the Alabama Supreme Court and on the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. Mr. Rhodebeck has devoted the entirety of his career to the Alabama appellate court system.

Mr. Rhodebeck was born in Columbus, Ohio, and raised in Gambier, Ohio. He earned his undergraduate degree from Lee University (2005) and received his Juris Doctorate from Regent University School of Law (2008). Mr. Rhodebeck lives in Montgomery with his wife, Megan Byrne Rhodebeck. They enjoy serving the local community through their church, Gateway Baptist Church, and through Helping Our Public Education System (HOPES), a ministry that they founded and lead.

Justin Owen Related Seminars and Products

Bodewell, LLP

Sybil Newton Related Seminars and Products

Starnes Davis Florie LLP

Sybil Newton is a partner at Starnes Davis Florie and has practiced with the firm for over thirty years. She heads the firm’s Appellate Law and Written Advocacy Group. Prior to heading the firm’s Appellate Group, Sybil had an active trial practice, participating in over twenty jury trials across the state, and also served as the firm’s Administrative Partner for six years. She is currently serving in her sixth term as a member of the Standing Committee on Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure. She is a mother of five and lives in Birmingham with her husband George.

Aaron McLeod Related Seminars and Products

Adams and Reese LLP

Aaron focuses his practice on appellate litigation and dispositive-motion briefing.  He has represented multiple clients in appeals before the Alabama Supreme Court, the Eleventh Circuit and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeal, the Texas trial and appellate courts, and the United States Supreme Court, and has served as appellate counsel for clients in major trials in Alabama and Texas.  Aaron is also experienced in defending personal-injury, business-litigation, construction-defect and professional-malpractice cases and has published on Alabama legal-malpractice law for the American Bar Association’s Professional Liability Litigation Committee.  Aaron also represents clients in lawsuits concerning charter schools, oil-and-gas contracts, and property damage.

Justice Brady Mendheim Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Supreme Court of Alabama

Brady E. (Brad) Mendheim, Jr., was appointed to the Alabama Supreme  Court on January 22, 2018, by Governor Kay Ivey to fill a vacancy  created by the retirement of Associate Justice Glenn Murdock. Before his  appointment, Justice Mendheim served as a circuit judge for the 20th  Judicial Circuit (Henry and Houston Counties), a position he had held  since 2009. From 2001 until 2009, Justice Mendheim served as a district  judge in Houston County. From 2001 until his appointment as an Associate  Justice, he was appointed specially by various Chief Justices to  preside over more than 250 cases in more than 40 Alabama counties.  He graduated from Auburn University with high honors and from Samford University's Cumberland School of Law in 1993.

Judge Bernard Harwood Related Seminars and Products

Rosen Harwood PA

Bernard Harwood attended the University of the South and The University of Alabama to earn his B.S. He earned his LL.B., Order of the Coif, from The University of Alabama School of Law. He served as a justice on the Alabama Supreme Court from January 2001 to January 2007. For ten years prior to that he served a Circuit Judge for the 6th Judicial Circuit. He was engaged in the private practice of law for 28 years preceding his judicial service, with a concentration in trial work. He has now returned to the private practice of law in Tuscaloosa with the firm of Rosen Harwood. For over 20 years Mr. Harwood taught courses in Trial Advocacy at The University of Alabama School of Law and now teaches an evidence course there. He is a member of the Tuscaloosa County, Alabama State, and American Bar Associations, and the Alabama Law Institute. Justice Harwood is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and has been certified an "Advocate" by The American Board of Trial Advocacy. He is past-president of the Tuscaloosa County Bar Association, the Tuscaloosa Inn of Court, and the Farrah Law Society/Order of the Coif. He is a Fellow of both the Alabama and the American Bar Foundations. Judge Harwood is active as an civil litigator, an appellate counsel, and as an arbitrator and a mediator. He is a certified American Arbitration Association arbitrator and mediator and is a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.

David George Wirtes, Jr. Related Seminars and Products

Cunningham Bounds LLC

David G. Wirtes, Jr. is a member of Cunningham Bounds, LLC of Mobile, Alabama, where he focuses on strategic planning, motion practice and appeals. Mr. Wirtes is licensed in all state and federal courts in Alabama and Mississippi, the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He is active in numerous professional organizations, including as a member of the Alabama and Mississippi State Bar Associations , long-time member of the Alabama Supreme Court's Standing Committee on the Rules of Appellate Procedure, Sustaining Member of the Alabama Association for Justice (and Member of its Board of Governors and Executive Committee (1990-present); Member and/or Chairman, Amicus Curiae Committee (1990-present); and co-editor, the Alabama Association for Justice Journal (1996-present)), and the American Association for Justice where he serves as a Member of its Amicus Curiae Committee (1999-present). Mr. Wirtes is a Sustaining Fellow, and former Officer and Trustee of the National Civil Justice Institute; a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America; a Founder and former Executive Director of the American Institute of Appellate Practice; and a Sustaining Member and the former Alabama Representative for Public Justice. He has published numerous journal articles and is a frequent lecturer at continuing legal education seminars, addressing topics such as Defeating Unlawful Discrimination in Jury Selection, Evidence, Examination of Witnesses, State Constitutional Protections, Immunity, Appellate Practice and Procedure, Electronic Discovery, and HIPAA and Ex parte Communications with Healthcare Providers.