Personal Information:  

I am married (Mary Elizabeth). We have two sons, Joshua (born in 1997) and William (born 2002).  I am an Eagle Scout and worked my way through college and law school selling religious and educational books for The Southwestern Company in Nashville, Tennessee.  When I am not practicing law or spending time with my family (mainly chasing the boys, it seems), I enjoy running, reading, video games, and whitewater canoeing.

Areas of Practice

• Civil Rights
• Employment Discrimination - Employee Rights
• Constitutional Law
• Equal Employment Opportunity Law
• Fair Employment Practices
• Title VII Discrimination
• Civil Rights Section 1983 Claims
• Fair Labor Standards Act
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• WARN Act
• Wage and Hour Law
• Labor Law
• Race Discrimination
• Sex Discrimination
• Age Discrimination
• Disability Discrimination
• Gay and Lesbian Rights
• Racial Harassment
• Sexual Harassment
• Employee Discipline
• Employment Termination
• Wrongful Termination
• Retaliatory Discharge
• Whistleblower Litigation
• Executive Severance Contracts
• Reductions in Force
• Negligent Hiring
• Employee Privacy
• Employer Intentional Torts
• Employment Contracts
• Employer Breach of Contract
• Executive Employment Law
• Employment Litigation
• Prisoner Rights
• Police Liability
• Police Misconduct
• Police Excessive Force
• Police Brutality
• Illegal Search and Seizure
• False Arrest
• False Imprisonment

Litigation Percentage

• 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Texas, 1990
• Alabama, 1993
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, 1990
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Alabama, 1993
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Alabama, 2001
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Alabama, 2006
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1992
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1993
• U.S. Supreme Court, 2006

Education

• Vanderbilt University School of Law, Nashville, Tennessee, 1989
  J.D.
  Honors: Summa Cum Laude
  Honors: Order of the Coif
  Law Review: Vanderbilt Law Review, Associate Articles Editor
  
  
• Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama, 1986
  B.A.
  Honors: Summa Cum Laude
  Honors: Phi Beta Kappa
  
  

Honors and Awards

• West Publishing Co. Book Award (One of Top 5 Persons in Class)
• Am Jur Book Awards in Contracts I, Constitutional Law I, Administrative Law, Criminal Constitutional Law, and Accounting
• Best Brief Award and Semifinalist, Intramural Moot Court Competition
• Moot Court Board
• Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas & O'Neal Scholar
• Andrew Ewing Scholar Finalist

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Lauderdale County Bar Association
  Member
  
  
• American Bar Association, Sections on Litigation, Labor and Employment Law
  Member
  
  
• Alabama State Bar Association, Section on Labor and Employment Law
  Member
  
  
• State Bar of Texas
  Member
  
  
• National Employment Lawyers Association
  Member
  
  
• NELA - Alabama
  Founding Board Member and President (2005 - Present)
  
  
• The National Police Accountability Project
  Member
  
  
• American Association for Justice, Sections on Employment Rights and Civil Rights
  Member
  
  
• Alabama Association for Justice
  Member
  
  

Past Employment Positions

• Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, Dallas, Texas, Associate, 1990 - 1993
• Hon. Patrick E. Higginbotham, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, Law Clerk, 1989 - 1990

Birth Information

• February 20, 1964, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America