Maureen (Mike) Cooper has been practicing law in Alabama for over twenty-five years.  Mike is a very well respected attorney and she focuses her practice on the areas of personal injury, worker’s compensation, social security disability and domestic relations.  Mike, as you’ll hear on this podcast, is really a master of her craft and her representation is eagerly sought by prospective clients.  In addition, Mike is very invested in our community and she does a great deal of pro bono and volunteer work in her “free time.”  I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to Mike in quite awhile so I was happy to catch up with her on this podcast.   

Bartley Loftin is very well known throughout Alabama for being an exceptional trial lawyer.  On top of that, Bartley is someone that people like being around.  As you’ll hear on this podcast, he is funny, humble and has an engaging personality.  Bartley has the distinction of working as a partner at all of the largest law firms in Alabama over the years.  He has now gone out on his own as the co-founder of Loftin Holt, LLP, along with his law partner, David Holt.  Their firm is a high-stakes, business-oriented boutique law firm.  Bartley is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell and has been selected as an Alabama/Mid-South Super Lawyer for the past several years as well as being recognized by the Best Lawyers in America for a number of years.  Bartley’s recent notable cases include serving as lead counsel for plaintiffs in a shareholder derivative class action case which settled for two hundred million dollars, which is the largest reported settlement in Madison County, Alabama and one of the largest reported settlements in Alabama.  I think you’ll enjoy hearing Bartley’s story on this podcast.         

Attorney Rich Raleigh is a shareholder with the highly respected Huntsville law firm of Wilmer & Lee, PA.  As you’ll learn on the podcast, Rich has always been about service.  Prior to joining Wilmer & Lee, Rich served his country with the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps.   Once Rich left his active-duty military service, Rich continued his service in our community in leadership roles with Arts Huntsville, the Huntsville-Madison County Bar Association, the Downtown Rotary Club, National Children’s Advocacy Center, Sparkman Center Boys and Girls Club and with the Old Town Historic District Association.  In addition to all of his service work Rich is, of course, a highly respected and sought after attorney.  This is no more evident than in his various roles with the Alabama State Bar, culminating in his election as President of the Alabama State Bar in 2014.  Rich has also been selected as an Alabama/Mid-South  SuperLawyer for the past several years.  It was good to talk to Rich on this podcast and I think you’ll enjoy hearing his story.

Jim Parkman is a lawyer with Boles, Holmes, Parkman & White with offices in Birmingham and Dothan, Alabama.  Jim, as I learned, handles complex and high profile white collar criminal defense cases nationwide.  For example, Jim was the lead counsel representing Richard Scrushy of Birmingham’s Healthsouth  in the mid-2000s.  With Jim as his counsel, Mr. Scrushy was acquitted of all 36 charges before a jury in federal court.  You can read about that trial here and also, if you have some down time to watch Netflix, check out the documentary “Trial by Media, King Richard episode” in which Jim plays a prominent role. When you hear Jim, you will quickly realize that he can be very impressive and captivating to jurors who are selected to sit on his cases.  You’ll also hear about someone who, after many years of trying criminal cases, is really considered a master of his craft and is held in very high regard throughout the country.  I think you’ll enjoy hearing Jim’s story on this podcast.

Attorney Ben Crump is one of the preeminent civil rights attorneys in the United States.  He has received many awards and honors to include the Freedom Award in 2016 from the National Civil Rights Museum.  It is not a stretch to say that, if there is a case that has national civil rights implications in our country, Ben is probably involved in representing the victims and their families.  Based primarily in Florida, Ben has offices throughout the United States.  His law firm also handles personal injury cases, medical malpractice actions and mass torts.  The number of well-known cases that Ben handles is pretty astonishing.  On this podcast, we talk about Ben’s humble beginnings and his  path into the law and how he developed his nationally known and well respected law firm.  As one can imagine, Ben is not able to spend much time at home with his vast case load in many states.  The timing of the podcast was, unfortunately, good since COVID-19 forced Ben to be off the road for a period of time.  The silver lining of this time period, of course, was that he was able to spend a decent amount of quality family time during this crisis.  I had not spoken to Ben previously and I enjoyed getting to know him on this podcast.  

Josh Baron is an attorney with the Sharifi and Baron law firm in Salt Lake City Utah.  Josh is a graduate of the J. Reuben Clark School of Law at Brigham Young University.  After a stint at the Salt Lake City Prosecutor’s office, Josh founded his law firm in 2009 and has focused on and practiced exclusively in the area of criminal defense throughout the State of Utah ever since.  Josh has an interesting path as to how he got here, to include becoming fluent in Spanish from his mission trip in Chile.  I became aware of Josh from his book that is available at Amazon, The Business of Criminal Law.  As you’ll hear on this podcast, Josh has graciously offered a free copy of his book to the listeners of the Next Lawyer Up podcast.  If you are a young lawyer practicing in the area of criminal law, you would be well advised to get this book and read it cover to cover.  Like me, I am sure that you’ll find Josh humble, gracious and engaging on this podcast.  It is no wonder why he has a thriving law practice! 

I enjoyed getting to know attorney Patricia (Tricia) Baxter on this podcast. She is the managing partner and director in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York) of the general litigation group for Morgan & Akins, PLLC.  Morgan & Akins also has offices in the southeastern United States to include Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia.  Tricia practices primarily in the area of civil defense for products liability cases for many different industries, aviation, and premises liability. She is highly respected and speaks and writes regularly on her areas of expertise.  You can also hear Tricia on her own podcast, The Defense Never Rests.  I think you will like hearing about her life in the law on this podcast.

This podcast is very personal to me.  I have known Larry Guggino since both of us were about 19 years old.  Larry and I were Sigma Chi Fraternity brothers at the University of Arizona in Tucson.  Talk about a great place to get educated, plus having some fun along the way!  After our freshman year, Larry’s parents purchased a townhouse that five of us lived in, located in the foothills of North Tucson.  We had a great time in a wonderful place to live and, on top of it, the rent was very reasonable!  I was also with Larry when he met his wife of thirty plus years, Karen, so we have a lot of history together.  Once he graduated from Arizona, Larry attended law school at St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio, Texas and then moved back to his hometown of Los Lunas, New Mexico where he has practiced law ever since.  Larry is with the law firm of Griego, Guggino and Associates and, as part of his law practice,  Larry has served as the primary attorney for the Village of Los Lunas, New Mexico for the past several years.  I really wanted to do this podcast in person with Larry but the current climate, of course, prohibits that.  As a result, this is my first Zoom podcast and it was easier than I expected and went better than I thought it would!   One of the many things that I’ll always remember about Larry was the talk about the Luna Mansion and the history of that region.  I hope you enjoy my trip down memory lane with Larry.     

I can’t think of a more up-tempo, gracious and good-humored person than attorney Will League.  On top of that, Will is a talented, tenacious and highly respected partner with the law firm of Siniard, Timberlake and League.  Will and his firm practice personal injury law throughout the state of Alabama and have been doing so for many, many years.   By the way, you can hear Will’s law partner, Tommy Siniard, on episode 3 of the Next Lawyer Up podcast.  What really impresses me about Will is his strong grasp of several areas of law and legal concepts, even though he may not practice in those particular areas.  This is a skill that Will puts to good use as host of Sunday night’s long-standing “LawCall” show on ABC channel 31 at 10:30pm.  Will’s legal representation is eagerly sought and, when you listen to this podcast, you’ll understand why.  He is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell and has also been selected as a Best Lawyer in America.  It is always good to catch up with Will.  I enjoyed our time together on this podcast.     

**I recorded this podcast with Will right before the world changed.  With the everyday stress and pressure that all of us are feeling, I thought this might be a good time to post this podcast as a diversion for those who need it.  Thanks for listening, stay safe and God bless.   

Brad Botes and I cover various topics as they relate to our clients and other consumers and small business owners facing financial challenges related to the COVID – 19 global pandemic.  We hope that this weekly update will help our clients and prospective clients stay on top of their financial health during these troubling times.  If you want to listen to something a bit more fun after this episode, feel free to listen to Episode 1 where Brad and I talk in simpler times and, mostly, about the march towards the miraculous Chicago Cubs’ World Series title in 2016.  Rest assured that we will continue to be available to help at our offices located in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Please take care of yourselves and your families and God bless during this turbulent and uncertain time.