I did not realize that attorney Jeff McKinney was part of the University of North Alabama crew that made their way to law school, including Brad Botes and Stuart Maples, until we talked on this podcast. I am sure there are several others in that group that I am probably missing. Jeff practices with his long-time law partner, Clint Butler, with the law firm of McKinney and Butler located in Huntsville, Alabama.  Jeff practices in the area of personal injury law and is considered to be a master at his craft.  I have not spoken to Jeff much prior to this podcast so I enjoyed getting to know his back story on this episode.  

This podcast features attorney Jonathan Lusk.  Jonathan is a highly respected attorney with offices in both Huntsville and Guntersville, Alabama. As you’ll hear on this episode of the podcast, Jonathan’s firm goes back to 1895 when it was started by his great-grandfather, John Lusk.  The law practice was then continued by his grandfather, Marion Lusk,  then his father, Louis Lusk, and, now, Jonathan.  In fact, his Guntersville office is in the same building that his great-grandfather purchased back in the late 1800’s!  Jonathan is a skilled and compassionate lawyer who has many positive reviews by satisfied clients.  He focuses his law practice in divorce and family law matters throughout North Alabama.  I enjoyed getting to know him on this episode of the podcast. 

As you’ll hear on this episode of the podcast, attorney David Hodge has really benefitted from his humble roots working throughout his childhood into his college years on his father’s farm.  Interestingly enough, his farm background has greatly benefited his clients with a number of plaintiff’s cases he has brought just because of what he knows and has seen in his past work on the farm!  David is a partner with the esteemed firm of Morris, King and Hodge, located in Huntsville, Alabama.  You can listen to the podcasts I have done with his law partners,  Harvey Morris here and Joe King here.  David is a very-well respected attorney in Alabama as reflected by the fact that he is consistently named as a top 50 lawyer in the State of Alabama by Superlawyers.  I have known David over the years but I never really understood his back story until this episode of the podcast.  I think you’ll enjoy hearing about his roots and how he has achieved the level of success that he now has with his legal career. 

David Holt is a founding partner of Loftin Holt, a law firm he started with Bartley Loftin.  You can hear Bartley’s episode of the Next Lawyer Up podcast here.  David is a highly respected lawyer who gives back to many organizations in our community.  He is past president of the Madison County Volunteer Lawyers Program and the President-Elect of the Huntsville Bar Association.  David has a technical pedigree with both a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alabama.  He is also a graduate of University of Alabama’s School of Law as well.  David practices in complex litigation, in addition to all aspects of intellectual property.  This podcast is an interesting story of how David and Bartley left “big law” to build their own law firm which is highly respected in the North Alabama legal community.  I hope you enjoy hearing David’s story on this episode.

If you watch CNN at all, you have undoubtedly seen attorney Elie Honig, CNN Senior Legal Analyst, especially over the past several months. Elie always comes off very knowledgeable about any legal matter that he is asked about and he has an easy going and affable manner about him that allows him to help explain complicated and nuanced legal situations quickly and in an understandable way.  Elie, as you’ll hear, has an impressive pedigree to include Rutgers University and Harvard Law School, followed by work as an assistant US attorney with the well-known office of the Southern Distrct of New York (SDNY) in Manhattan. That position was followed by several years working as an assistant Attorney General with the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.  Currently, he is a special counsel at Lowenstein Sandler. In addition to the work he does for CNN, Elie teaches at Rutgers and serves as the executive director of the Rutgers Institute for Secure Communities.  He has authored two books,  here and here, and he hosts two podcasts as well, here and here. Elie has carved out an interesting career path for himself and I enjoyed talking with him on this episode.  I hope you enjoy it!

I have known of attorney Mark Zaid by reputation for many years, given my own security clearance practice.  I recently ran across Mark’s name again in the July/August 2023 issue of the Washington Lawyer Magazine which gets distributed to all DC bar members.  The article was titled  “Keeping Up with Pioneers in Evolving Practices” and it discussed Mark’s work over the years.  His law practice, based in Washington, DC,  has included representing the families of victims of the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.  He  has a broad practice to include representing government whistleblowers and intelligence community members with security clearance issues.  He has a website to help whistleblowers. We also discussed his Freedom of Information/Privacy Act practice on this episode of the podcast.  As you’ll hear, Mark has an affable and engaging personality and it is no wonder that he appears on various news programs as an expert commentator on a very regular basis!  I think you’ll like hearing his story on this episode of the podcast. 

Robert Lockwood is a well-known and highly respected attorney in Alabama.  He practiced with a large Huntsville law firm for over 25 years before deciding to go out on his own earlier this year.  You can find Robert’s information at his two websites, LockwoodLawyers.com and EmployingAlabama.com   As I mentioned to Robert on the podcast, I don't know where he found the time, between his law practice and other commitments, to do all of the outside work that he has done. He is the past president of several organizations to include the Huntsville-Madison County Bar Association, the Madison County Volunteer Lawyers Program and the Huntsville Rotary club, among other organizations he has worked with and for. He also served for a long time and continues to work presently as member of the Alabama Board of Law examiners. As you'll hear on the podcast, Robert is looking forward to the next chapter of his legal career. I think you will enjoy hearing his story.

Joe Milowic is the director of well-being and serves as of counsel for Quinn Emanuel. He has previously been selected as a New York Super Lawyer in Intellectual Property and he was also chosen as a Global Fellow by the Federal Circuit Bar Association in recognition of  his commitment to leadership and cooperation in the global legal community.   I first learned about Joe from the July/August 2023 issue of the Washington Lawyer Magazine which gets distributed to all DC bar members.  The article was titled  “The Power of Vulnerability” and it discussed the Lawyers Depression Project which was co-founded by Joe.  I enjoyed getting to know Joe’s story on this episode of the podcast and learning about the very important work that he is doing for the legal profession.

This podcast features attorney Laura Terrell.  Laura has a broad legal background to include attending the University of Virginia Law School,  “big law” partnerships, and stints serving at the White House and Department of Justice.  Interestingly, she has now turned her focus and work into serving as an executive coach. Oftentimes, lawyers, like all professionals, can get stuck in a rut and not be able to clearly see the next step in their career or how they want things to look for themselves professionally. Laura offers guidance in many areas that can assist both young lawyers and mid-level or older lawyers as they look to change, morph, and/or improve their legal careers.  Her website, www.LauraTerrell.com,  offers a lot of information on how she can help professionals improve their careers. I enjoyed getting to know Laura’s story on this episode of the podcast.

Attorney Mac Martinson is a partner with the Huntsville law firm of Martinson and Beason.  I say this a lot on this episode of the podcast and here I go again…Mac and his law firm are highly respected as lawyers and as people who give back to our community. This law firm was founded by Mac’s grandfather back in 1937 and has been in existence ever since then.  Mac has many accolades to his name for practicing law at a very high level, earning the admiration of  his peers  to include being AV rated by Martindale Hubbell as well as his recent selection as the Real Estate Lawyer of the Year by Best lawyers in America. I enjoyed getting to know Mac’s story on this episode of the podcast. You might also enjoy listening to the podcast I did with his brother and law partner, Doug Martinson, and, also, his law partner Morris Lilienthal.