News and Updates

President Methvin Pens Letter Nominating Fred Gray for Medal of Freedom

Alabama State Bar President Bob Methvin sent a letter to President Joe Biden last week, requesting that he award attorney and Montgomery native Fred D. Gray the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Methvin described Gray as a “true American hero” deserving of this prestigious award.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom recognizes people who have made an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

“There are very few people, if any, more deserving of this honor,” wrote Methvin in his letter. “Attorney Fred Gray served as the first African American President of the Alabama State Bar from 2002-2003. He recently turned 90 years old and has spent the majority of his life fighting for the civil rights of all Americans.”

You can read the full letter here and coverage from AL.com here.

Call for Annual Meeting Speakers

We are compiling a list of possible speakers and presenters for the Alabama State Bar's Annual Meeting, set for July 14-17, 2021, at The Grand Hotel in Point Clear. If you have heard or know of a dynamic speaker who would be a good fit for our conference, email the information to annualmeeting@alabar.org.

Samford's Cumberland School of Law to host 27th Annual Thurgood Marshall Symposium

Cumberland School of Law’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA) is set to host the law school’s 27^th Annual Thurgood Marshall Symposium. This year's virtual conversation will feature a panel of Cumberland School of Law alumni and is titled "To Whom Much is Given: The Past, Present, and Future of the Legal Profession."

Panelists include: 

• Honorable Sybil Cleveland ‘90, City of Huntsville, Municipal Judge

• Courtney French ‘98, Petway French & Ford, Senior Partner

• Leon Hampton Jr. ‘13, Beasley Allen Law Firm, Principal; Alabama Lawyers Association, President

• Denzel Okinedo ‘19, moderator, Burr & Forman LLP, Attorney

• Sara Williams ‘06, Alexander Shunnarah Law Firm, Managing Partner; Cumberland School of Law National Trial Team, Coach

Anyone can watch this year's Thurgood Marshall Symposium on Feb. 18, at 6 p.m. by visiting samford.edu/cumberlandlaw/news. For more information, contact Courtney Howard (Thurgood Marshall Symposium Chair) at 205-913-7605 or choward4@samford.edu.

Pro Bono Award Nominations
 
The Alabama State Bar Pro Bono Committee is soliciting nominations for the 2021 Alabama State Bar Pro Bono Award.  The award recognizes the outstanding pro bono efforts of private attorneys, public interest attorneys, law firms, mediators and law students.  Nominations can be based on a nominee’s direct pro bono representation of the poor in civil matters or on the encouragement and promotion of pro bono legal services or a combination of both activities. 

You can find the nomination form here and a list of past Pro Bono Award winners here. The nomination deadline is Apr. 1, 2021.  The award recipient(s) will be honored at the Alabama State Bar's Annual Meeting in July,

Input Needed for Civic Organization Speaking Tour

President Methvin and the Lawyer Public Relations Task Force is trying to speak to at least one civic organization in every county in Alabama by June, either in-person or virtually. President Methvin has prepared a presentation on The Importance of the Court System and Legal Profession in Alabama.  Please let Megan Hughes know the name of any civic organization in your area that a Task Force member can speak to on this topic and, if possible, the contact information of anyone in leadership so that we can schedule a presentation.

Attorney Volunteers Needed for Law Day 2021 | Apr. 30

The Alabama State Bar Lawyer in Every Classroom Committee will be providing lawyers to visit middle school classrooms (6th-8th grades) in-person or virtually Friday, Apr. 30, 2021, to teach students about this year’s ABA Law Day theme, “Advancing the Rule of Law Now.” Lawyers will be provided lesson plans and resources on the theme that they can use for the class. If you would like to teach a class in your area, click here and fill out the Attorney Volunteer Form.

Scorers/Judges Needed for National Trial Competition - Feb 17-19

Judges are needed for the 2021 National Trial Competition Regional Tournament this month. Because of COVID, the entire competition will take place online. This is a great opportunity to invest in the future of soon-to-be-lawyers. Additionally, three Alabama law schools will be competing and potential employers will have the ability to scout those students. The link to sign up can also be accessed here.

Appellate Court Information

• Click here to view the Alabama Supreme Court decisions and opinions from Feb. 12

• Click here to view the Criminal Appeals decisions and opinions
  from Feb. 12

• Click here to view the Civil Appeals decisions and opinions 
  from Feb. 12 

March Oral Arguments

The Supreme Court of Alabama will hold Oral Arguments on Mar. 3, beginning at 10:00 a.m. View the docket here.

Free Online CLEs

Free Collaborative Law CLE

Join us on Mar. 4, 2021, at noon for “Introduction to Collaborative Law Practice.” This is the first of a four-part series sponsored by the Alabama State Bar Dispute Resolution Section, the Alabama Center for Dispute Resolution, the Dispute Resolution Section of the Birmingham Bar, and the Birmingham Collaborative Law Alliance.
 
This course has been approved for 60 minutes of MCLE credit. You must register no later than March 3rd for the webinar.  After you register you will receive a confirmation email with the log-in instructions. Register in advance here.
 

New On-Demand CLEs Added to ProLearn

You'll find several new CLEs on the Alabama State Bar's free, on-demand CLE platform, ProLearn, including:

• Human Trafficking 101 Virtual Training: 2 CLE Credits

• Voices of Triumph: Achieving the Dream (courtesy of ASB President's Council on Unity & Diversity): 1.5 CLE Credits

• Assessing Bandwidth and Setting Boundaries: Essential Skills for Pandemic: 1 CLE Credit

The platform can be accessed at https://alabar.prolearn.io and step-by-step instructions for the platform are available here.

Features from the Bar

President Methvin Shares Special Story in Response to Condolence Letter 

It is a little-known fact that every time the Bar learns of the passing of an Alabama lawyer, the sitting President sends a letter of condolence to the family. Recently, President Methvin received a heart-warming response from the granddaughter of an Alabama lawyer. He wanted to share that response with you here:

Mr. Methvin,
 
I just wanted to thank you so much for your kind letter regarding the passing of my grandfather, Roy Greene.  He loved the legal profession so much and being a member of the Alabama State Bar was one of his proudest accomplishments. At 99, you should have heard the stories he would tell! He loved every minute of it.  
 
When I graduated from law school, I believe that was the proudest he had ever been of me. He was so happy to have a grandchild follow in his footsteps. He took me around to lunches with his old law buddies and bragged about me being on the law review at school.  He made me feel like a superstar.  
 
Attached is a picture of us celebrating on the day I found out I passed the Alabama Bar Exam. I will keep working everyday to make him and the profession proud.
 
Sincerely, 

Leslie Anne Jones