News Post

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – At its annual meeting on June 29, 2024, the Alabama State Bar installed Demopolis attorney Taylor T. “Tom” Perry, Jr. as the 149th president of the 19,600-member organization. Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker administered the oath.

“I’m proud, honored, and humbled to be the 149th president of the Alabama State Bar,” said newly installed President Perry of Manley, Traeger, Perry, Stapp, and Compton (Demopolis). “I look forward to building on the strong foundation that has already been put in place by past presidents and bar leadership before me.”

Perry’s platform, “Harvesting Hope,” is an effort he’ll lead alongside friend and fellow small-town attorney, H. Thomas “Tom” Heflin, Jr., to recruit and provide opportunities for attorneys in underserved areas in Alabama. Alabama State Bar statistics show that approximately 75 percent of the state’s attorneys are concentrated in seven counties, while the other 25 percent are spread over the other 60 counties.

“Our rural jurisdictions in Alabama are in crisis, and the few lawyers practicing in some of these underserved areas are aging. This is, unequivocally, an access to justice issue, and we have to do something about it now. ‘Harvesting Hope’ will take all of us binding together and working together,” he added.

Perry’s service to the bar includes 18 years as a bar commissioner for the 17th Judicial Circuit, ASB vice president under Past President Taze Shepard, chair of the ASB Solo and Small Firm Section, and a member of the Disciplinary Commission. In 2022, Perry was the recipient of the Commissioners’ Award, given to recognize individuals who have had a long-standing commitment to the improvement of the administration of justice in Alabama.

“Our profession is changing at a rapid pace, but one thing that remains the same is that it is still about who we serve. Lawyers serve the great people of Alabama,” said Perry. “We make a difference, and we are good to our communities, and that gives me hope for a bright future for our profession and our state.”

Perry is a graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law. He joined Manley, Traeger, Perry, Stapp, and Compton in 1988. Perry’s practice is heavily concentrated on representing individuals who have received serious personal injuries or wrongfully lost their lives, combined with those who have been the victims of insurance fraud and other abuses.

Perry has been recognized as a Top Lawyer in Alabama by The Legal Network and recognized as a Top-Rated Lawyer in Litigation by Martindale-Hubbell. He is also a member of the Alabama Association for Justice.

Tom is married to Melinda Cooper Perry, and they have two children – Eugenia “GiGi” Compton Perry Mitchell and Taylor T. “Tripp” Perry, III.

Also during the state bar’s annual meeting, Frederick G. “Fred” Helmsing Jr. of McDowell Knight (Mobile) was installed as the bar’s president-elect. Helmsing will serve one year in this role before assuming the presidency in July 2025. Helmsing has served as a bar commissioner from the 13th Judicial Circuit for the past nine years.

Serving alongside President Perry and President-Elect Helmsing on the 2024-2025 Executive Council are:

• Vice President: John Stamps (Bessemer)
• Secretary: Terri Lovell (Executive Director, Alabama State Bar)
• Executive Council: Jana Garner (Selma)
• Executive Council: Pat Sefton (Montgomery)
• Executive Council: Ronald Strawbridge, Jr. (Vernon)
• Parliamentarian: Mark Boardman (Chelsea)
• Immediate Past-President: Brannon Buck (Birmingham)
• Ex Officio: Halron Turner (Chatom)
• Ex Officio: Tom Heflin (Tuscumbia)
• Ex Officio: Young Lawyers’ Section Chair: Ryan Duplechin (Montgomery)
• Ex Officio: Alabama Lawyers’ Association President: Aigner Kolom (Montgomery)