Category: Attorney Highlights

Rushton Stakely is pleased to announce that Landon Eley has joined the firm as an Associate in the commercial real estate department.  Prior to joining Rushton Stakely, Landon practiced in a Montgomery firm for several years, focusing on civil defense litigation.  He also assisted in drafting successful appellate briefs for the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals and Alabama Supreme Court.

Landon received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alabama, and his Juris Doctorate from Cumberland School of Law. He is admitted to practice in all Alabama State Courts, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama.

Rushton Stakely is pleased to announce that Pat Shegon has been named a Fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation. In 1993, the Foundation established its Fellows Program to honor lawyers who have made significant contributions to the legal profession and to their communities.  Fellows are nominated by their peers in recognition of their accomplishments, and election is limited to no more than one percent of members of the Alabama State Bar.

The Alabama Law Foundation is an organization that helps improve the administration of justice by educating communities about legal issues and making annual grants to organizations that provide free legal aid to those in need. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded over $20 million in grants for charitable projects related to its mission.

Mr. Shegon is a shareholder of Rushton Stakely where he has practiced law for almost twenty-five years. He has been recognized repeatedly for his outstanding achievements in the legal field.  In addition to his professional accomplishments, he has also served on a number of local charitable boards.

We are proud to announce that R. Austin Huffaker, Jr., a shareholder of Rushton Stakely, has been appointed to serve in a lifetime position as a federal district court judge for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Austin was nominated by President Trump on July 8, 2019, and he was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 4, 2019 on a 89-4 vote. We offer our congratulations to Austin for this incredible honor.

Austin joined Rushton Stakely in 1999, and since that time, he has focused his practice on civil litigation defense, including complex commercial, product defect, lender liability, and professional malpractice matters. He has served as a Commissioner of the Alabama Securities Commission and a Member of the Alabama Pattern Civil Jury Charge Committee. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree, cum laude, from Vanderbilt University and his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law, where he was a member of the Alabama Law Review and a Hugo Black Scholar.

Tommy Keene, the firm’s president, said, “Our firm is overwhelmed with joy as we announce the confirmation of Austin Huffaker to the prestigious Federal Court Judgeship in the Middle District of Alabama. While we will realize a great loss to our firm in his leadership and legal abilities, we recognize that he now answers a higher calling. He will serve the citizens of the Middle District in exemplary fashion, and we know that he will deliver justice in the most fair, intelligent, and even-handed manner possible.” Austin brings twenty years of experience in the practice of law to his new position. We extend our warmest congratulations and wish him every success in his new duties.

Congratulations to J C Love for his appointment as the new probate judge of Montgomery County. On November 15^th, Governor Kay Ivey signed Love’s appointment letter, and he was sworn into office later that day.  Love has been an attorney with Rushton Stakely since 2013 where he has practiced civil litigation with an emphasis on medical malpractice, insurance defense, professional liability, and economic development.  Love is a graduate of Morehouse College and Boston College Law School, and he practiced law in Atlanta before joining Rushton Stakely.  We congratulate J C and extend our best wishes as he assumes his new responsibilities.

Thomas H. Keene, our President, currently serves as Chairman of the President’s Cabinet at the University of Alabama. He previously has served as Chairman of the Selection Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Cabinet.

The President’s Cabinet is by invitation only and is limited to three hundred members. Their mission includes not only advising the President of the university as needed, but also the funding and administration of scholarships to worthy students as well as the recruitment of academically gifted students.  This very proud organization has existed for forty-five years and continues to support primarily academic activities of the University of Alabama.

Rushton Stakely is pleased to announce that seventeen of our attorneys were chosen for the 2020 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©.  The selected lawyers are: Dennis R. Bailey, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Communications Law, Litigation – Banking & Finance, Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Labor & Employment, Litigation – Real Estate, and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants; Jeffrey W. Blitz, Real Estate Law; L. Peyton Chapman III, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants; William I. Eskridge, Real Estate Law; Alan T. Hargrove, Jr., Insurance Law, and Litigation – Insurance; William S. Haynes, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; R. Austin Huffaker, Jr., Appellate Practice; J. Theodore Jackson, Jr., Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Tax Law,  Trusts and Estates; Paul M. James, Jr., Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Thomas H. Keene, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Daniel L. Lindsey, Jr., Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates; Patrick M. Shegon, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants; Christopher S. Simmons, Litigation & Controversy – Tax, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Public Finance Law, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates; Frank J. Stakely, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Fred W. Tyson, Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants, and Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants; Helen Crump Wells, Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates; Benjamin C. Wilson, Litigation – Healthcare, and Litigation – Labor & Employment.

For over 30 years, Best Lawyers® has been regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States.  Inclusion in the Best Lawyers® list is based on a rigorous national survey of leading U. S. attorneys, and Corporate Counsel® magazine has called Best Lawyers® “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”  We are proud that seventeen of our attorneys were recognized with this distinguished honor.

Rushton Stakely is proud to announce the nomination of R. Austin Huffaker, Jr. to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.

On July 1, 2019, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate R. Austin Huffaker, Jr., of Alabama, to serve as Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.

Austin Huffaker is a Shareholder at Rushton, Stakely, Johnston & Garrett, P.A, where his practice focuses on complex commercial, product and lender liability, and professional malpractice litigation. Mr. Huffaker serves as a Commissioner of the Alabama Securities Commission and a Member of the Alabama Civil Jury Charge Committee. Mr. Huffaker earned his B.Eng., cum laude, from Vanderbilt University and his J.D, magna cum laude, from the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the Alabama Law Review and a Hugo Black Scholar.

For the complete article:  https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-judicial-nominees-united-states-marshal-nominee-3/