Balch & Bingham
HeadquartersBirmingham, Alabama
No. of offices10
No. of attorneys200+
Major practice areasGeneral practice, Energy, Financial Services
Date founded1922
FounderWilliam Logan Martin Jr
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websitewww.balch.com

Balch & Bingham LLP is a United States law firm based in Birmingham, Alabama. [1][2]

History

The firm was founded in 1922 by William Logan Martin Jr, who served as Alabama's Attorney General between 1915-1917 and as attorney for Alabama Power Company.[3][4] Martin's private practice in Birmingham was joined by Judge Fritz Thompson and Perry Turner to form Martin, Thompson & Turner in 1922.[5] In 1983, then known as Balch, Bingham, Baker, Hawthorne, Williams & Ward, the firm merged with Montgomery partnership Smith, Bowman, Thagard, Crook & Culpeper, expanding the firm's presence in Montgomery.[6] In 1985, the firm's name was changed to Balch & Bingham in recognition of partners Eason Balch and John Bingham.[5] In 2001, the firm merged with Eaton & Cottrell in Mississippi, followed in 2003 by a merger with Meadows, Ichter and Bowers in Atlanta.[7][8] In April 2012, Balch & Bingham acquired Birmingham-based Presley Burton & Collier, along with Jacksonville-based Stoneburner, Berry, Gocker, Purcell & Greenhut PA later that year.[9][10]

In August 2010, the firm was hired by the Governor of Georgia to conduct a special investigation into the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal.[11] The report, delivered to the Governor in June 2011, uncovered cheating by over 178 administrators and teachers from 56 elementary and middle schools in the Atlanta Public School System.[12]

Beginning in 2010, Balch & Bingham assisted the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in litigation against BP for environmental damages following the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[13] In 2014, the firm's billing was central to litigation in which the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality responded to a public records request by producing heavily redacted versions of invoices for expenses incurred by Balch and other subcontractors.[14]

In March 2015, the firm was hired by Lee May, CEO of DeKalb County, Georgia, to investigate improper spending by government officials.[15] Lead by Balch & Bingham lead investigator Richard Hyde and firm Partner Mike Bowers, formerly the Attorney General of Georgia, the investigation uncovered many examples of misconduct, including stolen county property, taxpayer funded charge cards used for liquor purchases, and ignored requests for public record.[16] May, who was himself implicated in the investigation’s findings, criticized the firm for the cost of the far reaching inquiry.[17]

In 2019, the firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi River Commission. The suit alleged that these entities violated federal law by “failing to study the consequences of diverting the Mississippi River into the Mississippi Sound through the Bonnet Carré Spillway” causing ecological and economical damage.[18]

Balch attorney Chris Anulewicz served as Georgia's special assistant attorney general in the Post-election lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election from Georgia. On January 8, 2021, four of the cases were dismissed.[19]

Offices

As of February 2020, Balch & Bingham was the fourth largest law firm in Birmingham, Alabama. The firm has additional offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Washington, D.C.[20]

Notable attorneys and alumni

  • Mike Bowers – Attorney General of Georgia (1981–1997)
  • Greg Cook – American lawyer and judge, associate justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, (2023–present)[21]
  • Clifford Durr – American lawyer who defended activists, including Rosa Parks, during the New Deal and McCarthy eras
  • Barbara Olson – American lawyer and conservative television commentator
  • Edwina Rogers – Conservative lobbyist, Executive Director of the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (2006-2011) and National Economic Council Associate Director (2001-2002)[22]
  • William Sellers – American lawyer and judge, associate justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, (2017–present)[23]
  • Alvin Vogtle – American lawyer, business executive and World War II fighter pilot

References

  1. ↑ Rumore, Pat Boyd (2000). Lawyers in a New South City: A History of the Legal Profession in Birmingham. Association Publishing Company. ISBN 0966838017.
  2. ↑ "Balch & Bingham Offices". Balch & Bingham. November 19, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Balch & Bingham founder selected for Alabama Lawyers' Hall of Fame". The Birmingham News. October 31, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Hall of Fame Class – 2012". Alabama State Bar. December 1, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Birmingham's big 5". Birmingham Business Journal. March 24, 2002.
  6. ↑ "H. Harold Williams". Legacy.com. November 20, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Balch & Bingham Reels In Ala. Public Financing Firm". Law360. April 9, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Former Attorney General Mike Bowers Leaves Balch & Bingham for Athens Firm". Law.com. September 25, 2020.
  9. ↑ "After Partner Departures, Balch & Bingham Takes Over Birmingham Firm". The AM Law Daily. April 10, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Alabama law firm expands to Jacksonville with Stoneburner merger". Jacksonville Business Journal. September 26, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Bowers, Wilson named special investigators for state test cheating probe". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 21, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Report Eviscerates Atlanta Schools for Decade of Systematic Cheating". Courthouse News Service. July 27, 2011.
  13. ↑ "DEQ defends redacting turned-over invoices". The Clarion-Ledger. May 21, 2014.
  14. ↑ Emily Le Coz, "Agency defends redacting invoices", The Clarion-Ledger (May 2, 2014), p. A1-A4.
  15. ↑ "Corruption investigation targets DeKalb County". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. March 19, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Investigators find 'stunning' misconduct in DeKalb". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 5, 2015.
  17. ↑ "DeKalb corruption report calls for Lee May's resignation". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. September 30, 2015.
  18. ↑ "'Unlawful' operation of Bonnet Carré prompts MS Secretary of State to sue US Army Corps". Sun Herald. December 30, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Trump and allies drop 4 Georgia election lawsuits; state officials deny settlement claim". ABA Journal. January 8, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Balch & Bingham expands footprint to Texas, longtime Bham attorney joins firm's new Houston office". Birmingham Business Journal. February 6, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Candidate Greg Cook (R) for Alabama Supreme Court to speak at Harvey's on Noble". Sylacauga News. March 3, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Edwina Rogers, Executive Director". Secular Coalition for America. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  23. ↑ "FindLaw's United States Eleventh Circuit case and opinions". Findlaw. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
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