New Additions Expand Rumberger’s Complex Commercial and Securities Litigation Practices, Create Bankruptcy Group, and Enhance Firm’s Presence in Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – December 11, 2013 – RumbergerKirk, a leading Florida litigation firm, is pleased to announce that 10 attorneys from Haskell Slaughter, Young & Rediker have joined Rumberger’s Birmingham, Ala. office. The new attorneys and support staff will further bolster the firm’s complex commercial and securities litigation capabilities, create a new bankruptcy practice group, and triple the size of the firm’s Birmingham office.

“As part of our strategic business plan, Rumberger has been looking for the right opportunity for growth based on the needs of our clients; and this powerhouse group of attorneys and professionals will be significant assets throughout our entire footprint,” said Frank Sheppard, Managing Partner of RumbergerKirk. “Rumberger will now have an edge in high-stakes financial, securities, and real estate litigation, allowing us to do more work with public companies, investors, banking institutions, and land developers. We are also excited about our new bankruptcy attorneys who handle both creditors and debtors in reorganization and restructuring situations, both inside and outside of bankruptcy court.”

The attorneys joining RumbergerKirk are:

Partners:

• J. Michael Rediker (securities and class action litigation)
• Jesse P. Evans III (real estate litigation and land use and commercial litigation)
• Robert Adams (bankruptcy, reorganization and creditor’s rights)
• R. Scott Williams (bankruptcy, reorganization and creditor’s rights)
• Peter Tepley (securities and class action litigation)
• Michael Odom (real estate litigation and land use and commercial litigation)
• Meredith Jowers Lees (securities and class action litigation)

Special Counsel

• Jennifer B. Kimble (bankruptcy, reorganization and creditor’s rights)

Associates:

• Martin W. Evans (commercial litigation)
• Rebecca A. Beers (banking and financial institutions)

 “We had a previous relationship with the outstanding attorneys in Rumberger’s Alabama office, so joining the firm was a logical and natural choice for us,” said Rediker. “Our practices are compatible with Rumberger’s platform, which includes having a solid presence in all of the major business and financial centers in Florida. We have many clients, including banking institutions, with interests in the Sunshine State. Now they will have access to critical resources for their legal needs.”

J. Michael Rediker has a national litigation and legal advisory practice in the areas of securities, corporate governance, broker-dealer regulation and litigation, RICO, bond issuances and bond defaults, products liability, fraud, corporate law, trust law, and business torts. He has special experience in the settings of institutional, derivative, class action, complex and multi-district litigation. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in both Commercial Litigation and Securities Law, and has been included in that publication for over 20 years. In addition, Rediker is listed in both Alabama Super Lawyers and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for Litigation: General Commercial. Best Lawyers honored him as “Birmingham Securities Lawyer of the Year” for 2010.

Jesse P. Evans has represented clients in a wide variety of real estate development, land use, eminent domain, title insurance and real estate litigation matters for over thirty years. Evans has served as lead counsel in over two hundred jury trials and a greater number of bench trials as well as over one hundred appeals in the state and federal courts. Evans is the author of Alabama Property Rights and Remedies (5^th ed., CLE Alabama). He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Law, Land Use and Zoning Law and Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law since 1995. In 2011 and 2012, Evans was named by Alabama Super Lawyers to "Alabama Top 50.”

Robert H. Adams represents debtors, creditors, creditors’ committees, trustees, bondholders and other clients in bankruptcy, reorganization and creditors’ rights proceedings in federal and state courts. For over 30 years, he has provided a broad range of services to clients in Chapter 11 reorganizations, Chapter 7 proceedings, workouts, business and commercial litigation matters and foreclosure actions in Alabama and around the Southeast. He is certified in Business Bankruptcy Law and Creditors’ Rights Law by the American Board of Certification.  Adams served on the Steering Committee to establish the Alabama Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association. He has also been recognized in the Alabama Super Lawyers.

R. Scott Williams concentrates his practice in bankruptcy, reorganization and creditors’ rights and related commercial litigation. Williams brings to his practice substantial experience in government. From 1988 – 1992, he served as Counsel to United States Senator Howell T. Heflin on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts and Administrative Practice, and also served as Legislative Liaison to the Federal Courts Study Committee in 1989 – 1990. While serving with Senator Heflin, Williams played a significant role in drafting the United States Bankruptcy Code Amendments enacted in 1995. Williams became the first practicing lawyer from Alabama to serve on the Board of Directors of the American Bankruptcy Institute. 

Peter J. Tepley has a diversified civil litigation practice, with experience in a wide range of matters including class actions, securities fraud, broker-dealer matters and other complex litigation. His practice experience includes representation of both plaintiffs and defendants..  Since 2010, he has been listed in Alabama Super Lawyers.

Michael B. Odom represents land developers and builders in all phases of real estate development, from negotiating contracts to litigation.  He also has extensive experience representing title insurers, and lenders, frequently represents landowners in eminent domain litigation. In addition to his real estate  and commercial litigation practice,  he is registered on the Alabama State Court Mediation Roster and the Alabama Arbitrator Roster. Odom is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America for eminent domain.

Meredith Jowers Lees focuses her practice on commercial litigation, with particular experience in securities fraud cases, broker-dealer litigation and arbitration. She was named a “Rising Star” in Securities Litigation in 2011 and 2012 by Alabama Super Lawyers.

Jennifer B. Kimble represents creditors, debtors, unsecured creditors committees, chapter 7 trustees and other parties in bankruptcy and civil litigation matters, workouts and out-of-court restructurings.  Kimble was selected for inclusion in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Alabama Super Lawyers "Rising Stars" category for her work in bankruptcy and creditor/debtor rights.  She also received IWIRC’s Rising Star Award in 2012. Kimble is actively involved with the American Bankruptcy Institute and currently serves as the Membership Relations Director for the Young and New Members Committee of the ABI and as an 11th Circuit VOLO editor.  She serves on the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) Board of Directors as Programs Director, and in 2010, she co-founded and now co-chairs the Alabama Network of IWIRC.

Martin W. Evans focuses his practice on general civil litigation, insurance law and tort litigation, and real estate litigation and land use.

Rebecca Beers’s focuses her practice on securities litigation.  She has represented broker-dealers as well as institutional and individual investors in state and federal courts and in FINRA arbitration.   Most recently, she was named Birmingham-Southern College’s Outstanding Young Alumni for 2012, and was selected as one of B-Metro Magazine’s 2013 Rising Stars of the Bar.

About RumbergerKirk:

RumbergerKirk provides litigation and counseling services in a wide range of civil practice areas including product liability, securities, banking and financial services litigation, commercial litigation, real estate and construction litigation, intellectual property litigation, environmental, labor and employment law, insurance coverage, professional liability, bankruptcy, and administrative law. Offices are located in Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Tallahassee, Fla. and Birmingham, Ala. For more information, please visit www.rumberger.com or read more about us on our blog https://rumbergerkirk.com.