Is this David vs. Goliath?
Balch & Bingham likes to boast that they have over 200 attorneys throughout the Southeast. Why in heaven’s name did Balch target a one-man office, sole-practitioner attorney in Shelby County who services banks?
In 2012, Burt Newsome was minding his own business, and had not a shred of animosity towards Balch & Bingham.
Was Balch & Bingham really that desperate?
Clark A. Cooper, the Balch & Bingham partner who allegedly spearheaded the conspiracy against Newsome in an attempt to steal his successful business servicing banks, appears to have falsely claimed that Newsome’s bar license was in jeopardy to banking executives in 2013.
Cooper, who was fired by Balch in March of 2017, allegedly sent emails to banking executives with Newsome’s mugshot on a Saturday afternoon, two-days after Newsome’s staged arrest, writing, “Not sure how this will affect his law license.”
Newsome had been set up in a staged arrest, yet 48-hours later Cooper appears to have already found Newsome guilty.
Balch & Bingham once esteemed partner appears to have hurt Newsome’s practice. From Newsome’s appellate brief before the Alabama Supreme Court:
According to the affidavit of Brian Hamilton of Iberia – the recipient of Cooper’s emails – as a result of Cooper’s emails and the questioning of Newsome’s law license – he stopped sending Newsome legal work.(Supp.9338)
1. On Saturday, May 4, 2013, I received two emails from Clark Cooper advising me that Burt Newsome was arrested for menacing, detailing what the crime of menacing is, implying that it would affect his ability to practice law, along with a photo of his mug shot.
2. After receiving the emails from Clark Cooper on May 4, 2013, I did not send Burt any legal work until after we met approximately three weeks later and he advised us that the pending charges had not impacted his ability to practice law.
3. There are some files in which the Bank paid legal fees to other lawyers that I would have referred to Burt during this time but for the concerns regarding the status of his law license based on the implications in the email. (Supp.9339).
After Cooper was fired by Balch & Bingham, he went on to sell mattresses for a living.
Today, the Alabama State Bar website states that Clark A. Cooper is “not authorized for the private practice of law in Alabama.”
The irony.
