Of the 203 attorneys, staff, and partners we counted on Balch & Bingham’s webpage, only three are African-American women. Scattered each in a different regional office, none are located in Balch’s principal office in Birmingham. Kimberly Bell appears to have been the only African-American female attorney in Balch’s central office in Birmingham. No more we … Continue reading Do Black Women Need Not Apply at Balch & Bingham?
When we, the CDLU, started our outreach to Balch & Bingham in January of 2017, never would we have thought that we would end up with one of the most widely read blogs in Alabama or that our posts would have been read by over 1.5 million users on Facebook Trying to serve as a … Continue reading Saving Balch & Bingham
The bombshell from Kyle Whitmire’s column yesterday: The Justice Department could pursue its case further. So far, the US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, Jay Town, has said only the men convicted already [ex Balch partner Joel I. Gilbert, ex State Rep. Oliver Robinson, and Drummond Executive Dave Roberson] were responsible. Does that … Continue reading Sorry Balch & Bingham, Drummond: The Fat Lady Has Not Sung!
The $50 million civil lawsuit against Balch & Bingham and Drummond Company by Dave Roberson may open Balch’s internal behavior to new scrutiny. The Washington Post reported yesterday: The Balch billing department balked at instructions from [convicted felon and now ex-Balch partner Joel I.] Gilbert to scrub the Oliver Robinson Foundation’s name from certain invoices … Continue reading Balch’s Behavior Open to New Scrutiny in Roberson Suit
Breaking News: The Washington Post reports how Drummond Company Executive Dave Roberson was thrown over the side of the bridge by Drummond Company. Is Drummond more loyal now to Balch & Bingham than their employees? From today’s breaking news story: Drummond initially stuck by Roberson, its executive. “While we respect the judicial process, we consider … Continue reading The Washington Post: Drummond Company and Balch Sued for $50 Million by “Fall Guy” Dave Roberson
Ex-Balch & Bingham partner Jeffrey H. Wood, one of President Donald J. Trump’s first nominees to the U.S. Department of Justice after he was inaugurated as President, appears to have been shown the door by U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr, according to our sources. Only days after the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal broke headlines, … Continue reading AG Barr Shows Balch Crony the Door; Southern Company to the Rescue
[This post originally appeared on May 10, 2018 before ex-Balch & Bingham partner and convicted felon Joel I. Gilbert was found guilty on all six criminal counts in July, including bribery and money laundering. Now that Balch has lost 17 of their 18 original lobbying clients in Washington, DC, no client, none, will be able … Continue reading Balch’s Doomsday Machine: Third-Party Risk
Even though many in the legal community in Alabama are currently focused on the Donald Watkins trial, the conviction and five-year sentence of ex-Balch & Bingham partner and ghost-writer extraordinaire Joel I. Gilbert have not gone away. In an extraordinary news post last week on the FBI website, the FBI wrote about the North Birmingham … Continue reading FBI: Ex-Balch Partner Gilbert “Will be Serving Time”
[This post originally was published on February 5, 2018. All updates are in purple.] Charles Cole lived in the North Birmingham community of Harriman Park until 1959 after he was brutally beaten by racist Birmingham cops. He saved up his money and immediately moved to Michigan to escape the horrors of segregation. After retiring, he … Continue reading Institutional Racism and Balch
Last week, we wrote that we smelled “selective and vindictive” prosecution of indicted Balch stooges Trey Glenn and Scott Phillips. Yesterday, Alabama Political Reporter confirmed discrepancies that appear to confirm allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. Bill Britt reported that former Jefferson County District Attorney Mike Anderton had never asked the Alabama Ethics Commission to help him bring the … Continue reading Prosecutorial Misconduct Against Balch Stooges?
Although we believe that the conduct by Trey Glenn and Scott Phillips in the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal was reprehensible, we smell “selective and vindictive” prosecution of the Balch stooges. As the attorneys for Trey Glenn wrote in a filing on Monday: By failing to follow the Legislature’s clear directives in the Ethics Act, the … Continue reading Balch Stooges Taste “Selective and Vindictive” Judicial System
The headlines in late January were a kick in the stomach: Blue Origin broke ground on a $200 million facility to build rockets in Huntsville, Alabama. Once a top Balch & Bingham D.C. lobbying client, Blue Origin bailed on Balch & Bingham in 2017 days after the indictment was handed down against then-Balch partner Joel … Continue reading Blue Origin: Balch & Bingham’s Biggest Loss
Of the 17 of 18 lobbying clients that Balch & Bingham lost in Washington, D.C., four top clients leaped to rival law firm Maynard, Cooper & Gale, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. From Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to Quantum Research International, Balch saw a serious exodus of clients. Between 2015 and 2017, Balch … Continue reading Maynard Cooper Big Winner as Balch & Bingham Loses Millions
What was Schuyler Allen Baker, Jr., a Balch & Bingham senior partner, thinking when he lied about us, the CDLU, in a court pleading in May of 2017 regarding the Newsome Conspiracy Case? Did Schuyler really think his foolish and absent-minded scorched-earth fight would intimidate us? Our phone calls, emails, letters, and outreach efforts to … Continue reading Balch’s Worst Year Ever
The New York Times ran a story on Sunday about the large law firm Paul, Weiss’ new partner class, writing: The post appeared on LinkedIn in early December: Paul, Weiss, one of the country’s most prominent and profitable law firms, said it was “pleased to announce” its new partner class. In the image, 12 lawyers … Continue reading All-White New Partners Shake Legal World