Josh Moon of the Alabama Political Report gives his analysis today of why Bill Canary lost support as CEO of the Business Council of Alabama: [Canary] tried to bully his way around and such tactics quickly wear thin among grown people….lawmakers, who once happily strolled into the building and voted for anything BCA sponsored, were so disenchanted with Canary and BCA that they told me they would vote against anything the organization backed. They were tired of being threatened, they said. And they were tired of Canary telling them what to do instead of working with them. Moon’s words are…

As the Business Council of Alabama collapses on the eve of the Oliver Robinson Criminal Bribery Trial, our readers ask why did Alabama Power and others seek leadership change? Bill Britt of the Alabama Political Reporter writes this morning: For over a year, [Alabama Power CEO Mark] Crosswhite and other prominent business executives worked quietly in the background to restore credibility to the once venerable business organization after its CEO, Billy Canary, took the witness stand in Lee County and discredited himself in defense of then-Speaker of the House Mike Hubbard. Canary not only prevaricated, he outright denied the sworn…

Powerful. Connected. Trusted. Bill Canary at one point had it all. The former Chief of Staff to Alabama Governor Bob Riley is married to the former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, Leura Canary. At their height, they were the most powerful political couple in Montgomery. But in the last 72 hours, we have seen Canary’s leadership at the the Business Council of Alabama crumble apart, completely collapse. Why? Because Alabama Power, Regions Bank and others have withdrawn their support of the BCA after their demands for leadership change were ignored. Once a plea deal or conviction is secured…

Alabama Political Reporter broke the news today: This morning, a letter was delivered to the Business Council of Alabama stating that Alabama Power is withdrawing its membership from the business organization, “effective immediately.” Alabama Political Reporter obtained a copy of the letter in which Alabama Power CEO Mark Crosswhite makes clear to BCA Chairman Perry Hand and Executive Committee members why the company is pulling its support. “[W]e have become concerned that membership in BCA has become a liability rather than a benefit,” states Crosswhite in the first paragraph. He further writes, “To be candid, BCA has needlessly alienated federal…

On June 25, jury selection begins in the criminal trial of two Balch & Bingham partners and a Drummond Company executive in the Oliver Robinson Bribery Scandal. If one or both of the partners are convicted, RICO attorneys would undoubtedly file actions against Balch & Bingham. With allegations of racism, unsavory third party vendors, hired actors, smear campaigns, questionable contributions, conspiracy, and alleged criminal conduct,  RICO attorneys have a lot to digest. A RICO suit involving the Burt Newsome Conspiracy Case, currently hidden away in an unconstitutional and secretive Star Chamber, would bring all the foolishness of Balch’s lead attorney…

All that was missing were some tambourines and a bong. The canned and hypocritical paragraph of bull from Alabama Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southern Company, about vendors conducting themselves in a “highly ethical manner” and complying with “all legal requirements” didn’t deflect but instead has amplified Alabama Power’s relationship with third-party vendors and and vendors’ conduct in the past. Let’s first look at 2013. Eddie Curran, an investigative journalist who formerly worked at the Mobile Register for two-decades, wrote a post about the bogus environmentalists that appear to have been thespian and dance students from Birmingham that showed up…

The Alabama Media Group (AL.com) confronted Alabama Power, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Southern Company, about their relationship with the Hawthorn Group, the outfit that hired actors to participate in public forums in New Orleans to support Entergy’s Natural Gas Power Plant. AL.com wrote: AL.com asked Alabama Power a series of detailed questions about the company’s relationship with Hawthorn, including what work Hawthorn had performed for the company, how much Alabama Power paid Hawthorn and whether Alabama Power would still hire the firm in light of the incidents in New Orleans. Alabama Power spokesman Michael Sznajderman issued a written statement in…

Right before Memorial Day, Alabama Power issued the following (and hypocritical) statement to the Alabama Media Group: “Alabama Power’s mission is to provide our customers with the safe, reliable and affordable service they expect and deserve.The company employs a number of individuals and organizations in support of that mission. Alabama Power requires all such individuals and organizations to conduct their activities in a highly ethical manner and in compliance with all legal requirements.” Really?!? So Alabama’s go-to law firm Balch & Bingham’s alleged suppression of  African-Americans in North Birmingham from having their toxic property tested by the EPA is “highly…

Yesterday, it was announced that Southern Company is considering a faux “pay cut” to embattled CEO Tom Fanning: reducing his annual compensation from $15.8 million to $15.7 million, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. What a joke! But then again, what can you say about Fanning and friends? While Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson was fighting the repugnant alleged acts of racism in Philadelphia, Tom Fanning and his team stuck their heads in the sand. Balch & Bingham, their sister-wife, alter-ego law firm allegedly engaged in unscrupulous, criminal, and racist conduct. Fanning’s own General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer Jim Kerr…

Our hottest two posts read on Wall Street and in Washington, DC in the past week have been about Southern Company and the third party risk of Balch and Bingham. The reality is severely regulated companies like Southern Company cannot afford to have a third-party vendor that engages in alleged unscrupulous, racist, or criminal activities. The alleged actions by Balch & Bingham go beyond a breach of a database; they are legal representatives of the utility that appear to have manipulated the legal and political system dishonestly. Although another piece of satirical art, the point is Tom Fanning, the CEO…

The legal team representing Burt Newsome, the sole-practitioner attorney that was allegedly wrongly targeted, falsely arrested, and defamed in an alleged conspiracy spearheaded by a Balch & Bingham partner, has met with prominent and respected RICO attorneys outside Alabama, including a former U.S. Attorney whose “mouth-dropped” by the alleged criminal behavior, according to anonymous sources. As Southern Company has gravely ignored the third-party risk of Balch & Bingham, a federal RICO lawsuit could expose internal misconduct, liabilities and other risks to shareholders. One focus would be on the alleged criminal obstruction of justice and alleged alteration of evidence by attorney…

Even a jury will understand that doesn’t sound like professional legal services, does it? Regardless of how one feels about the coal industry, electric utility sector, pollution, or the environment, the issue that will rise to the front of the madness of the alleged suppression of African-Americans in North Birmingham will be the Third-Party Risk of Balch & Bingham. For Drummond and its indicted executive, David Roberson, Third-Party Risk could be a key defense in his criminal trial which is to proceed next month. For Southern Company, if they continue to remain silent, Third-Party Risk management (or mismanagement) will be…

In January, we reported how 2017 was a bad lobbying year in Washington, DC for Balch & Bingham who lost half of their paying clients, and one of their top lobbyists in October. Now, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Balch appears to be faring worse: only generating $130,000 in fees as of April 24, 2018. The most interesting news is that Southern Company and its subsidiary Alabama Power are no longer using Balch & Bingham for lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill as of 2016.