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Future of Southern Company, Recusals and the RICO Suit
Never did Drummond Coal Company imagine that their executive, David Roberson, would be indicted, tried, convicted, and thrown in prison for two and a half years after receiving the best legal advice from Balch & Bingham. With the Vogtle Nuclear Plant billion-dollar cost overruns and Kemper Natural Gas Plant debacle in Mississippi, Southern Company surely does not need to be in the middle of a civil RICO case. And Tom Fanning, CEO of Southern Company, and Mark Crosswhite CEO of its subsidiary Alabama Power, are smart enough to get ahead of this debacle caused by Balch & Bingham’s foolishness. In…
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Sentencing of Balch-Made Millionaire Tomorrow
[Update: Gilbert was sentenced to 60 months. Read more by clicking here.] While federal prosecutors seek an 8-year prison term for convicted felon Joel I. Gilbert, lawyers for Gilbert are asking for a one-year plus one-day prison sentence, 6 months of that as home detention, according to Kyle Whitmire of AL.com. Showing the same smug arrogance as before, during, and now after the trial, Gilbert and his defenders won’t even apologize for the criminal conduct that suppressed African-Americans in North Birmingham from having their toxic property tested by the EPA. In fact, his defenders are still running a pathetic “Get…
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Tarrant Elementary School Soil to be Tested
Balch & Bingham’s unsavory conduct in the North Birmingham Bribery Case was strongly rebuked today. Pressure from the Alabama Media Group has spurred the Tarrant City Schools to finally agree to test the soil at Tarrant Elementary School, according to Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist John Archibald. Balch-made millionaire and convicted felon Joel I. Gilbert spearheaded an effort that targeted poor black children in North Birmingham with free coat drives and other efforts. Ex-Balch partner Gilbert also worked behind the scenes to have Tarrant City Schools rescind permission for the EPA to test the soil at Tarrant Elementary, as disclosed in the…
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Balch & Bingham Served as Backdrop in Alleged Retaliation Scheme
This morning Bill Britt of the Alabama Political Reporter dropped a bombshell: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey covered up a medical emergency she suffered in 2015 as then-Lt. Governor and then retaliated against a trooper who was stationed bedside after she allegedly suffered a series of “mini-strokes.” Former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Spencer Collier confirmed the cover-up and retaliation telling the Alabama Political Reporter: “Initially the trooper was told, ‘don’t tell anyone,’” said Collier. Later, they changed the story by admitting to altitude sickness, according to Collier. “Chief Clark said the trooper in charge of her security detail was later…
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Three Blind Mice Join Balch & Bingham
Three blind mice. Three blind mice. See how they run. See how they run. They all ran after the farmer’s wife, who cut off their tails with a carving knife. Did you ever see such a sight in your life, as three blind mice? Three blind mice appear to have joined the silk-stocking law firm of Balch & Bingham. Balch was blind to the criminal acts of convicted felon and Balch-made millionaire Joel I. Gilbert and may have thought they were immune until the federal indictments were handed down last year by a Grand Jury and successfully prosecuted by Assistant…
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Balch Defense Campaign Blows Up
“In totality, the most nauseating, infuriating and pathetic piece of writing I’ve encountered in a long, long time.” − Josh Moon, Alabama Political Reporter columnist More people want to know: Who is behind the AstroTurf digital ad campaign defending Balch & Bingham’s conduct in North Birmingham targeting poor black children and discouraging the testing of toxic and contaminated property by the EPA? The LMAO op-ed defending Balch and allegedly written by Guy V. Martin, Jr. is being aggressively pushed and publicized by the digital ad campaign. If Balch, Drummond or any entity associated to them is linked to the AstroTurf…
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Will the Good Guys Bail on Balch?
[Originally posted on November 22, 2017, this prophetic post anticipated the departure of Balch & Bingham partners and attorneys (now about a dozen publicly known). Yesterday, Sedgwick filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.] With the news that the large San Francisco-based law firm Sedgwick is shutting its doors in January, the good, professional, and ethical partners at Balch & Bingham may be wondering if it is time to bail out from Balch. Top Balch Washington D.C. lobbyist William F. Stiers left earlier this month. Maybe the Atlanta office will bail next. Two outstanding Balch partners in Atlanta have been fighting…
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Newsome Conspiracy Case, North Birmingham Bribery Case, Spotlight on Balch & Bingham, Vincent Land Grab
Dying on the Vine? Balch and Alleged Racism
It’s killing them. Will Balch & Bingham vehemently deny the actions in North Birmingham, an area that is 92.5 percent African-American, are racist? Will Balch & Bingham vehemently deny the actions by former Balch partner and convicted felon Joel I. Gilbert and his paid stooges targeting poor black children and a school that is 95 percent minority were racist? Will Balch & Bingham rather die on the vine than acknowledge, apologize, and advance beyond the ugliest chapter of their almost 100-year history? With the new foolish LMAO campaign to try to justify Gilbert’s criminal conduct and the targeting of poor…
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Balch’s Targeting of Black Children in Tarrant Detailed
No company with a social conscience should be using Balch & Bingham as their legal representatives. Why? Residents in North Birmingham, an area that is 92.5% African-American, believe that they and their children were alleged victims of the embattled law firm Balch & Bingham in the Oliver Robinson Bribery Scandal which suppressed African-Americans from having their toxic and contaminated property tested by the EPA. Handing out free coats to poor Black children to discourage EPA testing was one of the abhorrent acts spearheaded by Balch & Bingham’s convicted partner and criminal felon Joel I. Gilbert and other paid stooges. Why are…
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LMAO: Embarrassing Defense of Balch Backfires
The publication of a foolish defense of the Balch and Drummond’s indefensible conduct (targeting poor children in North Birmingham to discourage parents from testing their toxic and contaminated property ) has caused members of the legal community to either shake their heads in disgust or others to LMAO at the absurdity. The writer, Guy V. Martin Jr., has the audacity to write that Balch & Bingham “set a high bar for ethical standards others envy.” We’re sure no one, and we mean no one, envies Balch-made millionaire and long time Balch partner Joel I. Gilbert’s “high bar:” a six-count criminal…
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Balch, RICO, and “Terroristic Lawyering”
The headlines from Georgia in January were crushing: Federal Jury Finds Atlanta Lawyer Engaged in Civil Racketeering Georgia Lawyer Liable for Civil Racketeering in Child Custody Case Jury finds Millard Farmer engaged in civil racketeering And who won this civil RICO case? Buddy Parker, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, and renowned expert on civil RICO legal actions and money laundering. Parker is now representing Burt Newsome in his civil RICO action surrounding the conspiracy case allegedly spearheaded by a Balch & Bingham partner and relentlessly defended by Balch & Bingham in a corrupt and unconstitutional Star Chamber presided by Judge…
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Balch Reaches Out to CDLU
In August, Balch & Bingham met with a highly-respected RICO attorney (and former Assistant U.S. Attorney) representing Burt Newsome. What initially, we were told, was an effort to get the matter for all parties “behind them” ended up turning into an additional hour about us, the CDLU, and this website. The RICO attorney appears to have been blind-sided. He did not know much about us or details about the site, although he knew of the existence of the site. He agreed to reach out to us as an interlocutor. Balch was indeed seeking to settle the Newsome Conspiracy Case if…
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Path to Salvage Balch & Bingham
As we conclude the week, we, the CDLU, had a wonderful email exchange with a client of Balch & Bingham. Informing them that the NAACP suspended their Birmingham Chapter President for being one of the stooges in the Balch & Bingham/Drummond North Birmingham Bribery Case, we wrote If the NAACP can see a wrong, we ask, why can’t [Balch clients]? We asked, do Balch clients want to appear they are “condoning the institutional racism? The targeting of poor, black children? The suppression of African-Americans from having their toxic property tested?” Obviously not. And we let them know this is about…
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Balch versus Blacks and Blue-Collar Competitors
This post originally posted on February 6, 2018. Now with the aftermath of the conviction of Balch & Bingham partner Joel I. Gilbert, we have updated the post in purple. We, the CDLU, continue to visit regularly with the North Birmingham community. The institutional racism in North Birmingham is real. With a population that is 92.5% African-American, the criminal actions by convicted Balch & Bingham partner Joel I. Gilbert is repugnant. As we now have visited the neighborhoods in North Birmingham multiple times, we took a look at Mountain Brook, the elite enclave where many of Balch & Bingham’s partners…
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Balch’s Disgraceful Publicity Stunts
Sometimes, like our readers, we do not know if we should laugh or cry when we see Balch & Bingham’s foolish actions. In their first highly-publicized event since Balch-made millionaire and now ex-partner/ghost-writer extraordinaire Joel I. Gilbert was convicted on all six federal counts, Balch engaged in their first public act as a firm. No it wasn’t a heartfelt apology to the North Birmingham African-American community nor an announcement that Balch was settling the Newsome Conspiracy Case. Balch & Bingham held a fried chicken legs competition, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. Disgraceful! The public relations stunt shows how out of…
