Although we, the CDLU, are not environmentalists, conservationists, or preservationist, we do believe in common sense and respecting the community. With the serious allegations of suppressing the African-American community in North Birmingham from having their toxic and contaminated property tested; wrongly targeting a competitor and father of four young children in an alleged criminal conspiracy;  being linked to an alleged scheme to buy white-only property for a limestone quarry in Vincent, Alabama; Balch and Bingham is now involved in another controversial wrangling. According to a report in the Courthouse News Service, Balch represents Luminate’s Martin Lake Power Plant (pictured above)…

This week marks significant anniversaries of the scandals and controversies surrounding Balch & Bingham. Yesterday, February 28th marks the two-year anniversary in which then-U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions endorsed President  Donald Trump. Sessions was to have endorsed Trump at the Russian-linked aerospace company, Black Hall Aerospace Inc. a/k/a AAL USA Inc. but the venue was changed at the last moment. Ironically, February 28th also marks the one-year anniversary in which we met with attorneys at Burr Forman who represent Oleg Sirbu, the Soviet immigrant who owns AAL USA Inc. a/k/a Black Hall Aerospace. Tomorrow, March 2nd, is the one-year anniversary in which Balch…

As the exodus of money-making Balch partners made headlines in the past  two weeks, Balch’s public relations department dispatched what looks like deceptive, inaccurate fluff. On January 24th, Balch wrote in a news release, “Balch & Bingham LLP is pleased to announce that BTI Consulting Group has recognized the firm as a leader in client service in its Client Service A-Team 2018 report….” Not! BTI didn’t recognize the firm; BTI recognized one of Balch’s stellar partners, Gregory C. Cook, who was nominated by a professional services firm for his outstanding client service. 56 firms were recognized by BTI for having multiple outstanding…

The exodus continues at Balch & Bingham. As we alluded to this morning, we can confirm: four esteemed litigators at Balch have left the firm to form a new one, according to the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys. The lawyers have made a “commitment to representing clients zealously, ethically, and honorably.” We congratulate Bruce, Spencer, Todd, and Jim! Good luck! Now 11 partners that we know of have left the firm. What will Balch partners at the Atlanta, Jackson, and Jacksonville offices do? Continue to put up with the alleged criminal and unscrupulous shenanigans in Birmingham? The Newsome Conspiracy Case  and…

More Balch & Bingham partners are preparing to leave today, tossing loyalty to the firm overboard. We have received tens of thousands of visitors on our site, and last week was record breaking internet traffic for the week. Even on the days with no new posts, the traffic was off the charts. We now understand possibly why. With the exodus of a half-dozen Balch & Bingham partners and the tumbling of federal lobbying revenue, other law firms (our highest identifiable traffic) may be possibly looking at who they can lure from Balch & Bingham while Balch partners are looking at…

[Update: The Center for Responsive Politics has updated their database and now shows 2017 to be the fifth worst year for Balch & Bingham since 1998. Lobbying fees dropped 25% compared to 2016, a loss of over $300,000.] According to the Center for Responsive Politics, 2017 was one of the worst financial years since 1998 for Balch & Bingham’s lobbying team on Capitol Hill; the lowest lobbying revenue in almost two decades. Lobbying fees dropped 36 percent compared to 2016, a difference of more than half a million dollars. In October with two months left in the year, Balch lost…

The hemorrhaging continues at Balch & Bingham. This afternoon the Birmingham Business Journal broke the story about six new members that have joined the Maynard, Cooper & Gayle law firm. All six are former partners at Balch & Bingham. The exodus of a half-dozen former Balch partners primarily comes from the public  finance practice with expertise in healthcare financing and federal tax law. As we wrote on Monday, ruining a rival has become ruining themselves. We knew there were rumblings about partners ready to jump ship after 20-year Balch veteran Wiliam F. Stiers left last November. Although no parting of…

A great way to start 2018. On the same day we departed for the holidays, Balch & Bingham quietly announced the appointment of their first-ever Chief Compliance Officer on December 20th. Kudos to Balch’s senior management team. We finally can offer high praise to the firm for taking a big leap forward to correct the unchecked behavior of some partners. In their press release, they wrote, “Balch & Bingham LLP announced today that Steve Feaga, former chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama, will join the firm as its first chief…

[UPDATE: Politico.com quotes Stiers as saying, “The Balch platform is great for energy and environmental issues but my portfolio doesn’t sync with that.” Come on! Stiers worked for Balch for 20 years, and he just figured out he was out of sync? We actually think bribery allegations, federal indictments, criminal conspiracies, and website scrubs didn’t sync with Stiers.] William F. Stiers, the Balch lobbyist whose resume and website profile were scrubbed of any references to successfully changing Russian sanctions in March, has jumped ship. Stiers is now working for another Alabama law firm, Maynard Cooper. In late June, we wrote…