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$11.6 Billion Acquisition: PNC Bank Asked to Terminate Balch & Bingham; New Websites Launched
Civil Rights Leader and CDLU Chairman of the Board Ernesto Pichardo has reached out to William S. Demchak, the Chairman, CEO and President of PNC Bank which is in the process of acquiring BBVA USA for $11.6 billion, asking him to terminate BBVA USA’s outside counsel, Balch & Bingham, before the acquisition is completed. “The undisputed fact is that BBVA USA was founded in 1964 by a staunch segregationist who was part of racist Alabama Governor George Wallace’s inner circle. BBVA USA’s founder was also a long-time partner at Balch & Bingham, a law firm which continues to engage in…
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Balch Debacle: Drummond on the Hook for $75 Million while Balch Skates (For Now)
Imagine: your company hires a law firm that provides false legal advice; the law firm’s alleged negligence gets your corporate officer indicted, convicted and sentenced to federal prison; the law firm declares they “owed no duty” to your corporate officer; the firm successfully weasel-words itself out of a civil liability lawsuit calling the “false legal advice” a legal service; and dumps the entire liability on your own company. Who in Corporate America, with a sound mind, would hire or continue to utilize that law firm? Balch & Bingham’s debacle with Drummond Company appears to have made the once prestigious firm…
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“Let’s Get Mikey! He likes it. Hey Mikey!” Drummond’s General Counsel Blake Andrews Under Fire
We have no bones to pick with Drummond Company whatsoever. None. But walking goose-step with embattled law firm Balch & Bingham is detrimental to one’s health, livelihood, and reputation. Just ask Jeff Sessions, Luther Strange, or disgraced ex-U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town among others. Even former Drummond CEO Mike Tracy abruptly “retired” last year after cuddling up with Balch, and after the alleged set-up of “fall guy” ex-Drummond executive David Roberson was exposed. Now, Blake Andrews , General Counsel of Drummond Company is under fire for allegedly conspiring with Tracy to allegedly have Roberson sign off on all invoices and…
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Rebirth of North Birmingham Bribery Investigation Begins
Blake Andrews and Mike Tracy, what have you done? Drummond Company, who foolishly walked goose-step with embattled law firm Balch & Bingham, faces a new North Birmingham Bribery Investigation from the legal team of ex-Drummond executive David Roberson. Well-read legal blog Legal Schnauzer reports that Roberson’s attorney, Burt Newsome, has dispatched initial discovery requests. We understand that more discovery requests and video depositions are in the works. Newsome, who has hired a around-the-clock private security firm and installed cameras and motion-detectors at his home and offices, was nearly killed in a head-on car crash in September that some speculate appears…
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Will Lying to Clients Doom Balch & Bingham as a Third-Party Risk?
How many clients would want to be engaged in felonious conduct and go to prison on behalf of Balch’s stupendous lies? Sorry Balch, but lying to a client is not a legal service. Balch & Bingham defended the indefensible in a court of law in August: declaring openly that lying, misleading a client with “false legal advice” is a legal service. When Balch originally was sued by Drummond Company’s former executive David Roberson, Balch defended themselves by stating unequivocally that “Balch owed no duty” to Roberson. What clients would want to deal with a law firm whose partners engage in unsavory conduct,…
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Balch Stooge Set to Sing Like a Canary; Will Grand Jury Hear About Balch’s Shenanigans?
Kyle Whitmire of AL.com reported yesterday that Balch stooge Trey Glenn (pictured above, left) has struck a plea deal in his criminal ethics case writing: Last week, the former regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency — and a Trump appointee — pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor violations of the Alabama Ethics Act. As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped felony charges against him and he won’t spend any time in jail. Instead, he must pay $10,000 in fines and keep his nose clean during two years of unsupervised probation. “Part of the understanding is that Mr. Glenn will testify truthfully in…
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Drummond Company to Stand Trial; Framing “Fall Guy” Roberson Called “Legal Services” by Drummond Attorney
On Friday afternoon, Judge Tamara Johnson issued an order that forces Drummond Company to stand trial for the alleged set up of “fall guy” and ex-Drummond executive David Roberson. The order also allows Roberson’s attorneys to begin discovery of the darkest secrets surrounding the North Birmingham Bribery Scandal that should help Roberson’s $75 million lawsuit against his former employer and embattled law firm Balch & Bingham. A can of slimy worms has been opened. Some believe that the order is a devastating blow to Drummond Company and their political allies like Alabama Power and Balch. What former or current executives…
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Our Deepest Sympathies to the Balch & Bingham Family
We learned today, just moments ago, that Schuyler Allen Baker, Jr., Balch & Bingham’s legacy partner and General Counsel, died on Wednesday after a courageous battle against cancer. Although we wrangled and tangled with Balch & Bingham’s General Counsel for over three years, we set aside those disagreements and differences today to express our deepest sympathies to the Balch family, Mr. Baker’s colleagues, and his friends and family. We know these are difficult moments for those closest to Mr. Baker, especially his immediate family. When Jesus learned of his friend Lazarus’s death, He was troubled in spirit. “And Jesus wept.”…
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Lying Sacks of Marbles: Balch Calls False Advice, Lying to Client a “Legal Service”
What sound, reputable client would ever hire embattled law firm Balch & Bingham after this despicable admission? Balch has stunned the legal community today in a report from Legal Schnauzer, the well-read legal blog. David Roberson, the ex-Drummond Company executive, is suing Balch and Drummond for $75 million. Balch, which once stated in court proceeding that Balch “owed no duty” to Roberson, appears to have stepped onto another landmine, affirming that the firm “basically gave [Roberson] bad advice.” Quoting from the transcript of court proceedings, Legal Schnauzer published these stunning words by Balch’s defense attorney: In November of 2014 before…
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Greater Diversity? Balch Adds Six All-White Attorneys in Birmingham
So how did Balch & Bingham do to “achieve greater diversity” on Friday? Hire six all-white attorneys in Birmingham. What a joke. Balch’s Managing Partner Stan Blanton appears to have fed the public 100% organic crap. The public relations fluff regurgitated by Blanton after George Floyd’s death appears to have been disingenuous and dishonest. Blanton, stated in June, “We condemn injustice, oppression and brutality because of the color of an individual’s skin. Recent tragedies have emphasized the unacceptable racial inequalities that remain in our society. There is much more to be done to achieve greater diversity within the Balch family…
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Newsome Returns on Cane; Is Balch’s Vow Coming True?
The recovery of Burt Newsome has been truly amazing. Last week, he set aside a walker and is finally using a cane. His shattered leg and other injuries are healing well. Last week, Newsome even appeared in person at the Jefferson County Courthouse, and on Saturday, he went to his son’s soccer match. Every single parent at the soccer match knew what happened to Newsome: he was nearly killed in what many believe could have been an attempt to silence him for good. The word is out, penetrating all four corners of Alabama and beyond, and the biggest loser appears…
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Who on Balch’s Executive Committee knew about the Bribery Scheme?
[This post originally was published three years ago on October 17, 2017. Now a list of the top partners at Balch & Bingham who were alllegedly involved in the scheme has been compiled. Ex-Drummond executive David Roberson told The Washington Post that at least 20 other lawyers at Balch were involved besides convicted felon and ex-Balch partner Joel I. Gilbert. As the Roberson civil case makes its way through the appeals process, the eventual video depositions should make Balch, Drummond, and Alabama Power perspire profusely.] “Excitement comes from knowing what to expect,” screams the Balch & Bingham web site. Not…
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Newsome Conspiracy Case, North Birmingham Bribery Case, Southern Company, Spotlight on Balch & Bingham
Pitiful: Desecrating a Memorial for the Dead in North Birmingham
Beyond the institutional racism that allegedly drove Balch & Bingham paid goons and stooges to target poor African-American families in North Birmingham, the mere mention about the continued toxicity and pollution in the community brings absolute, knee-jerk denials from powerful entities inside and outside the community. Screaming “government overreach” or hollering “we are complying with state regulations” does not work when people are dying and getting sick in a known contaminated area. On Saturday, October 3, environmental groups GASP and PANIC set up a small memorial to remember North Birmingham residents in Harriman Park, Fairmont, and Collegeville who have died…
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Targeting Children
[Originally published on July 30, 2018, this post has come back to haunt Balch zombie Jeff Sessions. The New York Times yesterday published details of an investigative report that claims Sessions stated, “We need to take the children away” no matter how young.] We still cannot believe (or stomach) that convicted Balch & Bingham partner Joel I. Gilbert and his co-conspirators (both convicted and alleged) would target the African-American children of North Birmingham to peddle their suppression and discouragement of testing of toxic and contaminated properties in an area that is 92.5 percent black, according to U.S. Census figures. Corporate…
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Tossed Aside! Mississippi Governor Doesn’t Back Balch Partner
Lucien Smith, a long time Balch & Bingham partner, was replaced as Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party last week. Mississippi Today reports: Lucien Smith on Monday announced he’s stepping down as Mississippi Republican Party chairman, with Gov. Tate Reeves backing Coast businessman Frank Bordeaux to replace him. Numerous Republican sources in July told Mississippi Today that Reeves, as new de facto head of the party in his first term as governor, wanted new leadership. And what polite excuse did spin doctors say was the reason Lucien was tossed aside? It’s partly because Smith is an attorney at a major law…
