No Exit Plan as Balch Drags Alabama Power Into the Manure Lagoon

When the Board of Directors of Alabama Power’s parent company, Southern Company, discusses future leadership, Mark A. Crosswhite, the CEO of Alabama Power, will probably be forever associated with the unsavory conduct, foolish antics, and baggage of Balch & Bingham, even though he left the firm years ago.

The foolish leadership at Balch & Bingham appear to treat Crosswhite as their subordinate, not as a valued Chief Executive Officer of Alabama Power.

Will Crosswhite be crossed-off as a possible successor to Southern Company’s current CEO Thomas A. Fanning?

Balch looks like they never have thought about the consequences and detrimental damages of their questionable conduct.

Balch appears to have no exit plan.

Let’s take a look first at the Newsome Conspiracy Case. When Newsome originally wanted to settle this matter, back in 2015, his legal team asked for three things:

1. An apology.
2. The end of the tracking of Newsome’s banking cases by Balch partners.
3. $150,000 for revenue lost from the alleged defamation.

Balch rejected the offer.

Instead, Balch and its dinosaur partner Schuyler Allen Baker, Jr., foolishly vowed to fight to the death. Receiving questionable contributions, using retaliatory legal tactics, and hiding behind an unconstitutional and secretive Star Chamber, Balch stooge Judge Carole Smitherman railroaded Newsome. She even used a counterfeit order to screw him over.

Even if the Alabama Supreme Court affirms the miscarriage of justice, the case will then move over to the federal courts (out of state) in a civil RICO suit.

And who will be included as named defendants? Alabama Power and Mark A. Crosswhite, former Alabama Power executive Willard L. Bowers and his cop-son Jeffrey Bowers, who was involved in Newsome’s alleged “staged arrest.”

Wall Street and Southern Company institutional investors won’t like it a single bit.

Then there is David Roberson’s $50 million lawsuit against Balch and Drummond where Balch foolishly argued that they “owed no duty” to Roberson, not even to tell him the truth.

This month, after almost 5 months of silence, Balch began badgering the judge and arrogantly demanding the granting of a Motion to Dismiss.

Throwing a tantrum like a 3-year-old, Balch appeared to show contempt for Alabama’s judiciary system.

Even if she were to grant it, does Balch not think Roberson’s legal team will file an amended complaint including all the members who donated to the corrupt AstroTurf entity, the Alliance for Jobs and the Economy?

And who would that include as a named defendant? Alabama Power.

Wall Street and Southern Company institutional investors, again, won’t like it a single bit.

One of the highlights in the almost three-years we have been advocating against the bad apples at Balch & Bingham was receiving a personal phone call from Southern Company’s Tom Fanning.

Although Fanning went out of his way to set up a meeting with their General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, the end result was by the middle of 2019 Fanning had quietly distanced himself from Balch & Bingham.

Undeniably, Balch’s “owed no duty” defense went contrary to Southern Company’s values.

In our communications with Fanning, we have always told him that we believe he is inherently a good person.

We do not know Mark A. Crosswhite, but Balch has done him a great disservice with their loose lips and arrogance.

Instead of looking at the big, overall picture for the benefit of their clients, Schuyler Allen Baker, Jr. and other leaders at Balch & Bingham appear to have hurt instead of helped some of their top clients like Alabama Power.

Balch looks like it hides from the reality with disgraceful publicity stunts.

Is it of no surprise that 17 of 18 major lobbying clients in Washington, D.C. have walked away from Balch, including Alabama Power and Southern Company?