Joe's story
is rooted in a profound sense of responsibility and empathy for his clients. Less than 18 months after graduating from Cumberland School of Law, both his father and a client entrusted Joe to be the lead attorney in a wrongful death case in West Alabama. His efforts resulted in a verdict five times larger than any prior ruling in that county. This case was succeeded by a high-profile trial in Lexington, Kentucky, which also garnered record results for a brain-damaged victim.
His search for justice has taken him far and wide, handling cases in over a dozen states and going wherever the witnesses led him. From a wrongful death case in Kerrville, Texas, to a tragedy involving a mother and child in Würzburg, Germany, Joe has tackled diverse challenges. He has confronted issues related to defective products, business litigation, and victim advocacy, sourcing testimony from Hiroshima to Milan, and navigating complex cases across America and beyond.
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Joe's work
has not gone unnoticed; he has received numerous accolades over the past 35 years. He has consistently held the highest AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, a testament to independent evaluations by his peers and judges. For 25 years, he has been recognized by BestLawyers in America for representing injured victims. Additionally, he is among the select 1% of Lawyers in America recognized by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel, and he was recently chosen as the sole attorney in Alabama for inclusion in the 2024-2025 selection process by The Products Liability Lawyers. The practice of law has evolved, moving from typewriters to laptops and law libraries to databases powered by artificial intelligence. However, one aspect remains constant: the stories. Each client has a unique narrative—lives and families transformed in an instant by the actions of negligent parties, from drunk drivers to unsafe workplaces and manufacturers of defective products. When approached with honor, law becomes a calling, a relentless quest for justice.
Your story
or the story of a loved one, matters deeply. Joe is committed to sharing your narrative with diligence, empathy, and unwavering determination—the same values instilled in him by his father, a courageous tail-gunner, and his mother, who raised children on a struggling farm during the Great Depression. He would be honored to hear your story and to earn your trust in telling it.