ADLA Elects 2020-2023 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Jennifer Hayes
ADLA Executive Director
jhayes@adla.org
334-395-4455
AUBURN, ALABAMA (AUGUST 17, 2020) – The Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA) held its 56TH Annual Membership Meeting and Elections on August 14, 2020, swearing in a new slate of Officers and Directors at the close of the meeting. The membership meeting was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
ANDREW J. RUTENS was confirmed as the 2020-2021 President of the Association. He is the managing partner for Galloway, Wettermark and Rutens, LLP in Mobile. Additionally, he serves as the City Attorney for Saraland. His practice areas are employment and labor law, government entity liability, law enforcement excessive force defense and general defense litigation. Mr. Rutens previously served four years on the ADLA Board of Directors. He was elected as an officer in 2018 and served as Secretary-Treasurer; followed by President-Elect in 2019. Mr. Rutens is a 1988 graduate of Florida State University and a 1992 graduate of Samford University Cumberland School of Law.
GERALD SWANN, JR. assumes the position of President-Elect. Mr. Swann is a partner at Ball Ball Matthews & Novak, PA Montgomery. He practices in the areas of Construction Litigation, Products Liability, serious personal injury and wrongful death. He has represented both commercial and residential contractors in disputes over construction quality and job site injuries. Additionally, personal injury claims arising out of the use of products in both the private sector and industrial settings have been a large focus of his practice. With over 32 years of litigation experience, he has taken numerous cases to verdict and/or arbitration decision. Mr. Swann is a 1983 graduate of the University of Alabama and 1986 graduate of Samford University Cumberland School of Law. Swann previously served two three-year terms on the ADLA Board of Directors when he was elected to serve as an officer.
STEPHEN W. STILL, JR. was elected as Secretary-Treasurer. Still is a 2005 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law and has practiced with Starnes Davis Florie in Birmingham since graduating from law school, where he currently serves as General Counsel. Still’s practice is devoted primarily to defending long term care providers in medical malpractice lawsuits and regulatory/investigation matters, defending legal malpractice suits, defending insurers and third party administrators in bad faith, fraud, and tort of outrage matters, and general civil litigation defense. He has been involved with ADLA since 2013 and has served on the Deposition Bootcamp faculty since that time. Still previously served a three-year term on the ADLA Board of Directors and was serving his second term when he was elected to serve as an officer.
CHRISTINA MAY BOLIN is immediate Past President. Bolin is a lead partner with the law firm of Christian & Small, LLP in the Mobile/Baldwin County office. Bolin was previously a founding member of Alford Bolin, LLC in Mobile until her firm merged with Christian & Small, LLP in 2018. Bolin has dedicated her practice to assisting clients in the development of strategic solutions to legal disputes and litigation risks. Since 2001 she has defended property and casualty losses, catastrophic casualty claims, complex insurance coverage questions, fraud and bad faith. She received her B.A. from Binghamton University and holds a J.D. from the Hofstra University School of Law.
The ADLA Elects 2020-2023 welcomed the following new members of the Board of Directors to serve a three-year term ending in 2023:
Bree Taylor Wilbourn, District 1, Grace Matthews & Debro LLC, Huntsville
W. M. Bains Fleming III, District 2, Norman Wood Kendrick & Turner, Birmingham
William L. Lee IV, District 3, Lee Livingston Lee Nichols & Barron PC, Dothan
Benjamin C. Heinz, District 4, Ball Ball Matthews & Novak PA, Mobile
About the ADLA: Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA) is a professional organization of over 900 attorneys dedicated to the defense of civil actions and the promotion of fairness and integrity in the civil justice system. For more information about the ADLA, please contact (334) 395-4455 or visit www.adla.com.