About Us | Alabama Association for Justice

About Us

Mission

Officers

Our Mission & Areas of Focus

The mission of the Alabama Association for Justice is to preserve and protect the constitutional right to a trial by jury guaranteed by the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution by ensuring that every person or business harmed or injured by the misconduct or negligence of others can hold wrongdoers accountable in the one room where everyone is equal – the courtroom.

Areas of Focus:

Eliminate civil justice restrictions.
Provide our members with excellent educational opportunities.
Strengthen the civil justice system.
Support adequate court funding.
Participate in the selection and election of a qualified and impartial judiciary.
Work in campaigns and the Legislature to positively affect the discourse of public policy.

Officers
(2026-2027)

Lucy Tufts

President

Lucy E. Tufts is a partner with Cunningham Bounds, LLC in Mobile. An Alabama native, she graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in the top 5% of her class. Her areas of practice include business litigation, complex litigation, product liability, industrial accidents and wrongful death. Lucy is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and is a Certified Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Lucy has obtained over $300 million in verdicts, judgments and settlements in the last ten years. She is licensed in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.

Derrick Mills

President-Elect

Derrick A. Mills is a partner with Marsh, Rickard & Bryan in Birmingham, where he handles all types of civil litigation on behalf of plaintiffs, including product liability, insurance fraud and bad faith, wrongful death and medical malpractice. Derrick is a former Alabama State Bar Commissioner, former Alabama State Bar Committee member, Past President of the Magic City Bar Association, and he has been annually recognized as a Super Lawyer for the State of Alabama and the Mid-South. While Derrick has obtained multi-million dollar verdicts, judgments, and settlements on behalf of his clients, he is most proud of giving back to the community. Derrick and his wife, Tamesha, created a foundation and award thousands annually to students at Fayette High School, the University of North Alabama, and the University of Alabama School of Law.

Christina D. Crow

First Vice President

Christy Crow’s path to law began in Hamilton, Alabama, where her earliest courtroommemory came not from family tradition, but from witnessing the aftermath of her father’sinjury caused by gross negligence. That experience shaped her commitment to helpingothers facing similar hardships. Since joining Jinks Crow in 1997, Christy has built areputation across Alabama as a formidable advocate in both the courtroom and arbitration.

A respected leader in the legal community, Christy served as President of the AlabamaState Bar in 2019, following years of service in key leadership roles. She continues tocontribute at a high level, including serving as President of SEABOTA and 1st VicePresident of the Alabama Association for Justice. Her dedication extends beyond theprofession through her work with organizations like the Alabama Civil Justice Foundationand the Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama. Throughout her career, she has balancedleadership and advocacy, even securing significant trial verdicts while leading the Barduring major challenges such as COVID-19. Christy remains deeply connected to hercommunity in Union Springs, where she lives with her husband and continues her servicethrough local organizations and her church.

Robert "Bo" Bruner

Second Vice President

Bo is a member of Belt, Bruner & Barnett in Birmingham. Bo focuses his practice on complex personal injury and wrongful death cases, including products liability claims, construction related injuries, commercial vehicle cases and medical malpractice. He and his firm have also developed a niche practice handling third-party negligent / bad faith failure to settle claims against liability insurers on behalf of defendants financially devastated by verdicts in excess of their insurance coverage. Bo is board certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. In addition to board certification, Bo has been recognized as among the “Top 50: Alabama Super Lawyers” and included in The Best Lawyers in America for his work in product liability litigation. He also holds the “AV Preeminent” rating conferred by the national legal publication Martindale-Hubbell.

Nathan Harris

Secretary

E. Nathan Harris is the CEO of Abogados Centro Legal in Hoover and focuses his practice on immigrant’s rights. Nathan leads a bilingual & bicultural team dedicated to advocating for Alabama’s Latino and immigrant communities. Nathan oversees a growing team that handles immigration and personal injury cases and frequently consults with other firms on complex matters involving immigrant clients. Nathan serves on multiple non-profit boards, including HICA and FIESTA, and holds appointments with multiple committees under the Alabama State Bar and Alabama Supreme Court. He is a graduate of the UAB School of Business and the University of Alabama School of Law. He and his wife Kacey have three children—Abby, Ellie, and Abe—and enjoy traveling the world with their family.

Gavin King

Treasurer

Gavin King represents individuals and governmental entities as plaintiffs, primarily in environmental litigation. Since 2022, he has been named to the National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 and recognized annually as a Mid-South Super Lawyers “Rising Star.” He is also included in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Environmental and Product Liability law beginning in 2025.

Gavin has worked on many significant matters, including serving on a legal team that secured over $728 million in opioid settlements on behalf of the Alabama Attorney General’s Office.

Gavin is a proud alumnus of Mississippi State University and the Cumberland School of Law. He is licensed to practice in Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina and is active in bar leadership and professional organizations. A native of Opelika, Alabama, Gavin lives in Montgomery with his wife and two daughters, where they are active in their church and community.

Clint Mountain

Immediate Past President

Clint Mountain is the managing partner at Mountain & Mountain in Tuscaloosa. He graduated from The University of Alabama with a major in business management in 2000 and the University of Alabama Law School in 2003. Clint has handled a wide variety of personal injury cases ranging from trucking wrecks and medical malpractice to civil rights and various immunity issues with the State of Alabama. Clint is a member of the AAJ, Tuscaloosa County Bar Association, City of Tuscaloosa Framework and Steering Committee, University of Alabama Law School Foundation Board of Governors, Farrah Alumni Society, and is admitted to all state and federal courts in Alabama and Mississippi. Clint currently serves as a deacon at First Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa and serves on numerous local boards. He is married to Lindsay and they have one daughter, Julia.

Board of Directors
(2026-2027)

Ginger Avery

Alabama Association for Justice

Drew Barnett

Belt, Bruner & Barnet

Doug Dellaccio, Jr.

Cory Watson Attorneys

J. Ben Ford

Marsh, Rickard & Bryan

Christin French

Petway, French & Ford

David Hodge

Morris, King & Hodge

Leslie Wright Rubio

Rubio Law Firm

Greg Brockwell

Brockwell Smith, LLC

Ken Riley

Farris, Riley & Pitt

Ashley Peinhardt

Hare Wynn Newell & Newton

David P. Nomberg

Nomberg Law Firm

Robert Potter

Mann & Potter, P.C.

David Brown

Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton

Andrew Moak

Turnbull Moak Pendergrass Law Firm

Catherine Moncus

Sanspree & Moncus

Ben Baker

Beasley Allen

Aaron Maples

Maples, Connick & Brendel

Jennifer Jayjohn York

Cunningham Bounds

Executive Team

Ginger Avery

Chief Executive Officer

ginger@alabamajustice.org

Johnnie Smith

Chief Development Officer

jsmith@alabamajustice.org

James Able

Deputy Director of Development

james@alabamajustice.org

Sydney Staples Rhine

Director of Administration

sydney@alabamajustice.org

Our History

ALAJ has been a constant, powerful influence for more than half a century. Leaders in generation after generation have stood up on behalf of their brethren to better their profession. The names echo in the annals of our state’s history – Hare, Hogan, Cunningham, Heflin, Hobbs, Hornsby, Cook.

According to the history written by the late Francis H. Hare, Sr., who served as president from 1954-1955, the late W. E. Brobston of Bessemer had this dream of a better civil justice system for the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s attorney. He brought his dream to fruition in 1953 when he founded the Alabama Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Association, known as the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, and served as the Association’s first president. In effect, it was the Alabama Branch of the National Association of Claimants Compensation Attorneys (founded in 1946), which was known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Our first publication was called the APLA Bulletin. In April 1953, the first APLA Bulletin was printed. It consisted of only five pages plus one and a half pages listing the membership as of March 14, 1953. ATLA’s first printed issue of the Journal was in 1957. In this Journal, Francis Hare, Sr. and Ed Brobston were asked to write a brief statement on what our Association stands for. This is what they wrote:

“It is the purpose of this Association to maintain the practice of personal injury law on the loftiest plain from the standpoint of skill and integrity.”

In October 1973, we began a bi-monthly newsletter and established a political trust fund known as Trust Representing Involved Alabama Lawyers (TRIAL). On August 6, 1974, the American Trial Lawyers Association selected the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association as the “Most Outstanding State Association.”

In June 2007, the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association changed its name to the Alabama Association for Justice. The name “Trial Lawyers Association” was what we called ourselves and did not reflect what we did. Our mission is not about helping ourselves, but rather about protecting and strengthening the civil justice system for everyone. Our name should be about what we do, not who we are.

Past ALAJ Presidents

Presidents of the Alabama Association for Justice serve a one year term acting as the standard-bearer for the Trial Lawyer profession. Their responsibilities include overseeing the activities of the other officers, heading the association's legislative efforts and ensuring the staff maintain the day to day activities of the organization.