Ogletree Deakins Welcomes Four Attorneys To Birmingham Office

BIRMINGHAM – May 18, 2006 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the nation’s largest labor and employment law firms, announced today that four additional employment attorneys are joining its Birmingham, Alabama office, bringing the number of lawyers in the office to 20.  Beverly P. Baker and James A. Patton, Jr. will be joining as shareholders, and T. Scott Kelly and Ryan M. Aday will become associates of the firm.

With the addition of these four attorneys, Ogletree Deakins will now have the largest practice, in terms of lawyers exclusively practicing labor and employment law, of any firm in the city. “Expanding our practice allows us to handle even the largest, most complex kinds of cases directly from the Birmingham office,” said Timothy Palmer, managing shareholder of the firm’s Birmingham group. “While most boutique firms have five to ten lawyers on the ground in any given city, a 20-lawyer office will provide Ogletree Deakins with at least the same or higher level of local labor and employment resources as any large, full-service law firm in Alabama.”

Birmingham native Beverly P. Baker is a graduate of the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.  In the Alabama State Bar, she has served as a member of the Increased Minority Participation Committee since 1990, and also serves on the Committee on Women in the Profession, the Task Force on Constitutional Reform, the Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution, and as a subject matter expert in civil litigation for the Alabama Bar Examination. “I joined Ogletree Deakins because of the firm’s excellent reputation and strong commitment to diversity,” said Baker.  “I’m eager to be a part of such a fine team of talented lawyers who are national leaders in the field of labor and employment law.”

James A. Patton, Jr. is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and has served as law clerk to the Hon. Ira Dement on the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Mr. Patton is a member of the Birmingham and American Bar Associations and the Defense Research Institute.

T. Scott Kelly, also a Cumberland School of Law at Samford University graduate, is a member of the Birmingham and American Bar Associations and the Defense Research Institute. Mr. Kelly was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 2000.

Ryan M. Aday earned his Juris Doctor at Southern Methodist University, where he was Articles Editor of the SMU International Law Review 1999-2000. Mr. Aday is a member of the Birmingham and American Bar Associations.

“Beverly, Jay, Scott and Ryan all make excellent additions to our firm,” said Palmer. “Together, their years of expertise practicing in labor and employment law will further solidify our leadership in this area.” 

More About Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins is the nation’s third largest labor and employment law firm, representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. The firm has more than 300 lawyers located in 24 offices from Miami to Los Angeles. In addition to handling labor and employment law matters, the firm has thriving practices focused on business immigration, employee benefits, and workplace safety and health law.  Ogletree Deakins represents a diverse range of clients, including more than half of the Fortune 50 corporations in the U.S.

For more information, please contact Karen Gonzales, communications manager, at 210-277-3606.