Thomas S. Hale

Mr. Hale is a native of Tennessee, where he received his secondary preparatory education at The Baylor School in Chattanooga and graduated in the top ten of the Class of 1975. He also is a graduate of Vanderbilt University (B.A. ’79) and Cumberland School of Law (J.D. ’83) of Samford University in Birmingham, where he was one of three senior recipients of the Dean’s Certificate for Outstanding Contribution to the Law School, and a member of The American Journal of Trial Advocacy, The International Law Society, The Fellowship of Christian Law Students, and regularly wrote weekly articles of humor and parody for the school newspaper “Non Compos Mentis.”

Mr. Hale was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1983 and the Alabama Bar in 1984. He is also admitted to practice before all state, district and appellate courts in Alabama and Tennessee, the Fourth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He began his practice with an established Birmingham firm with specific emphasis on complex litigation, by direct practice with the firm’s senior partner. He gained a wide base of experience in complex litigation of product liability, personal injury and wrongful death, commercial and financial fraud, accounting malpractice, and lender liability disputes.

In 1987, Mr. Hale was engaged by one of the firm’s clients, a major bank holding company, as litigation coordinator, legal counsel, and assistant secretary to the Board of Directors, to manage its nationwide litigation with specific focus on defending issues of lender liability.

In 1991, Mr. Hale returned to private practice. He continued his practice with heavy emphasis on complex litigation of matters involving municipal liability, excessive force, and Fourth Amendment claims, professional malpractice claims, complex financial fraud matters, automotive liability, personal injury, wrongful death, and premises liability claims. Mr. Hale also enjoys a recognized specialty in issues related to hunting law. He holds the premier rating of “AV” from Martindale-Hubbell, and is a frequent lecturer on litigation ethics, business ethics, qualified immunity and police policy.

Additionally, Mr. Hale has served on numerous panels of the Birmingham and Alabama Bar grievance committees. He is an active member of the Birmingham, Alabama, Tennessee and American Bar Associations, the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association, the Defense Research Institute, the Alabama Municipal Attorneys Association, the American Association for Justice, and the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Hale has also been inducted into the exclusive group of “Super Lawyers” in Alabama.

Terry A. Sides

Mr. Sides is a native of Jasper, Alabama. In 1982, he graduated from the University of Alabama, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Corporate Finance. In 1985, he received his Juris Doctorate from Cumberland School of Law of Samford University in Birmingham, where he was the Associate Editor of The American Journal of Trial Advocacy.

Following law school, Mr. Sides served as a law clerk to United States District Judge Robert E. Varner (1985-1986) and Chief Judge Joel F. Dubina of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (1986-1987) in Montgomery, Alabama. He was in private practice in Montgomery for 13 years, following which he moved his practice to Birmingham in 2000, and subsequently joined Thomas S. Hale in founding Hale Sides LLC, of which Mr. Sides is a Managing Member.

Mr. Sides is admitted to practice before all state and federal trial and appellate courts in Alabama and Tennessee, as well as the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the Alabama and Tennessee State Bar Associations, American Bar Association, Alabama Defense Lawyers Association, Defense Research Institute, American Inns of Court, and Birmingham Bar Associations. He is a former member of the Lawyer’s Advisory Committee for the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the Federal Courts Committee of the Judicial Administration Division (Lawyer’s Conference) of the American Bar Association. He is also a former adjunct professor of law of Jones School of Law of Faulkner University. Both Mr. Sides individually and his law firm have attained Martindale-Hubbell’s highest and premier rating of “AV” for their legal knowledge and ethical practice.

Mr. Sides’ practice is devoted to civil defense litigation and related matters, with a specific emphasis on protecting a broad base of insureds and insurers in a wide array of cases. He specializes in municipal liability litigation, having defended dozens of Alabama cities and towns and their public officials and law enforcement officers against claims alleging personal injury, property damage, and violations of civil and constitutional rights. Mr. Sides also has substantial experience in all facets of employment and personnel matters (both in the private and governmental sectors), including EEOC litigation, employment and discrimination law, workplace harassment litigation, wrongful termination, sex, race, age and disability discrimination, and worker’s compensation law. Mr. Sides serves as general counsel and corporate secretary for several alabama-based businesses and he is regional counsel for Houchens Industries, Inc, which is one of Forbes’ largest privately held companies in the United States.

G. Meador Akins

Mr. Akins, a native of Brewton, Alabama, graduated from Columbia College (B.A.) in 1996 while serving in the United States Navy. While serving in the Navy, Mr. Akins was stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Cecil Field Naval Air Station in Jacksonville. Florida; and the Naval Reserve Personnel Center, New Orleans, Louisiana. His primary responsibility was personnel management administration. He received his Honorable Discharge in 1998.

After a distinguished military career, Mr. Akins diligently pursued his goal of a career in law, and graduated from Birmingham School of Law in 2002, where he was a member of the Sigma Delta Kappa Honor Fraternity. Mr. Akins was admitted to the Alabama Bar in 2002, and also practices before the U.S. Northern, Middle, and Southern District Courts of Alabama, and Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He is an active member of the American, Alabama, and Birmingham Bar Associations, the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association, the Defense Research Institute, and the Alabama Municipal Attorneys Association.

Mr. Akins’ practice is devoted to civil litigation, with an emphasis in municipal liability litigation, employment law, and insurance defense.

David L. Veazey

Mr. Veazey, a native of Birmingham, received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1986. Thereafter, he spent seventeen years in the property and casualty insurance industry rising through the corporate ranks from underwriting to claims, and then to claims management for a very large national insurer. Mr. Veazey successfully handled a wide range of property and casualty claims under a very broad spectrum of policies during one of the most volatile times in litigation history in the State of Alabama. Mr. Veazey also handled and supervised property claims following major catastrophic events at various locations throughout the United States, including Miami, New Orleans, the Gulf Coasts of Florida, Alabama and Mississippi, as well as Los Angeles, California.

Intrigued by the challenges of the legal climate in the State of Alabama, Mr. Veazey entered law school and, in 2002, graduated with honors from Birmingham School of Law. The same year, he became a member of the Alabama Bar, and was immediately associated by a major Birmingham insurance law firm, specializing in complex commercial general liability coverage analysis, as well as contract analysis of an array of professional liability policies, including officer’s and director’s coverages, architect’s and engineer’s professional policies, and various errors and omissions coverages. Mr. Veazey also practices civil trial litigation, serving as defense counsel for hundreds of commercial insureds, working both in pre-trial, trial and appellate phases of litigation. In addition, Mr. Veazey is deeply experienced in workers’ compensation litigation, and especially in workers’ compensation appellate practice. With such a background of success, Mr. Veazey was associated with Hale Sides LLC in January, 2011.

Mr. Veazey is admitted to practice before the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama, and is a member of the Alabama and Birmingham Bar Associations, as well as the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association.

Maria B. Campbell

Ms. Campbell graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law (J.D. 1967) and attended Georgia undergraduate (A.B. 1965). She is admitted to practice in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. She is also admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Ms. Campbell’s legal career focuses on Banking, Corporate Governance and Compliance, Charitable Foundations and Tax Exempt Organizations. Her primary concentrations focus on two principal areas:

• Advising financial institutions of all types on corporate governance matters, crisis counseling, regulatory advice and strategic assessment
• Advising charitable and not-for-profit organizations on matters ranging from strategic assessment management succession, mission evaluation and organization governance.

Ms. Campbell began her legal career in 1967 as a Law Clerk to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In 1968 she joined a law firm in Birmingham. After several years in private practice she became Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretary and General Council of AmSouth Bank and AmSouth Bancorporation (now Regions Financial). At AmSouth Ms. Campbell founded and managed the legal function, was responsible for its Extensive acquisition program (intrastate and interstate) and all legal matters for what was then the largest financial institution in Alabama, including all aspects of its commercial banking business , its trust business and its broker-dealer business.

After 21 years at AmSouth, Ms. Campbell moved to New York where she was Executive Assistant to the Rector, The Parish of Trinity Church. Ms. Campbell returned to Alabama in 1999 and joined a mediation practice. In 2001 she became Superintendent of Banks and a member of the cabinet for the State of Alabama. As Superintendent, she headed the State Banking Department that is the regulatory and examination authority for banks chartered by the State, and was, at the time, the second largest state banking system in the nation.

In 2003 Ms. Campbell became Chairman of Financial Services for SC&B Strategic Solutions in Montgomery, Alabama. She also joined a Montgomery law firm Of Counsel.

In 2006 Ms. Campbell started her own company, Independent Advisory Services. She provides consulting services for banks and non-profit organizations, and provided expert witness services (both consulting expert and testifying expert) in a variety of areas.

Mrs. Combest continues her community involvement, and was recently selected to serve on the Junior Board of the Literacy Council.