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Another satisfied client, former Auburn University professor Dr. A. J. Gaurino, whom we successfully represented in a case against Auburn University.

In photo, left to right: Alfred Norris, Julian McPhillips, Dr. Guarino, and Lynelle Howard
 

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Julian McPhillips represents the New Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church located in Troy, whose members retained him to represent them and their church in a declaratory judgment action against church members Moses Batie and his grandson Ernest Batie for interference with Church activities and other issues. This lawsuit was recently filed in the Pike County Circuit Court.

A hearing was held on October 21, 2009 before Circuit Judge Thomas Head, and the attached preliminary injunction was granted. Judge Head ordered the defendants Moses Batie and Ernest Batie "to return the keys to the Church, as well as all church financial records, historical documents, and other official records and documents to the pastor, Rev. Jimmy Jerome Lee...." The preliminary injunction further orders that the defendants "are restrained and enjoined from interfering in any way with the congregation holding Sunday services and using the Church at other times during the week for regular Church activities."

Of course, this injunction was granted pending a final hearing, and Julian L. McPhillips, Jr. And the firm of McPhillips Shinbaum consider the same a success for this very old, established Church in the Pike County community.

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“McPhillips Shinbaum LLP
Celebrates 30 Years of Helping People”

(Written by: Mandy Fernandez)

As you walk through the door of McPhillips Shinbaum LLP, you forget it is a law office. Instead you see a casual atmosphere, welcoming smiles, and people waiting to help you. On October 7, join these friendly faces in celebrating 30 years of serving the community. Patrons can enjoy appetizers and listen to jazz music from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. at their location, 516 S. Perry Street.

Dubbed as “The People’s Law Firm,” McPhillips Shinbaum has spent three decades pushing the envelope to take on civil rights, criminal, and injury cases that no one else was willing to accept. McPhillips jokes that he and his staff undertook so many landmark cases, especially during the 1980’s, that “we made the news six out of the seven days a week.” Notable indeed, decisions such as in The Ed Lowder Case, McPhillips vs. Graddick, The Smith environmental case, The Reynolds race discrimination suit, and many more changed Montgomery history. They also changed the way the large corporations, Montgomery city service departments and even major politicians treated the everyday man.

The firm believes that “to give dignity to a man is above all things.” These words are their motto and taken from an ancient American Indian proverb. Julian McPhillips has lived that motto since he was a young boy. In his early life, he wanted to follow his father’s footsteps and be an Episcopalian priest. Later while attending Princeton University, Julian was inspired to serve in the public arena. Since then, he finished law school and hasn’t stopped serving the people, especially the “underdogs.”

McPhillips opened the doors to his practice in 1978. Eight years later his once rival attorney Kenneth Shimbaum joined him. Shimbaum laughs saying, “you know that saying, ‘if you can’t beat him, join him,’ well I decided to stop working against Julian and join his efforts.” He has not regretted that decision. Today McPhillips Shinbaum has six full-time attorneys, six legal assistants, and one clerk. Most current cases deal with civil rights, discrimination and personal injury. “We take on the cases that no one else will”, reveals Amy Strictland, Julian’s Office Manager of twelve years. She then adds, “The cases we take on really matter to us.”


Strictland declares, “We work hard, do a good job, and make a difference.” That is what has kept her working for the McPhillips Shinbaum firm for so long. She admits she’s received offers to work in larger practices but the “down-home feel and constant hands-on work” she does for McPhillips keeps her happy and content. Strictland further adds, “We all wear different hats here and play a part in a case, from beginning to end which is rewarding.”

Longevity is also a common thread among the lawyer’s office. “Our staff tends to stay,” Strictland points out. Sometimes staff members leave and come back as did Lynelle Howard who moved away for a few years and later found herself back in Montgomery wanting to work for McPhillips again. “Julian is a nice man, a good-hearted man,” says Howard. She says that the two of them have a great relationship, just like the entire staff.

Stop by 516 S. Perry Street on October 7 from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. to meet this influential man and his superb staff as they commemorate thirty years of publicly serving the community. McPhillips Shinbaum cordially invites you.

 

To learn more about the McPhillips Shinbaum law firm, visit http://www.mcphillipsshinbaum.com. To learn more about Julian McPhillips, check out the book, “The People’s Lawyer: The Colorful Life and Times of Julian L. McPhillips, Jr.” by Carroll Dale Short

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Montgomery - Senior Partner Julian McPhillips announced this week the first-ever expansion of his office from its Montgomery base, with the opening of an Auburn-Opelika office.

The law firm consists of five partners, Mr. McPhillips, Kenneth Shinbaum, Aaron Luck, Jim Bodin, and Joe Guillot, and one associate attorney Elizabeth Bern Spear. A full-time secretarial employee and at least one attorney, on a rotating basis, plan to be at the Lee County office.

A grand opening, with refreshments served, will take place this coming Thursday, February 7, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The McPhillips, Shinbaum LLP law firm has long been known as "The People’s Law Firm" of Montgomery, and Mr. McPhillips is called "The People’s Lawyer."

The firm specializes in personal injury, worker’s compensation and employment discrimination cases, but also selectively handles criminal defense and other civil litigation cases. Mr. McPhillips says he has also represented well over 200 Auburn University professors and employees in unlawful discrimination cases against Auburn during the past 30 years.

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NEWS RELEASE

Montgomery: Calling Attorney General Troy King’s criminal warrant against White Hall Mayor John Jackson a gross abuse of prosecutorial discretion, Montgomery attorney Julian McPhillips called upon King to immediately dismiss the charges against Jackson for "theft of property" and "use of office for personal gain."

"When is Troy King going to learn," queried McPhillips, "that the worst abuse of public office is to wrongfully prosecute someone for political gain? Didn’t he watch what happened to Mike Nifong in North Carolina? Doesn’t he see how U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has lost all credibility?," asked McPhillips, attorney for Jackson.

At a news conference, McPhillips released a copy of a 2003 lawsuit filed by King against the Town of White Hall, in which King has unsuccessfully tried to close down White Hall’s gaming operations. "There’s the motive," said McPhillips. "King, an ambitious politician on the make, is trying to gain favor with other powerful, competitive gaming interests who contribute a lot of money to Alabama politics, and whose interests he has left untouched."

McPhillips said King has tried to accomplish with criminal indictments what he hasn’t been able to accomplish in his civil lawsuit.

McPhillips also released an April letter to the Attorney General’s Office, confirming the Mayor’s cooperation with investigators, and offering to answer any questions posed to him. "Did anyone ever ask the Mayor to explain anything?," said McPhillips. "Absolutely not; even though we invited them to let us do so, they weren’t interested in knowing the truth; for political reasons they only wanted an indictment of Mayor Jackson at all costs," he added.

McPhillips said the indictment of Mayor Jackson was consistent with the recent bullisome persecution by the Attorney General of indicted White Hall policeman Jessie James Johnson for "reckless murder." McPhillips, who criticized this June indictment as "selective prosecution," produced additional correspondence between himself and King, exposing the political nature of King’s prosecutions of Mayor Jackson and Officer Johnson.

McPhillips praised Mayor Jackson as an "icon of the civil rights movement," for his role in the Selma to Montgomery March and other events. He hailed Jackson as a "man of vision" dedicated to building White Hall into a viable economic community, while often paying for town expenses out of his own pocket without reimbursement by White Hall.

McPhillips promised a vigorous defense of Jackson, and dared Troy King to come out personally to prosecute the case when it is tried in the Lowndes County Circuit Court.

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MUSEUM PRESIDENT, JULIAN McPHILLIPS, ANNOUNCES GALA

To:    All Montgomery Media

From: Julian McPhillips, President, Fitzgerald Museum

Re:    Annual Gatsby Gala Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald Museum 

        Friday, March 2, 2007 7:00-10:00pm

If anyone has questions, they are encouraged to call either Leslie McPhillips at 264-4222.

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NEWS RELEASE OF DECEMBER 5, 2005

McPhillips Shinbaum, LLP

Announces New Attorneys

The law firm of McPhillips Shinbaum, LLP, announced today that attorneys Elizabeth Bern Spear and Allison Hale Highley have joined the firm as an associate and as an “of counsel” attorney, respectively.

Elizabeth Bern Spear, a lifelong resident of Montgomery, Alabama, is a graduate of Faulkner University, Jones School of Law, and Auburn University. Mrs. Spear is admitted to the Alabama State Bar, and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.

Allison Hale Highley studied law at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, in the District of Columbia, after studying government at the University of Texas. Mrs. Highley worked as an associate attorney in Pierce County, Washington, for two years before relocating to Montgomery with her husband. Mrs. Highley is admitted to the Washington State Bar, and the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.

Their areas of practice include: Personal Injury, Employment Law, Criminal Defense, Social Security Disability Appeals, and Worker’s Compensation.

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ALABAMIANS ATTEND CONFERENCE IN WEST AFRICA
 

August 9, 2005

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NEWS RELEASE OF JUNE 26, 2005
 

OPED FROM ATTORNEY JULIAN L. MCPHILLIPS, JR.

OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA

Not guilty!  The repeated verdicts on 36 criminal charges echoed loudly across Alabama and corporate America.

Richard Scrushy deserved his multiple acquittals.  It appears that certain media tried  to influence opinion otherwise.  Scrushy was made to look guilty by some of the press, which  belittled his defense, accusing him of using race and religion to influence jurors out-of-court.

This was an insult to the intelligence of the jury.  What much of the public doesn’t know is that there wasn’t a single shred of documentary evidence, not a memo, not an e-mail, not a fax and not a letter, to connect Richard Scrushy to the fraud. No smoking gun!

Oh yes, there was biased testimony aplenty. The convicted HealthSouth “officer - felons,” were accounting types who played with the numbers. They were also the ones who gained the most from the fraud, with generous bonuses and profitable stock options. Given such lenient sentences as probation or home confinement with golf course privileges, these officers gained ample governmental reward for lying against Scrushy.  The jury obviously determined they were not credible.

Further, Richard Scrushy had no accounting expertise, and his undergraduate degree was in nursing. His strengths were in promotion and sales, and he trusted the highly-qualified accountants, both internal and outside of HealthSouth, to give him the correct information. Remember the words of a famous Roman “ Et tu, Brute’. ”

Despite his wealth, Scrushy was a vast underdog.  He was up against the unlimited financial resources of the United States’ government, worth multi-millions.  The government’s intimidation helped cause 15 HealthSouth officers to fold without a fight.

If religion played a role, it was in Scrushy’s deep faith in God. It gave him “nerves of steel” and a confidence that his fate was in the Lord’s hands.  On top of that were the prayers of not just hundreds, but thousands of people, praying for his acquittal.

If race played a role, it was because much of the white community pre-judged Scrushy’s guilt and treated him like a pariah , thanks to multiple early reports before the trial began, and biased journalistic sensationalism, before the trial began.

On the other hand, many blacks know what is’s like to be unfairly persecuted by the government. In an instinctive reaction, many embraced Scrushy.  No wonder he feels more comfortable in a predominantly African-American church.

It was my honor and privilege to help protect Scrushy against the excesses of certain media. The T.V. broadcasts were the most fair.  But with the jury unsequestered, it meant that unfair and inaccurate newspaper articles and radio attacks had to be responded to.

Investigating the issues carefully last fall, I personally became convinced of Scrushy’s innocence. Scrushy’s legal problems are far from over, with stockholder suits and  SEC civil action ahead.  Meanwhile, the public needs to give more respect to this creative entrepreneur from Selma who built up, from ground zero, a sparkling business that grew to 50,000 jobs, and blessed Alabama’s economy.

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NEWS RELEASE OF MAY 13, 2005

MONTGOMERY, AL-A judgment totaling $1 million dollars was just awarded by a federal judge in Mobile to four female students, represented by Mary Goldthwaite of McPhillips Shinbaum, L.L.P. , in their claims against a former employee of the Selma City School System. (Jane Student 1, et. al., v. Williams, Case No. 01-CV-00036-WS-M in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, Northern Division.)

In this lawsuit, the female students asserted, among other things, that a teacher’s aide inappropriately touched them during class over an extended period of time. The Plaintiffs’ attorney, Mary Goldthwaite of McPhillips Shinbaum, L.L.P., also obtained a $600,000 settlement last year on behalf of these girls and their guardians from the other defendants in this lawsuit.
 

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Press Release:
 

Voicing their concerns
Local lawmakers hear Tiger Card woes
Jack Stripling
Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 12, 2005


A group of local business owners confronted two state lawmakers Monday, begrudging a bill that would greenlight expansion of Auburn University’s controversial debit-credit card program.

Sen. Ted Little, D-Auburn, and Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, have both co-sponsored bills that would rewrite state law to allow for expansion of the program. Some merchants, including two who are suing AU over the program, complain that the university has gouged small businesses with excessive rates and long delays for reimbursement.

The suit against AU largely centers around the very law that Little and Hubbard aim to rewrite. The present law stipulates that AU is only authorized to expand the program to off-campus bookstores, the plaintiffs argue. But AU has allowed myriad businesses, including bars and gas stations, to take the card.

The House bill, which passed last week, and the Senate bill, which has yet to pass, would lift any restrictions on expansion of the Tiger Club Card program. Both bills would also authorize the university to charge whatever rates it chooses for any business other than off-campus bookstores.

"The biggest problem with the whole system is that the university has a monopoly," said Tim McGowin, owner of Brand X Pizza.

McGowin and others argued that as the lone provider of cards strictly aimed at university students, AU sets its transaction rates free of competition. Even with major credit card companies like Visa, merchants can negotiate better rates with different processors. Competition between processors prevents the sort of excessive rates merchants see with the Tiger Club Card program, McGowin said.

Many students and their parents are eager to keep the program. Little met with one group of students recently, he said, who voiced support for legislative moves to keep the Tiger Club Card program afloat.

In the case of the Tiger Club Card’s "ascending balance" plan, students can charge items on the card and have the bills sent to their parents. But Michael Ellenberger, who is a plaintiff against AU in the suit, argued that the whole community is in essence footing the bill. Higher transaction rates force businesses to charge higher prices, he said.

"The students love it because they’re not paying for it," said Ellenberger, owner of Southeastern Pest Management Inc. "We’re paying for it. It’s essentially a pocket tax for the people in this community."

Businesses incur additional temporary costs when they accept the ascending balance cards. Since AU is not permitted to extend credit, the merchants have to wait until the university is paid before they get their money. The wait, sometimes as long as 60 days, is a particular struggle for small businesses, said Buck Starr, owner of a service station in the Gentilly area.
"As a representative of the state, has the university ever held your paycheck for 60 days?" Starr asked Little and Hubbard.
The university probably won’t be able to get merchants their money any faster unless a third party is hired to operate the program, said Sherri Fulford, AU’s associate director of governmental affairs. Plans to contract out the work to a group with greater resources, however, have been stalled due to the lawsuit against AU, Fulford said.

No matter what happens between now and May 16, when the legislative session ends, the merchants expressed hope that a bill would be passed that caps rates and holds the university to a tighter reimbursement timeline. These bills, Ellenberger argued, essentially give the university free rein.

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Bill may kill Tiger Club suit
Jack Stripling
Staff Writer
Friday, March 4, 2005

A bill sponsored by Rep. Alan Boothe and backed by Auburn lawmaker Mike Hubbard would cripple if not kill the case made by two merchants calling for an end to Auburn University’s credit/debit card program. A state statute the merchants say forbids AU from expanding its program off-campus would be rewritten under the Boothe bill, giving the university the upper hand in a suit it’s readily admitted it could lose.

Legislation passed in 1999 allowed AU to expand its Tiger Club Card program to off-campus bookstores, but plaintiffs William Brandt Tucker and Michael Ellenberger say further expansion of the program has damaged their businesses and violated state law. By allowing businesses across Auburn to accept the card, the plaintiffs argue that they’ve been placed at a competitive disadvantage because they refused to pay transaction fees that were as high as 12 percent in 2003. Furthermore, Tucker and Ellenberger say, the statute that allowed bookstores to accept the card also explicitly states that further expansion of the program is prohibited.

AU, who has continually argued that it’s not in violation of the law, now appears poised to change the very law in question. Boothe, who is an employee of Troy University where a similar card program exists, didn’t return phone calls Thursday. But AU’s fingerprints appear to be all over this legislation.

"I believe it started with Auburn, and they came to (Boothe) to be a sponsor of the bill," said Marcus Paramore, lobbyist for Troy University.

Hubbard, R-Auburn, also said he had a brief conversation with Sherri Fulford, AU’s lobbyist, in which Fulford asked whether he’d spoken with Boothe, D-Troy, about the bill. Fulford did not return phone calls Thursday.

Kenneth Shinbaum, the plaintiffs’ attorney, said the introduction of the bill clearly shows that AU has moved a battle into the Legislature because it doesn’t think it can win in the courtroom.
"I think it shows they have great concerns that what they’re doing is not appropriate," Shinbaum said.

While AU has downplayed the profitability of the program, its revenues have grown some 448 percent in three years. Since 2001, AU has generated about $1.9 million in gross revenues from off-campus sales.

David Boyd, AU’s attorney in the case, argued at a hearing last week that the program was hardly profitable and that the university is just offering a service its students demand.
The majority of the feedback from students, parents and business owners has been positive, Hubbard said, and he says he’s out to keep the program for his constituents.

"The vast majority of the retailers like it," he said. "Nobody puts a gun to your head and says you have to have it."

On the other hand, even business owners who aren’t engaged in the suit have said that accepting the Tiger Club Card is a necessity for anyone who hopes to stay competitive in the Auburn market.

Bad bill?

Hubbard says the bill clears up the vagueness in the questioned statute, but Shinbaum says he fears the bill is just vague enough to cause a big problem for small businesses. As it stands, the bill sets no limits on the interest rates universities can charge. AU already charges higher rates for businesses that have lower average card sales, and Shinbaum said the bill empowers AU to jack up rates for Mom & Pop shops and give monster chains an advantage.

Shinbaum also expressed concern that the absence of a limit on interest rates allows for "shenanigans." Describing a "hypothetical" banker who sounded a lot like controversial AU Trustee Robert Lowder, Shinbaum said universities would be poised to reward big donors and punish others.

"What’s to prevent ... sort of wink and nods or whatever - not formal agreements - where the university ends up favoring places that do business with this bank as opposed to other places? This bill gives the power to destroy," he said.

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Press Release

The Africatown USA Reconciliation and Development Conference is scheduled to take place in Pritchard and Mobile, Alabama from February 10 through 28, 2005. The Conference hopes to establish a strong dialogue between the Republic of Benin and the State of Alabama, for the purpose of establishing, and bringing about an international trade agreement between the two. Further, the conference hopes to establish reconciliation and development conferences and committees in Benin. The Conference anticipates 20 delegates from Benin, and 20 state representatives from the State of Alabama.

To kick off the conference, attorney Julian L. McPhillips, Jr. will host a reception for the delegation from Benin on February 28, 2005 at 7 p.m. The event is invitation only, with all media receiving an invitation to come meet and cover the delegation reception.

For further details, please contact Julian L. McPhillips, Jr. at 262-1911.

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RE: Killing Of Black Former Police Officer By White Cop

On or about September 14, 2002, a former police officer from a small town in South Alabama, who was black, was gunned down in his home by a white police officer. The slain officer, while at home, observed the white officer chasing his son, and left his front porch to go inside his home to see what was happening. Without provocation or just cause, the black officer was fired upon and killed by the white officer.

The family of the slain man and their attorney Julian McPhillips, held a news conference in the offices of McPhillips Shinbaum, L. L. P., 516 South Perry Street, Montgomery, Alabama at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 12. Additional details was provided about the filed lawsuit, and the family and McPhillips answered questions about the same.

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