Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that 12 of the firm’s attorneys have been elevated to partner and one attorney has been elevated to counsel, effective Jan. 1, 2024. The new partners are Melissa Gutierrez Alonso, Anne Baroody, Chandler Combest, Alé Dalton, Diana N. Evans, Brian M. Gillett, Nathaniel J. Greeson, Casey L. Miller, Thomas L. Oliver III, T. Brooks Proctor, Emily M. Ruzic and Eric Setterlund. The new counsel is Lyndsay E. Medlin.
“These attorneys from across our footprint have demonstrated the highest levels of client service and are dedicated to the future of our firm,” said Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan M. Skeeters. “We are proud of this new class of partners and counsel and congratulate each of these attorneys on this career milestone. We look forward to their continued leadership and growth with the firm.”
Details about each attorney, grouped by office, are as follows:
Atlanta, Georgia
Ms. Baroody is a member of Bradley’s Litigation Practice Group, focusing her practice on complex commercial disputes and litigation before federal and state courts, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and alternative dispute resolution bodies. She provides counsel to clients on issues through commercial, unfair competition, and branding disputes and her matters often involve trade secrets, restrictive covenants, business torts, deceptive practices, trademarks, franchise systems, marketing, contract disputes, and consumer protection statutes such as the TCPA. She is an active member of the ABA Forum on Franchising, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Committee and a board member of the State Bar of Georgia’s Franchise & Distribution Law Section. Ms. Baroody earned her J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law and received her B.A. from Davidson College.
Birmingham
Mr. Combest is a member of the firm’s Corporate and Securities Practice Group and concentrates his practice on public finance, including serving as bond counsel and underwriter’s counsel on both tax-exempt and taxable financings throughout Alabama. He also has experience advising broker-dealers in a wide range of compliance and regulatory matters. In addition to public finance, Mr. Combest represents both borrowers and lenders in commercial lending transactions, tax credit transactions, and state and federal regulatory compliance matters across a variety of industries. He earned his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law and his B.A. from Auburn University and served as senior vice president and general counsel for a Montgomery-based investment banking firm.
Mr. Proctor represents clients in a broad range of litigation matters, including contract disputes, business torts, general commercial litigation, and class actions. He has experience in all stages of litigation in both federal and state courts. Mr. Proctor was a member of the Bradley trial team that, in conjunction with the Innocence Project, secured the exoneration of an innocent man in 2018 who had spent 14 years in prison after being wrongfully incarcerated and convicted for a double murder. In 2022, he was selected to the Alabama State Bar’s 2022 Leadership Forum. Mr. Proctor earned his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law and received his B.A. from Washington & Lee University.
Mr. Oliver has a diverse general litigation practice handling matters in complex commercial, product liability, construction, real estate and toxic tort litigation and has successfully represented clients of all sizes in a variety of industries. He is active in the leadership of several community and professional organizations, including serving as an executive board member for DRI Young Lawyers and for the Phoenix Club. Mr. Oliver is also one of the founders of Local Distancing, a platform designed to support local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America in Litigation – Real Estate since 2021 and in Land Use in Zoning law since 2023. Mr. Oliver earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. from Auburn University.
Ms. Ruzic advises natural gas pipeline companies and other infrastructure clients on issues involving location, land acquisition, construction, and operations, and she has regulatory and commercial experience in the energy space. Ms. Ruzic also advises clients on complex insurance coverage disputes, with particular experience in construction and hospitality insurance disputes and coverage matters involving builders’ risk, business interruption, cybersecurity, property damage and liability policies. Ms. Ruzic is an active member of the legal industry and local community and has served in several leadership roles for the DRI, including being appointed as chair of the Young Lawyers Committee. She received her J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law and her B.B.A. from the University of Georgia.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Ms. Medlin assists clients across a variety of industries with a range of litigation, investigation and compliance needs, including drafting and developing policies and best practices to ensure compliance and prevent litigation. She also provides strategic counsel to her clients on issues of privacy and cybersecurity, particularly regarding the nuances of privacy notices, protection of customer and client personal information, and for covered financial services clients, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering compliance. Ms. Medlin is recognized in Chambers USA in North Carolina in the area of Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, she earned her B.A. from Duke University and is an active member of the Mecklenburg County Bar.
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Mr. Setterlund serves as co-chair of Bradley’s Cybersecurity and Privacy Practice Group and has extensive experience with matters related to privacy, security protections and regulatory compliance. He draws upon his business and program management experience as chief privacy officer and privacy and data counsel for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to provide practical advice for his clients navigating complex regulatory and transactional matters. Mr. Setterlund regularly counsels clients through significant changes in privacy and data use laws
and assists clients as they respond to data breaches or significant cybersecurity events. He is a designated ANSI Certified Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) by the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Mr. Setterlund earned his J.D. from the University of Memphis School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Tennessee.
Dallas, Texas
Mr. Gillett is a member of Bradley’s Litigation Practice Group and is an experienced trial attorney. He regularly handles high-stakes, complex commercial matters on both the plaintiff and defense sides at all stages of litigation in state and federal court and arbitration proceedings, from discovery through trial and appeal. His practice focuses on business litigation matters, including disputes involving claims for breach of contract, fraud, and breaches of fiduciary duties. He has litigated both individual and class claims involving oil and gas disputes, intellectual property theft and infringement, and antitrust. Mr. Gillett received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and earned both his B.A. and B.S. from Texas A&M University.
Houston, Texas
Ms. Alonso is a litigator in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group with extensive experience in financial services, real estate and commercial litigation. She assists a wide variety of lenders, loan servicers, and other financial institutions in Texas and Louisiana in matters involving both borrower litigation and complex business disputes. Ms. Alonso regularly represents clients in both Texas and Louisiana state and federal courts, as well as in arbitration. She has been recognized in Texas Rising Stars since 2019 and was recognized in the 2023 edition of Lawdragon 500 X Next Generation. Ms. Alonso received her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and earned her B.B.A. from Texas A&M University.
Nashville, Tennessee
Ms. Dalton is a member of Bradley’s Healthcare Practice Group, where she assists healthcare industry clients with a wide range of transactional, operational, and regulatory matters. Her practice focuses on providing counsel during M&A and advising on clinical research and telemedicine matters, as well as guiding clients through issues that arise from the complex nature of operating in a highly regulated industry. Ms. Dalton has earned numerous recognitions for her philanthropic and professional achievements, including receiving the Nashville Emerging Leader – Legal Services award in 2022 and being named to the Nashville Post’s list of “In Charge – Legal: The Risers” in 2023. She is actively involved in efforts to meet the legal service gaps in Tennessee by staffing community legal clinics through Bradley’s Pro Bono Program and serves as vice chair of Bradley’s Lawyers of Color Resource Group. She earned her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and her B.A. from Lipscomb University.
Ms. Miller is a member of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group and has a diverse practice focused on business tort litigation, contract disputes, fiduciary-duty claims involving corporate directors and officers, intellectual property litigation, securities litigation, disputes over non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, and real estate litigation. She also represents organizations and individuals in government and internal investigations, advises clients in regulatory compliance matters, and handles related litigation and white-collar defense matters. She is an active member of the Nashville Bar Association and will serve as president of the Young Lawyers Division in 2024. Ms. Miller is also an active member of DRI Young Lawyers and is chair of the Networking and Activities Subcommittee. She earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and her B.B.A. from the University of Georgia.
Tampa, Florida
Ms. Evans concentrates her practice on commercial litigation in both state and federal court in areas including product liability and employment law. She regularly represents manufacturers in a variety of product liability actions, including cases involving medical devices and consumer product, and routinely defends employers in cases involving discrimination and retaliation, wage and hour, the Family Medical Leave Act, whistleblower retaliation, and non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. She has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America since 2021 in the areas of Litigation – Labor and Employment and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants. Ms. Evans earned her J.D. from Stetson University College of Law and her B.S. from the University of Florida.
Washington, D.C.
Mr. Greeson assists clients with solving government contracts challenges, including a range of government procurement issues such as bid protests, claims, disputes, audits and investigations. He has extensive experience with GAO bid protests, agency-level protests, Court of Federal Claims (COFC) bid protests, and SBA OHA size and NAICS appeals, as well as experience with agency-level requests for equitable adjustments (REA) and claims, and Boards of Contract Appeals claims. Mr. Greeson also advises government contractors on compliance issues, prime/subcontractor agreements and disputes, and contractor-to-agency interaction. He served as an advisor for the Procurement and Fiscal Law Division of the DHS FEMA Office of Chief Counsel. He earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and received his B.A. from Belmont University.
About Bradley
For more than 150 years, Bradley has combined skilled legal counsel with exceptional client service and unwavering integrity to assist a diverse range of corporate and individual clients in achieving their business goals. With 13 offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the District of Columbia, the firm’s more than 650 lawyers represent regional, national and international clients in various industries, including banking and financial services, construction, energy, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, real estate, and technology, among many others.
