The University of Alabama School of Law

Congratulations to Bob McCurley (’66) and Irving Silver (’65), inducted into the Alabama Lawyer Hall of Honor at receptions in Mobile and Point Clear this July.

Bob McCurley led the Alabama Law Institute for more than three decades and helped modernize the state’s laws, and he has taught our students as an adjunct professor for over 40 years. Irving Silver has built a six-decade career in estate planning and elder law and, with his wife, Frances, has been a generous friend to the Law School.

They round out the 2026 honorees, joining the alumni we celebrated earlier this year. With the season complete, nominations for the 2027 Alumni Awards are now open. Know someone deserving? Submit a nomination today: https://law.ua.edu/alumni/awards/

View all of the 2026 Alabama Law Alumni Award Recipients here: https://law.ua.edu/alumni/awards/

Behind every great law school is a staff that makes it run. This summer, Alabama Law celebrated exactly those people.

At our staff social, we recognized service milestones from five to 35 years and presented the Distinguished Staff Service Award to Joseph De Araujo. Congratulations to our honorees: Nicole Hughes and Crystal Lucio (5 years), Alicia Randolph and Melanie Reynolds (10), Luke Bentley (20), Jeb Richter and Candice Robbins (25), and Patty Nelson (35) — with special thanks to retiring colleagues Bill Bellan (15 years) and Laura Dotson (35 years).

We also celebrate Ruth Weeks, associate director of collections services in the Bounds Law Library, who is retiring after more than 50 years. Read more: https://news.ua.edu/2023/08/from-50-to-5-employees-celebrate-service-year-milestones/

Thank you all. Roll Tide!

Congratulations, Terry McCarthy!

Today is Bar Exam day in Alabama. To our UA Law graduates and every student walking into that room this morning — the late nights, the outlines, the practice exams — it all comes down to today. Wishing you all the very best. Good luck! 🎓

Professor Grant Christensen, a nationally recognized expert in federal Indian law, has published a new essay in the Yale Law Journal Forum. With co-author Andrew Appleby, he argues that state and local taxes on land transferred to tribal governments make it harder for tribes to reacquire ancestral land, and that exempting those transfers would recognize tribal sovereignty and support rebuilding reservation communities.

Read the full piece here: https://yalelawjournal.org/essay/state-tax-exemptions-for-tribal-cultural-property

Meet the 2026 Finch Fellows ⚖️

Six of our students spent the summer serving rural Alabama communities in Scottsboro, Fayette, Union Springs, and Ozark, working alongside the judges who preside over those courts. On June 3, they attended oral arguments before the Alabama Supreme Court.

The Finch Fellowship Initiative gives students a firsthand look at rural practice: how much it asks of an attorney, and how much it offers in return.

Abigail Tanner (Ozark, AL), a summa cm laude graduate of the University of Alabama, served under Judge William Filmore in the 33rd Judicial Circuit.

Jensie Britt (Scottsboro, AL), a summa cm laude graduate of Athens State University, served under Judge John Graham in the 38th Judicial Circuit.

Logan Knapp (Milton, GA) served with Judge Sam Junkin in Fayette and plans to pursue a general practice after law school.

Rachel Jenkins (Huntsville, AL), a University of Alabama graduate, served with Judge John Graham in Scottsboro and plans to pursue a career in litigation.

Sidney Gilley (Enterprise, AL), an Auburn University graduate, served under Judge Smithart in the 3rd Judicial Circuit and is spending the second half of the summer with the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program.

Llayne Skinner (Danville, AL), a summa cm laude graduate of Mississippi University for Women, served under Judge Sam Junkin in the 24th Judicial Circuit.

We are proud of these outstanding students and grateful to the judges, attorneys, and communities who make the Finch Fellowship Initiative possible. Together, they are building the next generation of lawyers committed to serving Alabama communities.

Read more: https://tinyurl.com/2s475sjf

Watch this video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8lpnsPIEp8

Alabama Law welcomes Scott Donaldson as Executive Director for Graduate Law and CLE Programs and Assistant Professor of Law in Residence.
A former Alabama trial and appellate judge, Donaldson served on the bench for 18 years and authored more than 900 appellate opinions. He brings decades of trial and appellate experience, a long record of teaching for the National Judicial College and state judicial associations, and authorship of the Alabama Trial Notebook to his new role leading our continuing legal education and graduate law programs.
Welcome, Scott


https://law.ua.edu/news/former-appellate-judge-scott-donaldson-joins-alabama-law-to-lead-graduate-law-and-cle-programs/.

Professor Ben McMichael's research on the impact of medical scope-of-practice laws on healthcare access was cited in the Wall Street Journal. Learn more here:

Professor Ben McMichael’s Healthcare Research Cited in The Wall Street Journal - University of Alabama School of Law | The University of Alabama Professor Ben McMichael’s research on the impact of medical scope-of-practice laws on healthcare access was cited in the Wall Street Journal article, Nurse Practitioner Is Now the Hottest Job in Healthcare. In 2023, Professor McMichael published Supply-side health policy: The impact of scope-of-pr...

Professor Fred Vars has published his latest book, Through the Fire: How People with Mental Illness are Empowering Each Other. The book focuses on successful peer-led mental health response programs that have already been implemented, and proposes a shift in thinking about mental health as a condition rather than a character flaw. Learn more below.

Professor Fred Vars Publishes New Book on Peer-Led Mental Health Treatment - University of Alabama School of Law | The University of Alabama Professor Fred Vars, a leading expert on mental health law, has published his latest book, Through the Fire: How People with Mental Illness are Empowering Each Other. Through the Fire focuses on successful, impactful peer-led mental health response programs that have already been implemented, and pr...

Professor Grant Christensen published his newest essay, The Return to Autochthonous Law, in the University of Chicago Law Review. The piece is a review of the book Indigenous Governance by David Wilkins, but uses Wilkins’ text to make an original contribution to the field of federal Indian Law. The essay is available on SSRN:

The Return to Autochthonous Law This Book Review examines the significance of Professor David E. Wilkins's (Lumbee Nation) newest book Indigenous Governance: Clans, Constitutions, and Consent.