Bradley partner Robert Maddox elected American Bar Foundation Fellow
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Robert Maddox, a partner in the firm’s Birmingham office, has been elected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF). “We congratulate Robert on his acceptance as a Fellow with the prestigious American Bar Foundation,” stated Bradley Birmingham Office Managing Partner Dawn Helms Sharff. “As a nationally recognized practitioner, Robert is well deserving of this honor for his work and leadership at our firm and in the broader legal community.” Maddox is the practice group chair of Bradley’s 90+ attorney Banking & Financial Services Practice Group. In the past decade, he has handled more national/multi-state state attorneys general investigations and related consent judgments than any other attorney in the United States. He also is a regular speaker at national real estate programs, banking, and financial services industry conferences. Maddox is a faculty fellow and teaches real estate law and regulatory compliance for the School of Mortgage Banking. In addition, he taught classes at the University of Alabama School of Law on real estate finance and development and state constitutional law, as well as continues to teach classes on consumer finance and enforcement, real property finance and security, and corporate governance as an adjunct professor at the Cumberland School of Law. The ABF Fellows is an honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars whose careers have demonstrated dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of the communities. Only 1 percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction gain Membership in the Fellows. ABF was founded in 1952. It is an independent, nonprofit organization that seeks to advance the understanding and improvement of law through research projects of unmatched scale and quality on the most pressing issues facing the legal system in the United States and the world.
Paul DeMarco: Expect to see 2024 presidential candidates visit Alabama soon
This past year was one of the more competitive election cycles in recent Alabama history. Between the United States Senate, Governor, and Legislative seats, the Republican party primaries in Alabama were as expensive as we have ever seen. We still have the general elections in the fall but count on the GOP to win every one of those races. The Grand Old Party will maintain its hold on every statewide office in the state and enjoy super majorities in both chambers of the Alabama Legislature. Enthusiasm for conservative candidates is strong, and disdain for Democrats in Washington DC is high in Alabama. Thus proving Alabama to be one of the most Republican states in the Nation. Do not be surprised if you start to see candidates seeking the Republican nomination to challenge President Joe Biden in 2024 start making the rounds in the state soon. As soon as the mid-term elections are over, the race to seek the White House will start the next day. Candidates for the Nation’s highest office will soon announce their intentions. In addition to former President Donald Trump, there will be a strong group of top Republicans looking to challenge the Democratic ticket and take back the executive branch. Alabama has moved its elections up in the primary season, thus making it a more attractive visit to those who want to be the next president. All of the candidates spent time in Alabama in 2016, when the party nominations were wide open. Expect to see that happen again in 2024 and in the years leading up to the party primaries in our state. Count on Alabama being an important part of the equation during the next presidential election cycle in 2024. Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives and can be found on Twitter at @Paul_DeMarco.
Joe Biden improves ‘significantly,’ throat still sore from COVID
President Joe Biden continues to “improve significantly” despite a lingering sore throat from his coronavirus infection, according to an update Sunday from his doctor. “The president is responding to therapy as expected,” wrote Dr. Kevin O’Connor in his latest note. Biden has been taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug that helps reduce the chance of severe illness. O’Connor wrote that Biden still has a sore throat, though other symptoms, including a cough, runny nose, and body aches, “have diminished considerably.” Biden tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday morning. O’Connor said Saturday that the president likely became infected with a highly contagious variant, known as BA.5, that is spreading throughout the country, and Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said Sunday, “It is the BA.5 variant.” “Thank goodness our vaccines and therapeutics work well against it, which is why I think the president’s doing well,” Jha told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Jha also gave a positive update on the president’s health. “I checked in with his team late last night. He was feeling well. He had a good day yesterday,” Jha said. That variant is an offshoot of the omicron strain that emerged late last year. It is believed responsible for the vast majority of coronavirus cases in the country. He has been isolating in the White House residence since then. Administration officials have emphasized that his symptoms are mild because he has received four vaccine doses, and he started taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid after becoming infected. The White House has not released any photos or videos of Biden since Friday when the media watched him participate in a virtual meeting with economic advisers. Jha pledged that the White House would keep giving updates on the president’s condition and whether he might have long-term symptoms. “We think it’s really important for the American people to know how well their president is doing,” he said. “Obviously, if he has persistent symptoms, obviously if any of them interfere with his ability to carry out his duties, we will disclose that early and often with the American people. But I suspect that this is going to be a course of COVID that we’ve seen in many Americans who have been fully vaccinated, double boosted, getting treated with those tools in hand,” Jha said. “The president’s been doing well, and we’re going to expect that he’s going to continue to do so.” Biden’s press secretary has said 17 people, including members of the president’s senior staff and at least one member of Congress, were determined to have been in close contact with Biden when he might have been contagious. None has tested positive so far, Jha said on “Fox News Sunday.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Lawmakers coordinate effort to stop blacklisted Chinese firms from receiving U.S. tax dollars
Several Republican senators introduced new legislation this week that would prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from going to certain Chinese firms. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the Turn Off the Tap Act along with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. The bill would stop any federal funds from going to companies that have been blacklisted by the Department of Commerce’s Entity List and the Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List. “It’s not only dangerous to fund Chinese businesses with American taxpayer dollars, but it’s also dumb,” Rubio said. “This bill would prohibit federal funds from bankrolling Chinese, and other firms we know are not acting in our best interest.” Lawmakers also argued China is taking advantage of the U.S. while not addressing its human rights violations. “We know Communist China will stop at nothing to try and exploit American markets and take advantage of American businesses operating within the genocidal regime’s borders,” Scott said. “The Turn Off the Tap Act will stop the flow of hardworking Americans’ dollars to countries like Communist China who want to hurt our economy. This legislation is a no-brainer, and I urge the support of my colleagues for its quick passage.” The federal funding goes to these companies via federal grants or contracts which, aside from the national security concerns, threatens American businesses since Chinese companies have a history of predatory investment and stealing U.S. intellectual property. Experts say Chinese companies often use cultural exchange programs or shell companies to access U.S. investment. “It is unconscionable that the Biden administration has enabled the Chinese Communist Party to rake in cash from American taxpayers,” Blackburn said. “Rather than letting Joe Biden award grants or sign federal contracts that undermine the United States, I am cosponsoring legislation to cut our adversaries off. The White House needs to stop emboldening the New Axis of Evil and start putting America first.” Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., introduced companion legislation in the House with the same goal. “The American people’s tax dollars should not be invested in blacklisted Chinese companies,” she said. “Yet today, because of weak policies in Washington, they continue to be. It’s time we cut off the tap. “The Chinese Communist Party’s predatory trade policies, significant human rights abuses, and threats to American security are absolutely unacceptable.” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., introduced a similar bill Monday, the “Time to Choose Act,” which would “prohibit the Department of Defense and other federal agencies from contracting with consulting firms like McKinsey & Company who are simultaneously providing services to the Chinese government or its affiliates.” Hawley said, “The fact that these consultants are awarded huge contracts by our Defense Department and other federal agencies while they are simultaneously working to advance China’s efforts to coerce the United States is appalling and completely unacceptable. It is well past time that we hold these companies accountable and prohibit this kind of conflict of interest in government contracting.” Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Alabama jobless rate dips to record 2.6%
Alabama’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.6% in June, marking the third straight month with a record low for the state, officials said Friday. The rate, which dropped one-tenth of a percentage point from May, represented 60,388 people without jobs statewide, a new record low, according to a statement by Gov. Kay Ivey. More than 2.2 million people were working in the state, an increase of about 5,300 from a month earlier. Alabama’s rate was lower than the U.S. unemployment rate of 3.6% for the month. Jobless rates in June declined in 10 states and the District of Columbia, rose in two states, and were unchanged in 38 states, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Shelby County, located just south of Birmingham, had the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.3%, followed by Cullman and Marshall counties at 2.6%. Located in rural western Alabama, Wilcox County had the state’s highest jobless rate, 10.1%. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Parker Snider: On abortion, the Alabama legislature did it right
When it came to Alabama’s response to the Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade, it is hard to imagine a more seamless transition to an abortion-free state. Around 9:15 a.m. on Friday, June 24th, news of the Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overruling Roe v. Wade reached Alabama. At 10:37 a.m., Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall released a statement promising that his office was immediately filing motions to dissolve any injunctions against pro-life bills held up in the court system. These would have to be dissolved before pro-life measures could go into effect in Alabama. Just before 4:00 p.m., U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson lifted the injunction on the Human Life Protection Act, which bans elective abortion in Alabama, after a conference call with AG Marshall. With very limited exceptions, such as for the life of the mother, abortion was now illegal in Alabama. This seamless transition to an abortion-free state, though buoyed by the faithful service of AG Marshall and the right judgment of Judge Thompson, is largely a result of the Alabama legislature’s insistence on getting the abortion issue right. In 2019, the Alabama legislature did just that. They passed the most pro-life law in the nation, a law that recognized the life of the unborn child and protected it from untimely death. The law was carefully crafted to be effective and implemented easily, without copious confusion around definitions or hidden loopholes for lawsuits to stop the law from going into effect. During the debate around the bill, legislators stood firm in their argument that all unborn children, regardless of how they were conceived or whether their parents desired to keep them, were worthy of life and of protection. They also were especially careful to ensure that expectant mothers are not prosecuted for pursuing an abortion. Only the person providing or performing the abortion is liable under Alabama law. Never the mother. The legislature was also careful that, in their quest to protect life, they did not overextend their reach into issues like in vitro fertilization and emergency contraception. Though opinions abound on these topics, the goal of the Human Life Protection Act was kept intentionally narrow to make it as effective as possible. All in all, the legislature did the abortion issue right, and we are seeing the fruit of their labor today. The now-effective Human Life Protection Act is true to pro-life principles, will keep women from prosecution, and represents Alabama’s conservative values well. It is a morally just law of which our state ought to be proud. It was not a haphazard political stunt but a good and thoughtful policy that considered what implementation might look like if the ban were ever allowed to go into effect. None of this thoughtfulness was portrayed by the late-night television hosts plastering the faces of Alabama legislators, who were called “dumb” and “sexist” on screens across America. Legislators likely knew those types of attacks would come, and they should be applauded for voting as they did. Governor Kay Ivey, who signed the act into law in 2019, recently rejected a call to weaken the ban. This week, House Democrats asked her to call a special session of the legislature to reconsider the Human Life Protection Act. To her credit, the Governor’s Office has made it clear that such a special session would not happen. When drafting and supporting Alabama’s abortion ban, both the legislature and the governor put their pro-life convictions into action. Their joint effort made it possible, when Roe was overturned, for Alabama to effortlessly transition into the pro-life sanctuary our residents have always wanted our state to be. Of course, this is only the beginning. There will likely be a well-funded pressure campaign to manipulate our government into weakening this law. If Alabama residents want to maintain our status as a pro-life sanctuary, legislators and the governor alike will need the public’s support to stay the course. Parker Snider is the Director of Policy Analysis for the Alabama Policy Institute.
