Episode 184 - Next Lawyer Up with Ron Sykstus featuring Chip Schwartz

Attorney Matt Carter is a partner with Fuller, Willingham and Carter located in Cullman, Alabama.  Matt's law firm is the largest firm in Cullman, and they handle a broad spectrum of legal matters for their clients.  A Cullman product where he was born and raised, it is hard to imagine Matt living anywhere else.  He tells a funny story about promising his wife that they would move to Cullman for just a couple of years at most after Matt finished law school.  And now, here they are still living in Cullman some twenty-five years later!  Matt is highly respected, personable and smart so it is no wonder that he has all of the work that he can handle.  I enjoyed getting to know Matt on this episode of the podcast.   

Attorney Maurice Scott is the founder of United Legal Team, a consumer law firm located in Huntsville, Alabama.  Maurice handles consumer law claims for financial justice.  As part of his consumer practice, Maurice focuses on helping consumers under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which is the federal law that controls everything that can or cannot be on an individual's credit report or background check.  An entrepreneur, Maurice has pretty much always run his own businesses and been his own boss, from growing up in Detroit to making his way to Huntsville to play football at Alabama A&M University. Many people also know Maurice as one of the stars of  "Love and Marriage Huntsville" on the Oprah Winfrey Network.  I enjoyed getting to know Maurice's story on this episode of the podcast.

Attorney Chip Schwartz is a co-founder  of Zarzaur and Schwartz, a well-known and highly regarded law firm based in Birmingham, Alabama.  The primary focus for Chip and his law firm is debt collection in several states to include Alabama, and he has been doing this work for almost fifty years.  Obviously, my work is on the other side of debt collection, but I always tell my clients that this law firm does its work in a professional and respectful manner and is widely respected by both debtor and collection attorneys in the South.   I enjoyed getting to know Chip's story on this episode of the podcast and to learn how he made his way down to Alabama from Cincinnati, Ohio to create this esteemed law firm.    

Attorney Nathan Hill is a lawyer practicing with the highly respected Huntsville law firm of Lanier Ford.  In fact, I have previously done podcasts with Lanier Ford lawyers Andy Sieja, Laura Harper, Alabama State Senator Sam Givhan and Robert Bailey, a retired lawyer and now full time author.  As I learned on this podcast, Nathan diverted into the practice of law after a realization that his lack of a 90 plus mile an hour fastball would probably prevent him from getting to the major league!  Nathan has made quite a name for himself in the time he has been practicing law to include receiving many accolades and serving as the past president of the Huntsville Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and as a chosen member of Class 19 of the Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum.  I enjoyed getting to know Nathan on this episode of the podcast.    

Attorney Ken Riemer is a South Alabama native who is an exceptional consumer lawyer. He is located in Mobile, Alabama.  Ken started his law career in environmental law and then, after working in "big law" for a number of years, decided to open his own law firm.  From there, he morphed his law practice into consumer law and he has been doing it ever since.  I enjoyed getting to know Ken's story on this episode of the podcast.

Attorney Luke Carlson is the managing partner of LS Carlson Law, PC with offices located in California and Florida.  Luke's firm handles business law, real estate matters, and estate planning. In addition to these practice areas , Luke and his firm are subject matter experts in the field of HOA law.  In fact, you can find Luke's book, "Bad HOA – The Homeowners Guide to Going to War and Reclaiming your Power" here. I enjoyed getting to know Luke and hearing his story on this episode of the podcast.   

Attorney Chris Weston is the managing partner of the long-established and well-respected law firm of Johnston, Moore and Weston in Huntsville, Alabama.  As you'll hear on this episode of the podcast, Chris was a nomad of sorts growing up, moving every three years or so.  Finally settled in North Alabama, Chris took another detour to attend Albany Law School in New York, before returning back to Huntsville.  As we discuss, Chris entered law school in 2008, just as the economy was starting to bottom out from the housing crisis.  Chris is an example of how a strong work ethic, combined with talent, can have a great  end result. I enjoyed getting to know his story on this episode of the podcast.    

Rico has been a very close friend of mine who I have known since we were young U.S. Army JAG First Lieutenants at Fort Bliss, Texas.  Beyond that, Rico introduced me to my wife of 36 years, Patty, as we all lived in the same apartment complex on the west side of El Paso.  As I always describe to people, Rico is the closest individual to being a "Renaissance man" that I have ever met.  Everything that he does, he does great!  His reputation at Fort Bliss was that of a fantastic lawyer whom everyone respected.  On this episode of the podcast, we talk about the arc of his career.  Here are two facts that I have always really enjoyed about him –Rico's burning desire to attend the University of Notre Dame since he was very young, as seen here,  and also his knowledge that he would be involved in immigration law for the long term of his career, as seen here in the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, Volume 1, Number 1 as editor in chief.  Rico is a great guy, widely admired, and a friend and mentor to many.  I enjoyed catching up with him on this episode of the podcast.  

Judge Karen Hall was the longest-serving judge in Madison County, Alabama history, when combined with her time on the bench as a District Court Judge followed by her long tenure as a Circuit Court judge, until her recent retirement. And when I say retired, I mean just retired as in this podcast was done on her first day off after working for a lifetime!  Judge Hall was instrumental in starting and then continuing the long tradition of judges in Madison County who are smart, compassionate, and considerate of both lawyers and litigants in their courtrooms, which is just the type of judge anyone wants deciding his or her case. Judge Hall is originally from Florida, who then made her way to Alabama for law school after fun filled years as an excellent student, Chi Omega sorority member, and leader at the University of Florida.  She subsequently met her husband, well-known North Alabama attorney Bill Hall, when both were clerking for Alabama appellate judges in Montgomery after law school. As she discusses on the podcast, Bill is from the Huntsville area, so they made their way here after their clerkships.  Two out of three of their children have followed in their footsteps and are licensed lawyers in Alabama as well. One of the most remarkable things about Judge Hall's career is how she continued to do work in the community, even while serving as a busy full-time judge.  She devoted a lot of her free time to making Huntsville and the Madison County area a better place for all of us. Franky, her involvement, and the work she did for so many organizations, locally and statewide, is too numerous to list here in what I am trying to keep to a brief blog post! I enjoyed getting to know Judge Hall's history on this episode of the podcast and I think you will like it as well!

Heath Brooks is a highly respected personal injury attorney with the Huntsville law firm of Timberlake, League and Brooks. You can also listen to previous podcast episodes with Heath's law partners Michael Timberlake here, Will League here and William Messervy here. In addition, this law firm sponsors the popular LawCall show on WAAY/ABC 31 on Sunday nights at 10:30pm.   As you'll hear, Heath has been working at this same law firm for almost two decades, following  a fortuitous concert featuring the Drive By Truckers. As a long-time musician, Heath and I also discussed Muscle Shoals and its place in American musical history.  As an aside, here is a podcast with attorney Rick Hall whose father founded the Fame Music Studio in the Shoals.  In addition to his interest in music, Heath also has a background in anthropology and archaeology, so much so that he got his degree in it and worked in the field for several years before going to law school.  He also received a Master's degree in Environmental Management at the same time he studied for his law degree.  Heath is as he appears on LawCall – affable, approachable, funny and smart.  It is no wonder that he has a lot of prospective clients seeking his representation! I enjoyed getting to know Heath's history on this episode of the podcast.