Alfred has practiced with Starnes since 1998 and is on the firm’s Executive Committee.
Alfred is an experienced trial lawyer, litigator, and counselor, and he excels at assisting clients to address and solve legal challenges. Alfred’s practice has been devoted to representing and defending employers, businesses, professionals, and governmental entities in civil litigation primarily in the areas of employment discrimination, wage and hour, complex litigation, commercial disputes, product liability, legal malpractice, governmental liability, and wrongful death/catastrophic injury. He has represented public and private entities in both federal and state courts, agency proceedings, and arbitrations. Alfred has defended manufacturers, restaurants, universities, financial institutions, municipalities, insurers, retailers, and professionals among his clients. He also performs investigations and provides training and counseling for employers.
Alfred is a trained mediator and is on the Panel of Neutrals for the Northern District of Alabama.
Professional Recognition
•Listed in Best Lawyers in America for Labor & Employment Litigation
•Named Litigation Star in Benchmark Litigation
•Top Leading Litigator by Chambers USA
•Litigation Counsel of America Trial Lawyer Honorary
•Appointed Chair of the Employment Law Committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel
Highlights
•Obtained a jury verdict for an international lumber company after a week-long trial against claims of race discrimination and violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
•Obtained full summary judgment in favor of our clients, an oncology practice, its President, and one of its physicians, dismissing claims of defamation and wantonness.
•Eleventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of a national retailer where the plaintiff claimed an alleged defect in the threshold of a doorway caused her injuries.
•Obtained defense verdict in a federal jury trial in favor of a store owner where a customer alleged the premises were unreasonably dangerous due to the manner in which a heavy box was shelved.
•Obtained defense verdict in a federal jury trial in federal court in favor of a city in a case involving an allegation of gender discrimination in promotion.
•Eleventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of FLSA and state law claims and grant of summary judgment as to Rehabilitation Act claim asserted by former city employee.
•Obtained arbitration ruling in favor of manufacturer employer on former employee's claim that his termination was in violation of a collective bargaining agreement.
•Obtained summary judgment on behalf of city, Mayor, Fire Chief and Fire Captain in claim asserted by firefighter alleging violation of his First Amendment rights when he was suspended for social media posts.
Presentations and Publications
•Algorithmic Bias: The Law’s Newest Frontier and How it Affects Litigation and Your Firm, International Association of Defense Council (IADC) Midyear Meeting, February 28, 2019
•Prognostications into the Future of HR under a Trump Administration, Birmingham Society for Human Resource Management, December 14, 2016
•The Impact of HR Investigations on Litigation, November 1, 2016
•Social Media and Employment Law, University of Alabama’s Employment Law Update CLE, December 17, 2015
•Professionally Interacting with Alabama’s Courts - Practical Advice for the New Lawyer, CLE Sponsored by Circuit Court Judges Eugene R. Verin and Annetta H. Verin, and the Alabama Lawyers Association, June 20, 2014
•Individual Capacity Claims Against Government Employees, National Business Institute Seminar, Legal Issues Involving Local Governments, July 30, 2013
•Lessons Learned from Mock Depositions, HR Counsel Meeting, Ashville, NC, April 20, 2013
•Employer’s Liability for Workplace Violence, Managing Violence in the Workplace Seminar, Samford University, April 12, 2013
•Common Liability Issues, Police Liability Seminar, October 2011
News & Insights
•Benchmark Litigation 2026 Ranks Starnes Davis Florie as a Highly Recommended Litigation Firm
•35 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2026
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked as a Highly Recommended Litigation Firm in the 2025 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
•L&E Newsletter Alert - August 21, 2024
•L&E Newsletter Alert - August 2024
•33 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2025
•SDF Labor & Employment Newsletter Alert - July 2024
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked a Top Law Firm by Chambers USA 2024
•SDF Sponsors the 2024 UA School of Law BLSA Annual Scholarship Awards Banquet & Congratulates Alfred Perkins on the Gail K. Johnson Award
•SDF’s Alfred Perkins Named to Birmingham Business Journal’s “Who’s Who in Diversity & Inclusion”
•SDF’s Umbach & Perkins Obtain Defense Verdict in Employment Discrimination Trial In Federal Court
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked as a “Highly Recommended Litigation Firm” in the 2024 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
•SDF Labor & Employment Newsletter Alert - September 2023
•30 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2024
•Alfred Perkins & Grace Ann Azar Obtain Defense Verdict for National Retailer
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked a Top Law Firm by Chambers USA 2023
•Are your Policies & Practices Aligned with the Upcoming Enhanced Protections for Pregnant Workers?
Fun Facts
Alfred served as Attorney General of the Mississippi State University Student Association. He was also elected a Senator of the MSU SA. During his time at MSU, Alfred was a member the Road Runners (student recruiters), Black Voices Gospel Choir, and the Famous Maroon Band (trombone), as well as held part-time jobs as a Resident Assistant, Library Assistant and Campus Telephone Operator.
Alfred was initiated into Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. at Mississippi State University. He remains a proud and active member of the fraternity through a Birmingham graduate chapter.
While at the University of Alabama School of law, Alfred served for 3 years on its Honor Court.
