Since graduating from law school 41 years ago, Bob MacKenzie has had the good fortune to work at Starnes Davis Florie. The founding partners of the firm stressed that to be successful, a lawyer should have a keen understanding of the law, commitment to the client, and there was no substitute for preparation. These principles remain as true today as the founders intended 50 years ago. As a result, the firm has provided Bob and others the opportunity to practice law the way it is supposed to be. Corners are not cut, resumes are not exaggerated, results are real, and all without sacrificing professionalism.
For the majority of his career, Bob has focused on defending medical and legal malpractice actions. Success in those areas has allowed Bob’s practice to expand to include commercial litigation, shareholder derivative suits, and unique matters such as defending church conferences in ecclesiastical disputes and addressing the disparity of school funding. Bob has tried in excess of 115 jury trials to a verdict. Outside the traditional courtroom setting, Bob represents lawyers, judges, and other professionals before Alabama regulatory boards and the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. He has published multiple articles on the defense of legal malpractice suits and ethics.
For his effort, Bob is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Within the College, he has served as Chair of the Outreach Committee, State Chair for Alabama, and the Board of Regents. Bob is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and International Society of Barristers. He is a Past-President of both the Birmingham Bar Association and the Judge James Horton Inn of Court. Bob is recognized by Chambers USA in the areas of medical malpractice defense and commercial litigation.
Professional Recognition
fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, where he has served as the State Chair for Alabama and on the Board of Regents
Past President of the Birmingham Bar Association (2015 - 2016)
Past - President of the Judge James E. Horton American Inn of Court (2018 - 2020)
Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and previously served on the National Board of Directors
fellow of the International Society of Barristers
Top Leading Litigator by Chambers USA
Listed in Best Lawyers in America. In addition, Best Lawyers in America has named Bob MacKenzie the “Birmingham Best Lawyers Medical Malpractice Defense Lawyer of the Year”for 2013
Life fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the Alabama Law Foundation and of the Birmingham Bar Foundation
Named “Litigation Star” in Benchmark Litigation
Super Lawyer in Alabama by Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine
An AV rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings
Presentations and Publications
•Make Your New Year Happy - Avoid a Suit for Legal Malpractice, CLE by the Bundle/Cumberland, Birmingham, AL, December 20, 2018.
•Direct & Cross Examination of Expert Witnesses, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham, AL, March 28, 2017.
•Ethical Issues Facing Attorneys, James E. Horton Inn of Court, Birmingham, AL, March 21, 2017.
•Alabama State Bar Professionalism, New Admitted Members of the Alabama State Bar, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham, AL, October 23, 2015.
•Direct & Cross Examination of Expert Witnesses, Alabama Defense Trial Academy, Birmingham, AL, August 7, 2015.
•Cross Examination of Plaintiff’s Expert Witness, Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Trial Academy, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham, AL, August 8, 2014.
•Common Oversights That Lead to Malpractice Claims, Attorneys Insurance Mutual Of the South, Inc., Mobile, AL, November 8, 2013.
•Ethics: Avoiding a Suit for Legal Malpractice, The Judge James Edwin Horton American Inn of Court, Birmingham, AL, October 22, 2013.
•Responding to a Bar Complaint, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 73. No. 2, March 2012.
•Welcome to the Trophy Generation, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 73. No. 1, January 2012.
•Jury Misconduct What Happens Behind Closed Doors, Alabama Law Review, Vol. 62, No. 3, 2011.
•Seeking a Recusal: Calling the Judge a Lizard Won’t Help Your Cause, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 71, No. 3, May 2010.
•Nine Ways to Avoid a Suit for Legal Malpractice, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 65, No. 4, July 2004.
•The Professional Liability of Attorneys in Alabama, Cumberland Law Review Vol. 30, No. 3 (1999-2000).
News & Insights
• Starnes Davis Florie Obtains Multiple Appellate Victories
• Twelve Starnes Attorneys Selected for Mid-South Super Lawyers 2025
• Benchmark Litigation 2026 Ranks Starnes Davis Florie as a Highly Recommended Litigation Firm
• Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2026
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked a Top Law Firm by Chambers USA 2025
•Fourteen Attorneys Selected for Mid-South Super Lawyers 2024
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked as a Highly Recommended Litigation Firm in the 2025 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
•33 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2025
•Starnes Davis Florie Achieves Multiple Appellate Victories
•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
•Eleven Attorneys Selected for Mid-South Super Lawyers 2023
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked as a “Highly Recommended Litigation Firm” in the 2024 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
•30 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2024
•SDF Attorneys MacKenzie & White Obtain Defense Verdict in 6-Day Wrongful Death Trial
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked a Top Law Firm by Chambers USA 2023
•Starnes Attorneys MacKenzie & Still Secure Defense Verdict in 5-Day Wrongful Death Trial
•16 Starnes Attorneys Listed in the 2022 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
•Starnes Davis Florie Highly Ranked in Benchmark Litigation 2023
•30 SDF ATTORNEYS LISTED IN BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA 2023
Highlights
Secured a writ of mandamus from the Alabama Supreme Court in Ex parte Alabama-West Fla. Conference of the United Methodist Church, Inc., directing the trial court to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, as the dispute centered on an internal church disaffiliation vote rather than a neutral property issue (Plaintiff’s have filed an application for rehearing).
Obtained a defense verdict in a 6-day wrongful death case in favor of a defendant, Hospitalist, in a case alleging failure to ensure that a patient was placed on necessary cardiac monitoring.
Secured a defense verdict in a medical malpractice wrongful death suit following a five-day jury trial, involving allegations of improper administration of Tissue Plasminogen Activator (“TPA”) to a stroke patient by the defendant Emergency Room nurse and hospital. The case was bifurcated under the Alabama Legal Services Liability Act resulting in the dismissal of the suit against the attorney.
Following a six-day trial, obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a plastic surgeon in a case involving post-operative complications from mesh used during the surgical procedure, which was chest reconstruction following breast cancer.
Following a nine-day trial, obtained a defense verdict for a defendant Hospitalist in a case alleging injuries from an alleged failure to diagnose spinal cord compression.
Obtained a defense verdict in favor of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in a case involving a bilateral total joint replacement of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
Obtained a defense verdict for a defendant gynecologist in a case alleging negligent failure to diagnose breast cancer, resulting in a mastectomy and chemotherapy.
Removal and dismissal of legal malpractice claim against out of state attorney and law firm.
Obtained summary judgment in a legal malpractice suit pending in the United States District Court for New Jersey arising out of an underlying patent litigation matter.
Obtained summary judgment in favor of a law firm in a suit for legal malpractice pending in Federal Court arising out of an underlying will contest.
Obtained defense verdict for an addiction medicine physician in case arising out of care provided during the patient’s detoxification.
Obtained a defense verdict in favor of an anesthesiologist in a case arising out of a cervical epidural block which led to a spinal cord injury.
Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an OB/GYN after a five day trial in a case arising out of pregnancy complications.
Obtained a defense verdict in favor of two pathologists in a case arising out of a false positive interpretation of breast tissue which led to unnecessary surgery.
Obtained summary judgment in legal malpractice action arising out of alleged negligent failure to properly construct a multi-million dollar bond issue. Decision was affirmed by written opinion issued by the Alabama Supreme Court
of the Alabama Law Foundation. Bob is a member of the National Board of Directors for the Professional Liability Defense Federation. He currently serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Birmingham Bar Foundation and has served on the Executive Committee of the Birmingham Bar Association. He currently serves as Co-Chairman of the Grievance Committee for the Birmingham Bar Association. He is a member of the Judge Edward Horton American Inn of Court. Bob regularly speaks on ethics and litigation issues including the defense of physicians and attorneys.
Bob is an AV rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review RatingsTM and has been named one of the top attorneys in the state of Alabama by the 2010 - 2013 editions of Alabama Super Lawyers® magazine.
Best Lawyers named Bob the "Birmingham Best Lawyers Medical Malpractice Law-Defendants Lawyer of the Year" for 2013. In addition, Bob has been listed in the 2008 - 2013 editions of Best Lawyers in America®, under the areas of medical malpractice and legal malpractice. (no representation is made as to selection criteria)
Highlights
* After a six day legal malpractice case, plaintiff failed to recover any damages.
* Obtained a defense verdict in favor of an anesthesiologist in a case arising out of a cervical epidural block which led to a spinal cord injury.
* Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an OB/GYN after a five day trial in a case arising out of pregnancy complications.
* Obtained a defense verdict in favor of two pathologists in a case arising out of a false positive interpretation of breast tissue.
* After nineteen days of trial, obtained judgment as a matter of law on behalf of an internist in a wrongful death case involving allegations of failure to diagnose a liver hematoma in an ICU patient.
* Obtained summary judgment in legal malpractice action arising out of alleged negligent failure to properly construct a multi-million dollar bond issue. Decision was affirmed by written opinion issued by the Alabama Supreme Court.
* Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an Emergency Department physician in an eleven day wrongful death trial in the Circuit Court of Mobile County.
* Summary judgment affirmed by the United States Eleventh Circuit of Appeals on behalf of an attorney charged with failing to adequately represent the client in an underlying criminal action.
* Summary judgment affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court arising out of an attorney's failure to properly investigate potential insurance coverage on behalf of a client in an underlying civil claim.
Community Involvement
Bob serves as a member of the Dean's Advisory Board for Cumberland School of Law. He previously served as Chairman for the Board from 2008-2010. He is the past chairman of the 2005-2006 Cumberland School of Law Alumni Fundraising Campaign and was selected as the school's "Volunteer of the Year" for 2006. Bob is actively involved at the Cathedral Church of the Advent. He and his wife, Jeanie have three children.
Speeches and Publications
Recent Speeches
* Mandatory Professionalism, New Admitted Members of the Alabama State Bar, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham, AL, February 22, 2013
* Avoiding Suits for Legal Malpractice, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham, AL, December 20, 2012.
* The Closing Argument, Cumberland School of Law Birmingham, AL, October 11, 2012.
* Lessons Learned from the 2009 Sugar Bowl, Utah Association for Justice, Salt Lake City, UT, October 3, 2012.
* Exaggerating Your Legal Experience Can Lead to Trouble, Professional Liability Defense Federation, Chicago, IL, September 26, 2012.
* The American College of Trial Lawyers Code of Pretrial and Trial Conduct as the Basis of Ethical Practice of Law, University of Alabama School of Law CLE, Tuscaloosa, AL, September 21, 2012.
* Liability Trends in Medical Malpractice, ProAssurance Seminar/ 8th Annual Medical Liability Insurance ExecuSummit, Mohegan Sun, CT, September 11, 2012.
* Direct and Cross Examination of Expert Witnesses, Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Birmingham, AL, August 8, 2012.
* Avoiding Medical Malpractice, Alabama Sports Medicine Foundation, Birmingham, AL, June 11, 2012.
Publications
* "Responding to a Bar Complaint," The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 73, No. 2, pages 137-141, March 2012.
* "Welcome to the Trophy Generation - Exaggerating Your Expertise Can Lead to Trouble," The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 73, No. 1, pages 40-45, Jan. 2012.
* "Jury Misconduct What Happens Behind Closed Doors," Alabama Law Review, Vol. 62, No. 3, pages 623-643, 2011.
* "Seeking a Recusal: Calling the Judge a Lizard Won't Help Your Cause," The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 71, No. 3, pages 220-227, May 2010.
* "Review of Placental Pathology and Fetal Inflammatory Response to Infection," 3 Litigation Commentary and Rev. 25, Jan. 2010.
* "Nine Ways to Avoid a Suit for Legal Malpractice," The Alabama Lawyer, July 2004.
* "The Professional Liability of Attorneys in Alabama," The Cumberland Law Review, Vol. 30 No. 3, 1999-2000.
Pending Publications
* "Ethical Considerations and The Impact on Suits for Legal Malpractice."
* "Patient Complaints - When the Dental Board Calls."
Reported Cases
Coilplus-Alabama, Inc. v. Johnnie F. Vann; Sirote & Permutt, P.C., No. 1080618 (April 16, 2010).
Elaine Leiser v. Raymond R. Fletcher, M.D., P.C., 978 So.2d 700 (Ala. 2007).
James E. Wade v. Dr. Franklin H. Long, 2007 WL 2459976 (August 31, 2007).
Robert E. Tyler v. Mobile Infirmary Association, Alabama Supreme Court 1041484 (September 14, 2007).
Denbo v. DeBray, 2006 WL 1793755, Ala., June 30, 2006.
Ex parte Mendel, 942 So. 2d 289 (Ala. 2006).
Rutledge v. Freeman, 914 So. 2d 364 (Ala. Civ. App. 2004).
Mobile Infirmary Medical Center v. Hodgen, 884 So. 2d 801 (Ala. 2003).
Elliott v. Van Kleef, 830 So. 2d 726 (Ala. 2002).
Morrow v. Gibson, 827 So. 2d 756 (Ala. 2002).
Taylor v. Stevenson, 820 So. 2d 810 (Ala. 2001).
Ex parte Pfizer, Inc., 746 So. 2d 960 (Ala. 1999).
Marsh v. Wenzel, 732 So. 2d 985 (Ala. 1998).
Continental Cas. Co. v. Brooks, 698 So. 2d 763 (Ala. 1997).
Downey v. Mobile Infirmary Medical Center, 682 So. 2d 442 (Ala. 1996).
Downey v. Mobile Infirmary Medical Center, 662 So. 2d 1152 (Ala. 1995).
Dews v. Mobile Infirmary Ass'n, 659 So. 2d 61 (Ala. 1995).
Mobile Infirmary v. Delchamps, 642 So. 2d 954 (Ala. 1994).
Henson v. Mobile Infirmary Ass'n, 646 So. 2d 954 (Ala. 1994).
Rose v. Rogers, 632 So. 2d 559 (Ala. 1993).
Jefferson Clinic, P.C. v. Roberson, 626 So. 2d 1243 (Ala. 1993).
Williams v. M. Kimerling & Sons, Inc., 611 So. 2d 272 (Ala. 1992).
Thursby v. Dabbs, 599 So. 2d 602 (Ala. 1992).
Glover v. Family Medical Services, Inc., 578 So. 2d 1057 (Ala. 1991).
Rose v. Decatur General Hosp., 571 So. 2d 997 (Ala. 1990).
Horton v. Shelby Medical Center, 562 So. 2d 127 (Ala. 1989).
Howard v. Powell, 522 So. 2d 280 (Ala. 1989).
Holton v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina, 56 F. Supp.2d 1338 (Ala. 1999).
Related News
5/2/2013, Twenty-Six Starnes Davis Florie Attorneys Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers 2013
4/22/2013, Starnes Davis Florie Lawyers Secure Appellate Reversal & Rendering of Adverse Malpractice Verdict
9/19/2012, Seventeen Starnes Davis Florie Attorneys Named to the 2013 Edition of Best Lawyers®
9/19/2012, Tony Davis & Bob MacKenzie Named Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the Year" for 2013
5/1/2012, Twenty-Two Starnes Attorneys Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers
3/30/2012, Starnes Attorney, Bob MacKenzie Publishes Article in The Alabama Lawyer
9/2/2011, Nine Starnes Attorneys Listed in 2011 Super Lawyers Business Edition
9/1/2011, Sixteen Starnes Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers 2012
5/3/2011, MacKenzie & Bromberg Publish Article in The Alabama Law Review
4/29/2011, Twenty Starnes Attorneys Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers
4/20/2011, MacKenzie Tries Legal Malpractice Case to Verdict
12/22/2010, Axon and MacKenzie Obtain Defense Verdict
12/16/2010, Garton, Wright & MacKenzie Obtain Defense Verdict in Med Mal Trial
10/15/2010, Sellers and MacKenzie Obtain Defense Verdict for Pathologists
10/6/2010, MacKenzie Inducted into The American College of Trial Lawyers
8/7/2010, Sixteen Starnes Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers 2011
6/28/2010, Starnes Attorneys Published Article in The Alabama Lawyer
