Stephen serves as General Counsel of the firm. Prior to that, Stephen has served as the firm’s Hiring Partner.
A majority of Stephen’s practice is devoted to defending malpractice claims against long term care providers and claims against insurers, third party administrators, and employers for breach of contract, bad faith, fraud, and the tort of outrage. Stephen also devotes a significant portion of his practice to representing healthcare providers in a variety of regulatory matters. Since 2012, Stephen has represented several attorneys and law firms in legal malpractice lawsuits and investigations before the Alabama State Bar Association. Stephen has recently assisted healthcare providers in investigating and litigating Qui Tam (false claims) and Stark Law matters. He has recently defended several church conferences in litigation.
Professional Recognition
•Serves on The Alabama State Bar's Board of Bar Commissioners for the 10th Judicial Circuit, Place 2
•Member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC)
•Listed in Best Lawyers in America for Health Care Litigation and Legal Malpractice - Defendants
•Named a Super Lawyer for the State of Alabama by Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine
•An AV Preeminent rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings
•Served on the faculty at the 2013, 2015 - 2019, and 2021-2023 Alabama Defense Lawyers’ Association Deposition Boot Camp
•Previously served as President of the Alabama Defense Lawyers’ Association
Highlights
•Successfully defended an appeal, where the Alabama Supreme Court affirmed without opinion the trial court’s order compelling arbitration of the plaintiff’s wrongful death and medical malpractice claims against a long-term health facility, rejecting arguments that the arbitration agreement was unenforceable due to lack of mutuality of obligation and other grounds.
•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).
•Secured a defense verdict in nursing home wrongful death medical malpractice case alleging the defendant failed to properly diagnose and treat a resident for Clostridium Difficile Colitis.
•Secured Rule 12 dismissal of False Claims Act Complaint against medical provider.
•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.
•Obtained a defense award, after a three-day Arbitration, on behalf of a nursing home in a personal injury and wrongful death case arising from resident falling from a wheelchair.
•Obtained a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court, affirming summary judgment on tort of outrage claim against third party administrator arising from administration of workers’ compensation claim.
•Secured a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court affirming a Rule 12 dismissal for our client on Tort of Outrage and Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy claims.
•Secured a dismissal of nursing home personal injury malpractice case.
•Summary Judgment for a nursing facility in a wrongful death medical malpractice Arbitration.
•Rule 12 dismissal for employer in wrongful termination and tort of outrage claims.
•Secured summary judgment for third-party administrator in tort of outrage claim arising from administration of workers’ compensation claim.
•Secured summary judgment in nursing home personal injury and wrongful death medical malpractice case.
•Rule 12 dismissal for individual lawyers and law firm in legal malpractice claim.
•Secured a summary judgment in Arbitration for a nursing home client in a wrongful death medical malpractice case.
•Secured a dismissal of breach of contract and declaratory judgment coverage claims against homeowner’s insurance company in United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
•Summary judgment for defendant employer on tort of outrage and fraud claims.
•Removal and dismissal of legal malpractice claim against out of state attorney and law firm.
•Dismissal of third party suit for contribution and indemnification against Alabama law firm in a legal malpractice case.
•Summary Judgment for attorney and law firm in legal malpractice lawsuit.
•Defense verdict in two-week wrongful death case involving application of South Carolina Wrongful Death Act.
•Summary judgment for pediatric orthopedic surgeon in medical malpractice suit.
•Reversal by Eight Circuit Court of Appeals of United States District Court Order dismissing 9 U.S.C. 4 Complaint to Compel Arbitration for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
•Northport Health Services of Arkansas, LLC, et al v. Wayne Rutherford, - F.3d -, 2010 WL 1929777 (8th Cir. May 14, 2010).
•Northport Health Services of Arkansas, LLC, et al. v. Wayne Rutherford, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Isaac Mitchell Rutherford (W.D. Ark. March 17, 2009).
•Northport Health Services of Arkansas, LLC d/b/a Springdale Health and Rehab. Center, et al. v. Tresa Robinson, as Special Administratrix of the Estate of Donna Faye Snow, deceased, et al, 2009 WL 140983 (W.D. Ark. Jan. 12, 2009).
•Vulcan Materials Company v. Alabama Insurance Guaranty Association, et al., Slip Opinion, 2007 WL 2216896 (Ala. Aug. 3, 2007)(No. 1060506).
Presentations and Publications
•Defending Abuse of an Aged Individual Claims, the Alabama Nursing Home Association Annual Meeting, Orange Beach, AL (April 24, 2018).
•Professionalism to the Court, Your Client, and to Opposing Counsel, moderator of a panel discussion presented on to new admittees to the Alabama State Bar at the University of Alabama School of Law, Tuscaloosa, AL (January 26, 2018).
•Overview of Alabama Legal Services Liability Act and Avoiding Suits for Legal Malpractice, Birmingham Bar Association, Birmingham, AL (December 5, 2017).
•Alabama State Bar Mandatory Professionalism CLE for New Admittees, University of Alabama School of Law, Tuscaloosa, AL (January 22, 2016).
•Ethics: Avoiding a Suit for Legal Malpractice, Marshall County Bar Association, Guntersville, AL (April 25, 2014).
•Trends in Nursing Home Litigation - Avoiding the Multi-Million Dollar Mistake, Senior Care Pharmacy Conference, Birmingham, AL (April 10, 2014).
•Are You As Guilty As The Criminal? Liability For Criminal Acts Of Third Parties And Employees, Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel Quarterly Publication, FDCC Quarterly (Fall 2013).
•Moderator, Voir Dire and Jury Selection, American Bar Association Symposium Teleconference (Fall 2010).
•Are Marketing Tactics of Pharmaceutical/Device Manufacturers Helping to Erode the Learned Intermediary Doctrine?, Defense Research Institute’s The Voice (July 2010).
News & Insights
• Starnes Davis Florie Obtains Multiple Appellate Victories
• Twelve Starnes Attorneys Selected for Mid-South Super Lawyers 2025
•35 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2026
•Fourteen Attorneys Selected for Mid-South Super Lawyers 2024
•33 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2025
•Starnes Davis Florie Achieves Multiple Appellate Victories
•Stephen Still Elected as a Member of the Board of Bar Commissioners for the 10th Judicial Circuit
•Bates & Still Secure Defense Verdict in Nursing Home Arbitration
•Eleven Attorneys Selected for Mid-South Super Lawyers 2023
•30 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2024
•SDF’s Stephen Still Accepted into the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC)
•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
•Bates, Still & Claud Obtain Defense Award for a Nursing Home in Arbitration
•SDF’s Stephen Still Appointed President of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association
•Favorable Alabama Supreme Court Ruling for Newton, Butler & Still
•Starnes Attorneys Umbach, Newton & Still Secure Favorable Ruling from Alabama Supreme Court
•TWENTY-TWO ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2021 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
•SDF Attorneys Receive Various Appointments
•Twenty-Six Attorneys Named to the 2020 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
in the American Bar Association Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Section. He also served on the faculty at the 2013 Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Deposition Boot Camp.
Stephen also serves as a member of the United States Supreme Court Historical Society and is a member of the American Bar Association, the Alabama Bar Association, and the Alabama Defense Lawyers' Association.
Community Involvement
Executive Committee of the Downtown Chapter of Ducks Unlimited
Junior Board of the Foundry Rescue Mission in Bessemer, Alabama
Canterbury United Methodist Church
Speeches And Publications
* Videotaped Depositions, 2013 Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Deposition Boot Camp (March 19, 2013).
* Strategies for Winning Summary Judgment, American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Spring Conference (May 2012).
* Moderator, Voir Dire and Jury Selection, American Bar Association Symposium Teleconference (Fall 2010).
* Jackie H. Trimm and Stephen W. Still, Jr., "Are Marketing Tactics of Pharmaceutical/ Device Manufacturers Helping to Erode the Learned Intermediary Doctrine?", Defense Research Institute's The Voice (July 2010).
* A Review of Bad Faith Law, CLE presentation through Lorman Education Services (June 2010).
* "How to Remove a Case," American Bar Association, 101 Practice Series (Fall 2009).
* Reed R. Bates and Stephen W. Still, Jr., "Arbitration in Nursing Home Cases: Trends, Issues and a Glance into the Future", IADC Defense Counsel Journal, Vol. 76, No. 3, Pages 282-299 (July 2009). * Please Note: this article was reprinted with the permission of the IADC Defense Counsel Journal.
Reported Cases
Northport Health Services of Arkansas, LLC, et al. v. Wayne Rutherford, - - F.3d - -, 2010 WL 1929777 (8th Cir. May 14, 2010).
Northport Health Services of Arkansas, LLC, et al. v. Wayne Rutherford, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Isaac Mitchell Rutherford (W.D. Ark. Mar. 17, 2009). (United States District Court for Western District of Arkansas, in issue of first impression, compelled arbitration of plaintiff's malpractice claims against defendant nursing home and related entities brought on behalf of former resident).
Northport Health Services of Arkansas, LLC d/b/a Springdale Health and Rehab. Center, et al. v. Tresa Robinson, as Special Administratrix of the Estate of Donna Faye Snow, deceased, et al., 2009 WL 140983 (W.D. Ark. Jan. 12, 2009). (United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, in issue of first impression, entered Order compelling arbitration of wrongful death claims filed against nursing home).
Vulcan Materials Company v. Alabama Insurance Guaranty Association, et al., Slip Opinion, 2007 WL 2216896 (Ala. Aug. 3, 2007) (No. 1060506).
Related News
5/14/2013, Starnes Davis Florie Attorney Stephen Still Secures Defense Verdict in Two-Week Wrongful Death Trial in Blount County
5/2/2013, Twenty-Six Starnes Davis Florie Attorneys Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers 2013
5/1/2012, Twenty-Two Starnes Attorneys Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers
1/19/2012, Starnes Announces Six New Partners
4/29/2011, Twenty Starnes Attorneys Listed in Alabama Super Lawyers
8/1/2010, Trimm and Still Published an Article in DRI's The Voice
6/10/2010, Bates & Still Secured a Reversal Dismissing a Complaint to Compel Arbitration
