Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C.

The attorneys in Maynard Cooper’s Class Action Litigation group have litigated a wide variety of federal and state class actions on behalf of numerous national and Alabama-based companies. Our attorneys have defended hundreds of class actions over the last two decades including the following:

• insurance
• consumer finance
• environmental torts
• products liability
• telecommunications
• movie rental
• rental car and truck

Maynard Cooper has prevailed in a significant number of these cases either at the class certification stage by defeating class certification or by obtaining summary judgment. Our attorneys have been responsible for obtaining a number of favorable decisions from Alabama circuit courts and the Alabama Supreme Court, as well as from federal district and circuit courts around the country and the Eleventh Circuit, on class certification and merits issues. The firm has also been involved in settling class actions both before and after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Amchem Products v. Windsor. We are well-versed in all areas of the class action practice under both the Federal and State version of Rule 23.

In 2003, 2005, and again in 2007, Maynard Cooper organized and sponsored the premier class action seminar in the United States, entitled “The Future of Class Action Litigation in America.” The seminar panels, held in Boston and Washington, D.C., were comprised of the leading class action practitioners from both the defense and the plaintiffs’ bar, the leading academics and the United States Senator Orrin Hatch, who is responsible for first introducing the Class Action Fairness Act.

Maynard Cooper is committed to promoting and investing in diversity in the workplace and the community.  We have pledged ourselves to respect diversity in an atmosphere free from unwarranted bias and prejudice.  This pledge governs our hiring and personnel policies, as well as our personal relationships within the firm.  Maynard Cooper’s lawyers are also active participants in local and national organizations committed to enhancing diversity in the legal profession.  In addition, our firm and its lawyers devote significant financial and human resources to local initiatives that empower those from diverse backgrounds.

Recruitment, Retention and Promotion
Maynard Cooper embraces diversity as a hallmark of the firm and is committed to recruiting, hiring, developing and promoting attorneys without regard to gender, race, disabilities, age, religion, national origin, social or ethnic group. We recognize that our ability to provide clients with the highest quality of service in the local, national and international marketplace is strengthened by a diverse workforce, among whom differences are accepted and valued.

We are therefore committed to maintaining a multi-cultured work environment. Toward that end, the firm has taken the following specific steps (among others) to ensure that our commitment is upheld:

• We seek substantial female and minority student participation in our summer associate program, the hiring ground for the bulk of our lawyers. Of the 32 students who participated in our 2007 summer program, 17 of them were female and/or minority.
• We have made communicating our commitment to diversity a primary focus of our relationships with the law schools where we conduct on-campus interviews for prospective summer associates.
• We participate annually in the SRBLA Minority Job Fair.
• We recently expanded the list of law schools at which we conduct on-campus interviews to include Howard University School of Law.
• Our attorneys conducting on-campus interviews make a concerted effort to identify minority candidates for employment and encourage female and minority candidates to interview in our offices.
• We have participated in the annual Birmingham Bar Association Minority Law School Placement Program since its inception. Each year, this Program places a minority law student in the summer program of each participating law firm.
• We have adopted a policy enabling attorneys to work on a "flexible-hours" or part-time basis, giving them greater latitude to balance professional goals with family obligations.
• We encourage female and minority attorneys to seek leadership positions within and outside our law firm. One of our female attorneys currently serves on our firm's Executive Committee, and one of the firm's female attorneys recently served as President of the Birmingham Bar Association. We also ensure broad participation of female and minority attorneys on our firm's Recruiting Committee.
• We have participated in the American Bar Association Minority Council Demonstration for several years.

Staffing Matters
Maynard Cooper is proactive in involving our female and minority attorneys in all matters where their skill levels and seniority are appropriate for the task. Our staffing of matters includes informing, promoting and assigning female and minority attorneys to work on matters whenever possible.

Community Initiatives
Maynard Cooper’s commitment to diversity extends beyond the workplace to our community.  Our firm has chosen to invest monetary resources and human resources in local organizations that promote and empower those from diverse backgrounds. 

SpeakFirst
Maynard Cooper is making a concerted effort to create a culture that values and rewards minority student achievement in secondary as well as post-secondary education throughout our community.  One component of this effort is Maynard Cooper’s collaborative partnership with SpeakFirst: An Alabama Debate Initiative.  Beginning direct service in 2004, SpeakFirst’s mission is to enrich the academic experience of talented and motivated students from Birmingham's public high schools through participation on an “all-star” debate team.  The debate training provided by SpeakFirst develops students’ critical thinking, writing, research and public speaking skills.  Tutoring, college admissions guidance, standardized test prep and summer internships are also provided.  SpeakFirst aims to provide participating students with the skills and knowledge they need to realize their talents and participate fully in society as students, leaders and citizens. 

Maynard Cooper is pleased to be investing substantial resources into SpeakFirst.  The firm is committed to a multi-year financial gift to support the team’s operations as well as the provision of office space for daily debate practices.  In addition, our individual attorneys serve the organization through various volunteer efforts.  We are proud to report that during the last two academic years, twelve SpeakFirst students participated in 154 debate practices, 11 Saturday workshops, 19 debate tournaments, 9 cultural field trips, 7 college visits and  multiple community service projects. 

Our collaborative partnership with SpeakFirst reflects the firm's long-standing commitment to both public service and to issues of concern to communities of color.  For more information about SpeakFirst, go to http://www.impactalabama.org/speak.html.

Additional Leadership and Commitments
Maynard Cooper attorneys serve in various leadership positions that empower those of diverse backgrounds:

• Chairman of the United Way of Central Alabama 2006 Campaign, with direct responsibility for raising 35 million dollars that funds over 80 local agencies;
• Board Member and Major Gifts Committee Member of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute;
• Member of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law;
• Former Member of the Alabama Advisory Committee for the United States Committee on Civil Rights;
• Former Board Chairman of Workshops, Inc. (training and sheltered employment for the severely disabled); 
• Chair of the Board for King’s Ranch, Hannah Homes (shelter for women, youth and children); 
• Board Member of Grace House Ministries (home for girls in family crisis situations); 
• Board Members of Cornerstone Schools of Alabama (private school for inner-city students); and
• Board Members of the Metropolitan YMCA (includes 10 metro branches, downtown youth center, camp and several initiatives for minority youth).

Maynard Cooper is committed financially to:

• Restoration of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church;
• Birmingham Civil Rights Institute;
• Birmingham Athletic Partnership (an alliance of businesses and individuals that is dedicated to strengthening high school athletics in the Birmingham city schools);
• Operation New Birmingham;
• The National Conference for Community Justice; and
• CampFire USA.