You are here: Home » Blog

Improper Closing Arguments – Part 2 – Personal Opinions and Beliefs

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. May 3, 2012

In the second installment of our series on improper closing arguments in Alabama trials, we look at the problem of arguing personal opinions and beliefs. While attorneys are certainly free to talk about the evidence and draw logical inferences and conclusions from it, it is improper for a lawyer to express his or her personal [...]

Read the full article →

Improper Closing Arguments – Part 1 – Facts Not in Evidence

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. May 1, 2012

Improper closing arguments can provide a good basis for overturning a trial court verdict on appeal, if the issue has been properly preserved for appellate review. This is the first in a series of posts on the issue of improper closing arguments during trial. In Part 1 of this series, we take a look at [...]

Read the full article →

Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA) – A Way for Small Business Owners to Deduct Personal Medical Bills as Business Expenses

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. January 20, 2012

A Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) is a special account that businesses can provide as an employee benefit to qualifying employees (with the employer generally setting the rules for how one qualifies for coverage). Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Code Section 105 authorizes businesses to create HRAs as a benefit of employment. The HRA allows the employer to pay the [...]

Read the full article →

New Book Discusses Case Won by Our Alabama Appellate Law Firm

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. January 6, 2012

In his new book Criminal Defense Lawyer by my friend and former business partner Richard D. Jensen, a  case I handled last year is discussed as an example of the importance of understanding subject matter jurisdiction in criminal defense cases. In that case, a man charged with a sex offense allowed his court-appointed lawyer to talk [...]

Read the full article →

Alabama Default Judgments – How to Set Aside a Default Judgment in Alabama

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. November 10, 2011

If a default judgment has been entered against you in Alabama, there is a procedure for having that judgment set aside. Rule 55(c) of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure gives trial court judges the discretionary authority to set aside default judgments. The starting point in having the default judgment vacated or set aside is, [...]

Read the full article →

Technology in Appellate Law Practice – Article in ACDLA Publication “The Guardian”

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. November 8, 2011

Alabama attorneys who want to use iPads and other technological advances in their law practices may be interested in reading my new article, Technology in Appellate Law Practice. The article appears in the 4th Quarter issue of The Guardian, the newsletter of the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (ACDLA). The article is not currently available [...]

Read the full article →

Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department Secretly Recorded Private Privileged Communications between Attorneys and Clients

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. November 3, 2011

Your conversations in the Baldwin County Courthouse are on audiotape. Anyone who has litigated a case in the Baldwin County Courthouse in recent months, particularly those with criminal charges, should be aware that everything you discussed with your lawyer or your family in the hallways or stairwells was probably captured on audiotape by the Sheriff’s [...]

Read the full article →

Alabama Pro Bono Week 2011 is October 23-29.

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. October 20, 2011

The Alabama State Bar, in conduction with the National Pro Bono Celebration, is coordinating pro bono events around the State of Alabama during the week of October 23-29, 2011. Similar efforts are being conducted by state and local bar associations around the country. To learn more about the national programs, click here. For those unable [...]

Read the full article →

Division of Retirement Benefits in an Alabama Divorce – When and How Much

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. September 15, 2011

The division of retirement benefits in an Alabama divorce action can be a complicated issue in some situations, and often becomes the subject of appellate litigation in the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. While appellate courts attempt to affirm trial court rulings when possible, they will reverse trial court rulings on the division of retirement [...]

Read the full article →

Baldwin County Divorce Appeal Reverses Excessive Alimony Award and Protects Inheritance from Spouse

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. September 14, 2011

A Baldwin County divorce appeal handled by our office recently resulted in a victory for our client who appealed an excessive alimony award and fought to protect his inheritance from his wife’s cross-appeal. In the case of Kreitzberg v. Kreitzberg, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals held that the trial court had correctly determined that [...]

Read the full article →

How to Withdraw a Guilty Plea in Alabama

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. August 19, 2011

As an Alabama appellate lawyer, I often encounter people who want to withdraw their guilty plea in a criminal case. These defendants often say they showed up to go to trial on their criminal charges, only to have their lawyer pressure them into taking a plea bargain at the last minute. After having a little [...]

Read the full article →

Alabama Divorce Appeals – Fighting For Child Custody in Blended Families

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. July 17, 2011

Appealing an Alabama family court divorce decree awarding child custody often presents difficult legal challenges for the appellant who believes the custody order was incorrect. However, an important basis for challenging custody orders has developed in recent years in situations involving half-siblings in blended families. This is an issue that can change the outcome of [...]

Read the full article →

Marshall County Appeal of Sex Offense Conviction Frees Client Despite Guilty Plea Due to Expired Statute of Limitations

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. July 10, 2011

A Marshall County appellate case handled by our office recently demonstrated the importance of checking the statute of limitations on any felony charge in Alabama before accepting a plea bargain or pleading guilty. Normally I avoid getting into too many details of the specific appeals handled by our office, but some of the particular facts [...]

Read the full article →

Temporary Website Problems

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. July 9, 2011

If you tried to send us an email in the last 24 hours and it bounced back, or if you are having problems accessing our website, it is because we are in the midst of a site migration to a different hosting service. Please pardon the inconvenience while we try to restore the site to [...]

Read the full article →

Birmingham Appellate Lawyer – Jefferson County Office Now Open For Representation in Appeals

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. July 8, 2011

Due to the need for a more centralized location for meeting with clients in our statewide appellate law practice, we have now opened a Birmingham appellate law office. The office for meeting with clients needing to appeal cases from Jefferson County and the surrounding areas is located at One Perimeter Park South, Suite 100N, Birmingham, [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries