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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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, [...]

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Alabama Code – Finding Alabama Statutes Online

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. June 7, 2011

Alabama Code Online We are often contacted by people who do not necessarily need to hire a lawyer, but who want to know what the law in Alabama is on a particular topic. Many people are unaware that the entire Alabama Code is available online, courtesy of the Alabama Legislature. By visiting this link, you [...]

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Lawyer Referral Services – Do Their Recommendations Mean Anything?

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. May 23, 2011

Lawyer referral services, particularly legal referral websites, have become increasingly popular as a way for people to find a lawyer. But when an attorney is recommended to you by an online directory, does the recommendation really mean anything? In most cases, the unfortunate answer is no. Online lawyer directories and lawyer referral websites are usually [...]

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Mistakes Trial Lawyers Make With Appeals in Alabama

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. February 16, 2011

There are a number of mistakes trial lawyers make when they venture into Alabama appellate law practice, some of which were covered in our last post on Should Trial Lawyers Handle Their Own Appeals. In that post, we discussed some of the observations made by appellate court judges on why trial lawyers may want to think [...]

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Should Trial Lawyers Handle Their Own Appeals?

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. February 16, 2011

A question that arises in appellate law practice is whether a trial lawyer should also handle the appeal of a case. This is a complicated issue that deserves more than the simplistic answer it is usually given, and really depends on both the appellate experience of the attorney as well as the specific situation involved [...]

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Hearsay in Probation Revocation Cases – Admissible but Not Enough

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. January 23, 2011

An issue that comes up fairly often in probation revocation cases in Alabama is the use of hearsay evidence. Criminal defense lawyers often get confused about the role of hearsay in a probation revocation hearing because hearsay evidence is admissible. While hearsay is inadmissible in most settings, a judge has the discretion to listen to [...]

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When Cops Lie in Court, Do Trial Judges and Appellate Courts Let Them Get Away with It?

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

When a cop lies in court, do trial judges and appellate courts let them get away with it? It appears that in many cases, the answer is yes. Unless it is absolutely proven that the cop was lying, trial judges usually put their rubber stamp on what the cop says. When the case goes up [...]

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Updates to Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure Posted to Site

by William L. Pfeifer, Jr. December 30, 2010

Many people find this website while looking for copies of the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure. We were one of the first sites to make the full text of the rules available online for free, and we try to keep the version on this site current with any amendments or additions to the official rules. [...]

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