Representing Plaintiffs Since 1895

Prior to going to law school, Mr. Pratt was a competitive college athlete and then an officer in the United State Army Armor Corps. These endeavors taught him the value of discipline, mental toughness and leadership. He has applied these values to the practice of law in order to obtain the best possible result for his clients.

During his over 30 years of law practice, Mr. Pratt has handled jury trials in many different areas ranging from personal injury/wrongful death to complex commercial litigation. For example, in the early ‘80s, Mr. Pratt was co-lead counsel in Burgess v. Ford, which was the first successful air bag case brought in the United States - - and was featured on both 60 Minutes and The Today Show. He also served as co-lead counsel in Edwards v. General Motors, which established the doctrine of crash worthiness in Alabama; Marinelli v. Volkswagen, a case widely recognized nationally in crash worthiness litigation; Byer v. Beech, which was the first verdict against Beech Aircraft concerning the V-tail Bonanza; and McDonald v. Luxaire, which at that time was the largest verdict in the State of Alabama and which remains one of the largest wrongful death verdicts in the history of the state. Most recently Mr. Pratt served as lead Alabama counsel in a breach of fiduciary duty case brought on behalf of a federal bankruptcy trustee resulting in a settlement which the federal bankruptcy judge described as the best result he had seen in his many years on the court.

As a result of the quality of representation Mr. Pratt has provided his clients, he was selected for membership in the exclusive Inner Circle of Advocates (a group limited to 100 attorneys nationwide) and is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers. Mr. Pratt was selected as one of the top 500 plaintiffs lawyers in the United States by Dragon Law, one of the Best Lawyers in America for 10 years, and designated a Super Lawyer in Alabama. He is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the American Law Institute, and the Alabama Law Foundation, and is a Diplomat of the National College of Advocacy.

Mr. Pratt has served as President of the Alabama Association for Justice and as chairman of the Products Liability Section, and as a member of the Board of Governors of the American Association of Justice. He is currently a member of the Board of Bar Commissioners for the State of Alabama and serves a member of a Disciplinary Panel for the Alabama State Bar.

Mr. Pratt has also been active as a faculty member in providing legal education to lawyers. He has served as a Faculty Member for the National College of Advocacy’s Basic and Advanced Courses as well as a Faculty Member for the American Association of Justice and Cumberland and Alabama Schools of Law in their Continuing Legal Education programs.

Affiliations

• Alabama Association for Justice (Alabama Trial Lawyers Association)
• Alabama Law Institute
• American Association for Justice (Association of Trial Lawyers of America and American Trial Lawyers Association)
• American Board of Trial Advocates
• International Academy of Trial Lawyers
• International Society of Barristers