Five Hare Wynn Attorneys Named ‘Local Litigation Star’ by Benchmark Litigation

BIRMINGHAM- Oct. 1, 2019- Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton LLP congratulates five litigators across the firm’s practices areas who have been named ‘Local Litigation Star’ in their markets by Benchmark Litigation for 2020.

Benchmark Litigation is the only attorney ranking publication in the United States to focus exclusively on litigation. The ‘Local Litigation Star’ recognition honors attorneys displaying the ability to consistently handle complex, high-stakes cases in multiple jurisdictions, and that are recommended within their respective business and legal communities for the quality of their work.

In its second century of practice, Hare Wynn is one of the top class action law firms in the country. Hare Wynn’s success has come as a result of the unique opportunity its attorneys have had to become both experienced and successful trial lawyers, as well as legal tacticians. Whether arguing to a jury in a rural county in Alabama or to the United States Supreme Court, Hare Wynn’s lawyers have a proven track record of success for their clients.

The Hare Wynn attorneys recognized include:

• Leon Ashford – Managing Partner of the firm, Mr. Ashford has been practicing law for more than 42 years and has a proven record of consistently obtaining multimillion dollar jury verdicts and settlements for his clients, their families and their small businesses. Though he has always focused his practice on complex litigation involving catastrophic personal injuries and wrongful death, he has recently been called upon to represent family-owned and closely held businesses in litigation which threatened generations of success. When the stakes are high, he feels strongly that an experienced trial lawyer is an integral part of the team approach to litigation of complex business disputes.

• John Haley – Partner in the firm’s Birmingham office, Mr. Haley’s practice focuses on business litigation. In one of his most publicized cases, John was co-lead counsel in a derivative action on behalf of HealthSouth Corporation against its former CEO, Richard Scrushy, its investment banker, UBS, and others, arising from the multi-billion dollar fraud at HealthSouth from 1996 until March of 2003. Most recently, in 2016, he served as co-counsel in one of the largest fraud recoveries in Alabama, resulting in a $310 Million Settlement. The lawsuit claimed MedPartners, a healthcare company once led by former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, lied to investors about how much the company could pay under a 1990s settlement.

• Matt Minner – Mr. Minner is Managing Partner of the firm’s Kentucky office. He has served as co-lead counsel in a significant claim against a major pharmaceutical company on behalf of the Commonwealth and has represented other states and governmental entities in significant pharmaceutical litigation. Mr. Minner also practices in the areas of serious personal injury, products liability, nursing home abuse/neglect, business litigation, wrongful death, and medical/pharmaceutical litigation. He has a national practice, having handled cases in many states, and has been sought out to represent individuals, businesses and governmental entities from across the country.

• Shay Samples – During more than forty years of practice, Mr. Samples has tried hundreds of complex jury trials throughout Alabama, both in state and federal courts.  Although he has handled cases involving most areas of civil trial litigation and tort liability, he has dedicated his practice primarily to the representation of victims and victims’ families of medical malpractice and healthcare negligence. Mr. Samples is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, a select invitation-only, group of trial lawyers limited to the top 1% of trial lawyers in the United States. He served on the state committee of the ACTL in 2015-2016. Samples has also been inducted as a Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers which is limited to 500 members worldwide.  He has been selected by his peers as one of The Best Lawyers in America® since 1999.

• Scott Powell – Scott Powell came to Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton as a full partner in 1986. Since that time, his diverse practice has taken him throughout the states of Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri as well as Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, Georgia, and Louisiana. Among the types of cases he has handled include litigation under the False Claims Act for qui tam plaintiffs, class action litigation involving complex legal issues, commercial litigation, as well as personal injury and wrongful death. Most recently Mr. Powell has been appointed co-lead plaintiff counsel in theIn re Syngenta AG MIR 162 Corn Litigation multi-district litigation (MDL 2591) by Judge John Lungstrum of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Mr. Powell and his three co-leads are the only lawyers authorized to control, prosecute, and settle the thousands of lawsuits filed against Syngenta which are part of the federal multi-district litigation. The class action lawsuits against Syngenta resulted in a verdict of nearly $218 Million.