This content was published prior to the combination of Dentons Sirote. Learn more about Dentons Sirote. 

Sirote is pleased to announce that attorneys Barry Ragsdale and J.S. "Chris” Christie, Jr., have been appointed by Alabama State Bar President Robert G. “Bob” Methvin, Jr., to serve on the Alabama State Bar Diversity and Inclusion in the Profession Committee for 2020–2021.

With the current theme of “Unify and Serve,” the goals of the Diversity and Inclusion in the Profession Committee for the coming year include promoting diversity principles in law school admission; utilizing resources and diversity programs offered by the American Bar Association and other bar associations; increasing educational and professional opportunities for women and minorities by developing relationships with other entities in and outside the Alabama State Bar; and coordinating efforts with similar groups, such as the Young Lawyers Section, the Women’s Section, the Alabama Lawyers Association, and local minority bar associations. The Alabama State Bar works to advance the principles of racial, ethnic, gender, age, and geographic diversity in the profession and to broaden the inclusion of all of its 18,000 plus members, upholding its motto of “Lawyers Render Service.”

Holding numerous leadership positions in the Birmingham and Alabama State Bar Associations, Barry is well suited to participate in this committee. As a trial and appellate lawyer in Sirote’s Birmingham office, Barry represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial and business litigation, including antitrust, shareholder, and closely held corporate disputes and class actions. He represents parties in trust and estate litigation in both state and federal courts. Barry successfully represented on a pro bono basis the only death row inmate to have her death sentence commuted by an Alabama Governor in more than sixty years. He frequently lectures on appellate practice, complex litigation, class actions, and professional ethics and has garnered an impressive number of awards throughout his career. 

Chris has poured many decades into serving the Birmingham community, demonstrating his suitability for participating in the committee’s objective to “Unify and Serve.” In his practice at Sirote, Chris represents plans, fiduciaries, and insurers in employee benefits litigation, including several ERISA fiduciary breach trials. Chris has handled many lawsuits involving stock valuations and financial and statistical expert witnesses. Since 2012, he has been a Fellow with the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. He also represents providers in healthcare litigation and has handled numerous False Claims Act cases, class actions, and bet-the-company cases. Chris has tried and won at trial against the Department of Justice in two healthcare False Claims Act cases. He frequently speaks and publishes on employee benefits, legal ethics, and how to prepare for and try lawsuits.