About Derek
Derek practices in the Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy group and has participated in large and small bankruptcy cases nationally. He is a member of the Turnaround Management Association and the American Bankruptcy Institute. Derek is also admitted to practice in the United States Court of Federal Claims. He served several years on the Executive Board of the Young Lawyers Division of the Birmingham Bar Association and was recently appointed to the Alabama State Bar’s Editorial Board for its publication of The Alabama Lawyer. Derek has also served for several years as counsel to the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce and is currently serving as the Board President for 2009. He frequently teaches CLE and instructional courses on bankruptcy to lawyers, paralegals and others. He is a graduate of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce’s Project Corporate Leadership. In 2010, Chambers USA selected Derek as among the “Up and Coming” group of attorneys in the area of Bankruptcy/Restructuring. He was also selected for inclusion in the 2010 Alabama Super Lawyers listing as a “Rising Star”. In 2005, Derek was selected by the Birmingham Business Journal as one of its “Top 40 Under 40” and is also included in The Best Lawyers In America in the area of Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law. In 2006, he was honored as part of the 2006 Birmingham Multiple Sclerosis Leadership Class. Derek completed his first Marathon in October of 2007 and ran a half marathon in Salt Lake City in August of 2008.
Derek received his B.S. in International Business with a minor in German from Auburn University. He received his J.D. degree from Cumberland School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Cumberland Law Review and was on the Student Bar Association’s Honor Court. During law school, Derek published “Telemedicine: How an Apple (or Any Other Computer) a Day May Bring Your Doctor Even Closer,” in the Cumberland Law Review, 29 CUMB. L. REV. 173 (1998). He most recently co-authored “A ‘Discriminating’ Look at Two Section 525(b) Issues”, published in the November, 2007 edition of The ABI Journal.
What is your favorite thing about the law?
The ability to solve and meet new sets of problems every day.
What community projects are you involved in?
President of the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce, active in my church.
What was your first job?
I worked at a putt-putt course.
What are your hobbies?
Restoring 1960’s muscle cars (1963-1969). I am trying something new and am currently restoring a 1979 International Scout.
What advice would you give to a young student in law school?
Study hard. Remember what you did and who you were before law school.
How do you define a “good day?”
Arriving at work to find the perfectly brewed cup of coffee and learning my clients have either collected 100% or paid 0% as a result of my efforts. Lunch with my colleagues or clients and home in time for dinner.
How do you spend your weekend?
Restoring or driving old cars, chasing my sons, and working in the yard with my wife.