Harold Stephens began his career as an Assistant United States Attorney in Birmingham and has had over 30 years of litigation experience handling a wide array of civil cases.

A significant portion of Harold’s practice is devoted to healthcare litigation. He regularly defends physicians in medical liability claims and has also represented hospitals, nurses, and other healthcare providers. He has tried numerous jury trials and has obtained defense verdicts for physicians in cases involving wrongful death claims, shoulder dystocia/brachial plexus injury, testicular torsion, alleged improper performance of a C-section, an operating room fire, and failure to diagnose cases such as sepsis, lung cancer, compartment syndrome, Marfan’s, carcinoma, and other diseases and complications.

Harold has represented clients in numerous business and commercial disputes—such as trade secret litigation, fraud and contract cases, and computer software disputes—and was named Huntsville’s “Lawyer of the Year” for Commercial Litigation in 2015 by The Best Lawyers in America^®. He has defended many product liability cases involving forklifts, chainsaws, industrial equipment, and electrical devices. Harold is listed in such publications as The Best Lawyers in America and Alabama Super Lawyers, among others.

Harold devotes a significant part of his practice to alternative dispute resolution. He is a charter member of the Alabama Academy of Attorney Mediators, a member of the National Association of Distinguished Neutrals, and a member of the Panel of Neutrals for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. He has mediated hundreds of cases including employment matters, product liability cases, complex business litigation, estate disputes, and personal injury/wrongful death cases.

Harold is past president of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA), from 2009 to 2010, and served on ADLA’s Board from 2005 to 2011. From 2005 to 2014, he served as a member of the Alabama State Board of Bar Commissioners and was chair of the State Bar MCLE Commission from 2010 to 2014. Harold currently serves as a member of the Alabama Supreme Court Rules of Evidence Committee and the Alabama Supreme Court Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions (Civil). He also serves as chair of the Alabama Supreme Court Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution and a member of the Alabama Law Institute. He has served as a board member of the Farrah Law Society at the University of Alabama since 1998 and as its president from 2002 to 2004. Harold served as chair of the Alabama State Bar Litigation Section from 1998 to 1999.

SELECTED RESULTS

2014

Jury verdict for plastic surgeon in operating room fire, which occurred during removal of basal cell carcinoma

Jury verdict for pediatric urologist in testicular torsion case where newborn lost both testicles

Voluntary dismissal of products liability case against hose manufacturer involving serious burns

Jury trial in commercial case involving alleged breach of sales representative commission agreement

2013

Jury verdict for obstetrician/gynecologist in shoulder dystocia case with permanent loss of use of child’s right arm as a result of brachial plexus injury

Judgment as a matter of law in trial against emergency room physician in alleged failure to diagnose sepsis and compartment syndrome

2012

Jury verdict for obstetrician/gynecologist in alleged improper C-section and tubal ligation purportedly without the patient’s consent

2011

Represented family physician in case related to improper prescription of injectable narcotics/wrongful death

2010

Judgment as a matter of law in wrongful death trial against surgeon for lack of informed consent

Jury trial in computer software/theft of trade secrets case related to VOIP (voice over internet protocol) technology

2009

Jury verdict for emergency room physician in alleged failure to diagnose cardiac condition/Marfan’s syndrome/wrongful death of 16-year-old child

2008

Jury verdict for otolaryngologist for failure to diagnose sepsis/wrongful death

2007

Jury verdict in products liability/wrongful death case against electrical panel manufacturer involving death/electrocution of 28-year-old

Bar Admissions

• Alabama, 1980

• Supreme Court of the United States
• United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
• United States Tax Court
• United States District Court, Northern District of Alabama

Education

• University of Alabama School of Law, J.D., 1980, Student Bar Association, President, 1979
• University of Alabama, B.A., 1976, summa cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa