Press Release

Bradley is pleased to announce new leadership appointments in three of the firm’s offices and within several practice groups.

Newly appointed office managing partners include:

• Jim Collura - Houston
• Richard H. Monk III - Birmingham
• Lauren G. Raines - Tampa

New practice group leaders include:

• Laura G. Hester - Real Estate
• Scarlett Singleton Nokes - Government Enforcement & Investigations
• John P. Rodgers - Labor & Employment

“These new leadership appointments are part of the firm’s continued commitment to identifying and nurturing talent that will ensure Bradley’s future success and help us meet the evolving needs of our clients,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan M. Skeeters. “Their forward-thinking vision will help steer the direction of the firm and support our long tradition of legal excellence.”

Mr. Collura served as the Houston office liaison to the firm’s board and was instrumental in opening Bradley’s first Texas office in Houston, which was established in October 2016. He has a nationwide energy and construction practice where he has litigated to verdict or award hundreds of millions of dollars in claims in trials in state and federal courts across the country. In addition to complex litigation matters, Mr. Collura advises clients on reducing their exposure to litigation and provides skilled legal counsel based on clients’ long-term business goals.

Mr. Monk has served the firm in various leadership roles for a number of years. He is a seasoned trial attorney who is experienced in a variety of litigation matters, including policyholder insurance, commercial, product liability, toxic tort and personal injury cases. In addition to handling complex civil litigation, Mr. Monk routinely advises clients on policyholder insurance coverage matters, as well as pre-litigation risk avoidance and risk transfer issues.

Ms. Raines is a member of the Banking and Financial Services and Real Estate practice groups. She divides her time between transactional and litigation matters and regularly handles both commercial lending transactions and financial services litigation. Her hybrid practice allows her to advise clients on the potential areas of conflict that could arise later in litigation and to effectively advocate for her clients due to her broad understanding of real estate principles.

Ms. Hester is a part of the group who helped open Bradley’s Atlanta office in 2023. She is a business lawyer who has a practice centered on complex commercial real estate and corporate transactions. She represents owners, developers, lenders, investors and managers of hotel, multi-family, student housing, condominium, retail, office and industrial properties. Ms. Hester also serves as general counsel to corporate clients, advising on private equity, finance, mergers and acquisitions, secured lending, and technology licensing, strategic restructurings and corporate governance matters.

Ms. Nokes draws upon her deep experience as a former federal prosecutor in Birmingham, Nashville, and Savannah to represent clients in a range of matters related to internal investigations, internal risk analysis, government investigations, white-collar criminal defense, regulatory and compliance issues, civil litigation and enforcement actions. She has extensive experience in Title IX and sexual assault investigations and sexual misconduct matters, as well as healthcare fraud.

Mr. Rodgers helps employers solve their employment-related problems. He handles employment-related litigation and counsels clients on termination and disciplinary decisions, as well as issues related to the ADA, FLSA, and FMLA. He assists employers with their transactional needs, including drafting and negotiating employment agreements, including non-competition, non-solicitation agreements, and non-disclosure agreements. Mr. Rodgers also devotes substantial attention to ERISA litigation.