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FIRM FOUNDERS

S. A. Watson, Jr. – Attorney


“My father, Ralph Hornsby, Sr. and his friend S.A. “Bud” Watson, Jr., formed this law firm in 1988. Of course, I wanted to practice law with my dad, but no small part of that desire came from the fact that just before I graduated from college he and Bud Watson became partners. The firm was Hornsby, Watson, and Meginniss then. They took me on as a law clerk and, when I graduated from law school, as an associate.”

“In my first jury trial with Bud Watson, shortly after I joined the firm, we recovered 2.7 million dollars. It was no fluke. In the time since then, Bud has had juries award seven figure verdicts in the majority of cases he’s tried. I have been proud to have been with him in most of those. He has achieved many more million plus results in cases settled. Bud Watson firmly believes good settlements don’t come unless the lawyer proves himself in court. Ask any lawyer in north Alabama, they will tell you, as I do, Bud has proved himself in court.”

“Bud worked his way through college and law school. I think working as a farm laborer, working in a poultry processing plant, working in a grocery warehouse, working as night watchman – gave Bud a connection with the people who make up juries that has resulted in success. Bud insists on the pure truth in everyone and juries believe him.”

“Following retirement from the bench, Bud again distinguished himself as a trial attorney. Because Bud has participated in over 650 jury trials as a judge, prosecutor, and civil trial attorney, he has been able to give me insights into trial strategies I could never have obtained elsewhere. He is called on regularly by lawyers all across the nation for consultation on trial strategies. Since 1997, Bud has been on the Trial Advocacy Training Faculty at Louisiana State University Law School where he teaches court room skills to senior law students. Bud makes it his business to stay abreast of the latest research on the decision making process of jurors and evidence presentation.”

“Bud is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Middle Districts of Alabama. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Bud is a member of the Alabama State Bar Association; the Huntsville-Madison County Bar Association; the Alabama Association for Justice; the Federal Bar Association; the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the American Judges Association. He has been selected an “Alabama Super Lawyer,” and is listed as one of Alabama’s Top attorneys by Business Alabama. He has, for over twenty years, been given Martindale Hubbell’s highest peer rating – A. V. Bud remains a senior status Circuit Judge and periodically hears cases in Alabama courts.”

Bud has been married to Wanda for 43 years. They have two children and four grandchildren.

YEAR JOINED FIRM

  • 1988

AREAS OF PRACTICE

  • Personal Injury
  • Corporate Litigation
  • Products Liability
  • Wrongful Death
  • Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse

LITIGATION PERCENTAGE

  • 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

BAR ADMISSIONS

  • Alabama, 1967
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Alabama
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Alabama
  • U.S. Supreme Court

EDUCATION

  • The University of Alabama School of Law, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
    • J.D. – 1966
  • National Judicial College
    • Graduate
    • Major: Regular and Graduate Courses
  • University of Colorado, National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Boulder, Colorado
    • Graduate
    • Major: Hanley Master Trial Lawyer Training Program
  • Harding University
  • Louisiana State University, Monroe

REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS

  • Camero Trading Company, Hong Kong
  • Twentieth Century Marketing

CLASSES/SEMINARS

  • Faculty Advisor, National Judicial College, 1983
  • History of the Courts (People’s Law School), Alabama Trial Lawyers, 1994 – 1996
  • Uninsured Motorist Law (People’s Law School), Alabama Trial Lawyers
  • Trial Advocacy Training Program, Louisiana State University, 1996
  • Faculty Member, Trial Advocacy Training Program, Louisiana State University School of Law, 1997 – Present

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • Who’s Who in American Law
  • Who’s Who in America
  • Outstanding Young Men of America
  • Member, Million Dollar Advocates Forum
  • Selected an “Alabama Super Lawyer,” and is listed as one of Alabama’s Top attorneys by Business Alabama
  • Martindale Hubbell’s highest peer rating — A. V.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

  • Alabama State Bar, Member
  • Huntsville-Madison County Bar Association, Member
  • Alabama Association for Justice, Member
  • American Judges Association, Member
  • Federal Bar Association, Member
  • Circuit Judges Association, Chairman, Judicial Orientation Commission, 1981 – 1985
  • Alabama State Bar Association, Member

PAST EMPLOYMENT POSITIONS

  • 23rd Judicial Circuit of Alabama, Law Clerk, 1966 – 1967
  • Humphrey, Lutz & Smith, Huntsville, Alabama, Associate Attorney, 1967 – 1968
  • Madison County , Alabama, Assistant District Attorney, 1968 – 1972
  • Madison County, Alabama, Chief Assistant District Attorney
  • District Court for Madison, Alabama, Judge, 1972 – 1974
  • Circuit Court 23rd Judicial Circuit, Alabama, Judge, 1974 – 1987
  • Alabama Supreme Court, Special Justice
  • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Special Judge

PRO BONO ACTIVITIES

  • Instructor, Peoples Law School, 1994 – 1996
  • Instructor, Trial Advocacy, Louisiana State University, 1996
  • Law School Training Program

Hornsby Watson, Injury LawyerRalph W. Hornsby, Sr. (retired)

 
“Ralph W. Hornsby tried numerous cases before me when I was a Circuit Judge. His detailed case preparation and his absolute competence in presenting his cases made him stand out among his peers. Ralph knows how to handle a witness-both his own and his opponents’. His gentlemanly, positive approach to his cases and indeed to his life set him apart from his colleagues and has made him the winner he has always been. When it came time for me to retire from the bench and re-enter private practice I jumped at the opportunity to form a firm dedicated to the clients’ best interests in court with my partner, Ralph W. Hornsby.”

“Ralph was already an acknowledged leader when I joined him. He had been elevated by his peers as President of the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association. He was a sought after lecturer in the areas of trials, personal injury practice and workers’ compensation. Ralph is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Middle Districts of Alabama. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit. Ralph is a cutting-edge lawyer who, for the first time in the nation, established that punitive damages were recoverable in arbitration hearings.”

“Ralph understands the working man. He made his way through undergraduate school at Samford University on a track scholarship. He briefly attended seminary, worked selling books door to door for several months. Ralph earned his B.A. in 1961 and his Juris Doctorate in 1965 from Cumberland School of Law, Samford University.”

BAR ADMISSIONS

  • Alabama, 1965
  • U.S. District Court Middle District of Alabama
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Alabama
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit

EDUCATION

  • Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama
    • J.D. – 1965
  • Samford University, Homewood, Alabama
    • B.A. – 1961
 

HONORS AND AWARDS

  • Highest rating awarded by Martindale-Hubbell, AV

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

  • Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, President, 1983 – 1984
  • Alabama State Bar Association, Member
  • Huntsville-Madison County Bar Association, Member
  • American Association for Justice, Member
  • Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, Member, Executive Committee, 1975 – Present
  • American Association for Justice, Member, Board of Governors, 1984 – 1985
  • Madison County American Inns of Court, Master of the Bench

FRATERNITIES/SORORITIES

  • Sigma Delta Epsilon
  • Sigma Nu
  • Sigma Delta Kappa

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