Hand Arendall Harrison Sale Announces Leadership Changes

Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC recently announced several key leadership changes for the firm. All the changes are effective as of January 1, 2021.

Roger L. Bates has been elected to a fourth term as Managing Lawyer for the firm. He has served as the firm’s Managing Lawyer since 2012. During his tenure, the firm has grown significantly. Most recently, the firm merged with the former Harrison Sale McCloy firm in Florida to become Hand Arendall Harrison Sale. This merger brought about one of the largest law firms in the region.

Bates has been a member of the firm since 1996, when Tingle Watson & Bates joined Hand Arendall to establish the firm’s Birmingham office. He has extensive experience in complex business and commercial litigation, including business and contract disputes, insurance and financial service products, labor and employment and healthcare-related litigation. Bates also has extensive experience in representing our clients before state and federal regulatory agencies and assisting them with governmental relations issues. He regularly represents secondary and postsecondary educational institutions in litigation, compliance and regulatory matters.

J. Burruss “Buzzy” Riis has been appointed Managing Lawyer for the Mobile office. A native of Mobile, Riis succeeds R. Preston Bolt, who had served in the role since 2012. Riis has been with the firm since 1991. He practices in the field of general civil litigation with a concentration in personal injury, trucking defense and construction defense litigation. He also has more than 30 years’ experience in OSHA disputes on behalf of contractors, healthcare providers, shipyards, stevedores and manufacturing facilities in contesting citations from the Occupational Safety & Health Commission.

Norman M. Stockman has been tapped to lead the firm’s Litigation Section. He replaces Caine O’Rear III in the role. Stockman has been with the firm since 1999, and also leads the firm’s Admiralty and Maritime Section, Construction Practice Group, and Disaster Recovery Team. His diverse practice includes commercial litigation, maritime litigation and transactions, construction litigation and contract negotiations, and bankruptcy litigation.

Hand Arendall Harrison Sale provides its clients with legal services in all areas of traditional civil practice. We are legal advisors in your business success. The Alabama firm, Hand Arendall, was organized in 1941, and the Florida firm, Harrison Sale McCloy, was organized in 1984. After merging the two firms in 2018 to become Hand Arendall Harrison Sale, the firm is one of the largest law firms in the region with more than 85 attorneys. The firm has a fundamental commitment to creating long-lasting relationships. Cases and projects are staffed with the goal of achieving success for the client with maximum efficiency. With offices in Mobile, Birmingham, Fairhope and Athens, Alabama; and Destin, Panama City, Panama City Beach, and Santa Rosa, Florida, Hand Arendall Harrison Sale is uniquely situated among the Southeast’s major law firms to provide legal direction to clients throughout Alabama, Northwest Florida and Mississippi.