Boyle, John W.

Dave Boyd, a Balch & Bingham partner with over 30 years of litigation experience, practices in the firm's Montgomery and Birmingham offices. Mr. Boyd's practice is focused primarily on business litigation, for which he is included in The Best Lawyers in America's "Bet-the-Company" category, in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, and in 2008 Super Lawyers, where he is listed as one of Alabama's top 50 lawyers. He also has substantial experience in employment litigation, high-stakes constitutional and civil rights litigation, and other complex litigation, including class actions. His appellate practice is equally broad, including representing parties or amici in more than 125 cases in the state and federal appellate courts. Mr. Boyd is also principal outside litigation counsel for one of Alabama's flagship public universities.

Mr. Boyd has often been retained by defendants suffering adverse trial verdicts to pursue post-judgment remedies and appeals, particularly in cases involving large punitive damages awards. In one such case he argued successfully in the Alabama Supreme Court for reversal of what was then the largest judgment in Alabama history. Exxon Corp. v. Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources, 859 So.2d 1096 (Ala. 2002). In another litigation area, his representation of Alabama's judicial system resulted, following en banc oral argument, in the Eleventh Circuit's rejection of a Voting Rights Act challenge to the State's system of electing judges. Southern Christian Leadership Conference v. Sessions, 56 F.3d 1281 (11th Cir. 1995) (en banc). Recently Mr. Boyd was selected as lead counsel for the court-appointed receiver of the Personnel Board of Jefferson County, Alabama in the long-standing United States v. Jefferson County employment discrimination class action. Beginning with a case early in his career that legitimated the use in Alabama of a special litigation committee in shareholder derivative litigation, Roberts v. Alabama Power Co., 404 So. 2d 629 (1981), Mr. Boyd has also been counsel in several complex litigated matters involving shareholder claims and internal corporate investigations.

Mr. Boyd has been involved throughout his career in professional service and activities. In 2006 he became the second-ever recipient of the Alabama State Bar's William D. Scruggs Service Award, recognizing career contributions to the profession. He has served for a number of years as Chair of the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) Committee of the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Mr. Boyd is a member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association and the Defense Research Institute. Mr. Boyd is a lifelong Alabama resident with four adult children. He is a sports enthusiast, including collegiate athletics, stock car racing, and hunting.