J. R. Brooks

Service Areas

Education & School Law
Civil Rights Litigation
Employment Litigation
Business Disputes
Employment Law
Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Governmental Liability
Disaster Litigation
Aviation Litigation

Profile

Mr. Brooks has extensive experience in corporate and civil rights litigation and represents a number of school systems in North Alabama and several corporate clients.  He has represented clients in a broad range of litigation involving federal and state issues.

Mr. Brooks has represented a variety of public- and private-sector employers in Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and wrongful termination claims.  He has also represented several corporate clients in complex commercial litigation involving, for example, contract disputes over computers and computer components, misappropriation of trade secrets and proprietary information, and violation of noncompetition agreements.

Upon appointment of President Jimmy Carter, Mr. Brooks served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 1977 to 1981.

Honors and Awards

• Mr. Brooks has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America since 2003. He is listed in the areas of commercial litigation, education law, and labor and employment litigation.
• For 2020, Best Lawyers named him the Huntsville Lawyer of the Year for labor and employment litigation.
• For 2016, Best Lawyers named him the Huntsville Laywer of the Year for commercial litigation.
• For 2015, Best Lawyers named him the Huntsville Lawyer of the Year for labor and employment litigation.
• For 2012, Best Lawyers named him the Huntsville Lawyer of the Year for commercial litigation.
• In 2010, made a fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation.
• SuperLawyers.com has named him an Alabama Super Lawyer since 2008 in the areas of business litigation, employment litigation, and education law.
• In December 2004, he received a meritorious service award for his longtime service to the Alabama Association of School Boards.
• Mr. Brooks is rated by Martindale-Hubbell as AV Preeminent ®.

Publications

He has written the following publications for the Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys:

• Personnel Hearings Under Alabama’s Teacher Tenure Law
• Public Meetings and Public Records
• Fair Dismissal Law: Step by Step
• Contract Principals

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association
• Alabama Council of School Board Attorneys
  State President, 1987-1988
• Alabama Bar Association
• Huntsville-Madison County Bar Association
  President, 1989-1990

Education

• J.D., 1971, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
  Member, Bench and Bar (legal honorary society)
  Staff Member, Alabama Law Review
• B.A., 1968, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa,AL

Bar Admissions

Alabama, 1971

Court Admissions

• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• United States Tax Court
• United States District Courts
  Northern District of Alabama
  Middle District of Alabama
• All Alabama State Courts

Community Involvement

• Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce
  Chair, State Government Committee
• Member, Board of Directors, Huntsville Hospital Foundation
• Member, Huntsville Chapter, National Conference of Christians and Jews
• Member, Board of Directors, Leadership Alabama

Other Experience

• Alabama Commission on Higher Education, 2000-2009; Chair, 2006-2009
• United States Attorney, Northern District of Alabama, 1977-81
• Law Clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Frank H. McFadden, 1972