Four Lightfoot, Franklin & White Partners Recognized as 2017 ‘Top Flight Attorneys’ by B-Metro Magazine
March 13, 2017
Birmingham-based B-Metro Magazine has named four Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC partners as “Top Flight Attorneys.” Sam Franklin, Harlan Prater, Sara Ford and Jack Sharman received the honor and are featured in the Top Flight Attorney list published in the magazine’s March 2017 edition.
B-Metro compiles the list based on outside research and a survey of local attorneys. Criteria include education, contribution to professional organizations, community involvement and outstanding client service.
“This is a great honor for these four deserving members of our firm,” said Lightfoot managing partner Wynn M. Shuford. “This recognition speaks to Lightfoot’s commitment to the Birmingham community as well as our dedication to clients across the country.”
Sam Franklin is a founding partner of the firm and has practiced law for 45 years. He has argued before the Alabama Supreme Court on several occasions and has handled jury trials in many different areas, ranging from personal injury/wrongful death to complex business disputes. He is President-Designate of the American College of Trial Lawyers and has been active in fundraising efforts to assist various legal organizations as part of his commitment to improving access to civil justice for Alabama’s most needy citizens.
Harlan Prater has devoted his career to all types of high-stakes civil trial work, with a focus on product liability and pharmaceutical and medical device litigation. He has obtained jury verdicts for defendant corporations in potentially multi-million dollar cases across Alabama and the Southeast. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Bar Foundation and the Alabama Law Foundation, and he is a Life Fellow of the Birmingham Bar Foundation. He also chairs the Alabama State Bar Committee on Disciplinary Rules and Enforcement.
Sara Ford has broad-ranging litigation experience, having handled everything from shareholder derivative suits to medical device litigation. Her specialty is complex commercial litigation. Sara is active in the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Rotary Club of Birmingham and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
Jack Sharman leads the firm’s White Collar Criminal Defense and Corporate Investigations practice. His experience includes work in government-contract fraud, kickback cases, public corruption enforcement, healthcare fraud and election contests. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Washington & Lee University and the University of Alabama, and he currently serves as Special Counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the Alabama House of Representatives for the impeachment investigation of Governor Robert Bentley.
