Firm Welcomes Retired Circuit Judge Arthur J. Hanes, Jr.

Upchurch Watson White & Max Mediation Group
Welcomes Retired Circuit Judge, Arthur J. Hanes, Jr.

Upchurch Watson White & Max, a mediation specialty firm and national leader in alternative dispute resolution, is pleased to announce the appointment of Arthur J. Hanes, Jr., to the firm’s distinguished panel of neutrals. With offices in Central and South Florida as well as in Alabama, Hanes will be based at the firm’s Birmingham office as of February 1, 2011.

Hanes is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Alabama School of Law. He partnered with his father in a trial practice for 19 years, covering all areas of law, but became best known for representing high profile, nationally known defendants in criminal cases. During that time he was also a reporter for the Alabama Bar Institute, was instrumental in co-writing the Criminal Code of Alabama and taught at the University of  Alabama School of Law. Hanes served on the Circuit Bench in Birmingham for more than 18 years before retiring in 2002 when he began his ADR practice, specializing in arbitration, with Dominick, Fletcher, Yeilding, Wood & Lloyd. He has been selected to the Best Lawyers in America in the area of ADR. "Alternative dispute resolution is becoming much more popular," said Hanes. "It is due to the speed of resolution and the vast savings over litigation costs."

Judge Hanes will be available for nationwide mediations and arbitrations. His knowledge and experience will substantially broaden the firm’s existing Special Magistrate and Arbitration panel.

 “Over his career, Art has established himself as an exemplary trial attorney, judge and mediator,” states Rod Max, firm Vice President. “We welcome Judge Hanes to our panel and believe he will add to the high quality of mediation practice -- statewide, regionally and nationally -- that our firm has established over the years.”

Established in 1996, the mediation principals and panel members of Upchurch Watson White & Max (www.uww-adr.com) serve as court-appointed and privately employed mediators, arbitrators, special masters and third-party neutral case managers, and act as consultants to business and industry, designing in-house dispute resolution systems. Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, the firm maintains offices in Orlando and Miami, as well as Birmingham, Alabama, and mediates cases nationally and internationally.