Kevin Newsom Named American Academy of Appellate Lawyers Fellow

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that partner Kevin C. Newsom, who chairs the firm’s Appellate practice, has been elected as a Fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers (AAAL). The distinction is reserved for experienced appellate advocates who demonstrate prominent capabilities and integrity. Fellows are considered to be among the "Who's Who" of appellate practice in the jurisdictions where they appear. With Mr. Newsom’s election, Bradley becomes one of the few firms in the nation to have four AAAL fellows.

“This is a great honor for Kevin, who has developed a national reputation for appellate law as a result of his superb ability, hard work, and dedicated client service,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Beau Grenier. “Election to the Academy is one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on an appellate litigator. We are so pleased that Kevin is being recognized for his talents and achievements. He joins Bradley partners Wayne Drinkwater,Matt Lembke, and Scott Smith in the ranks of Bradley’s respected AAAL fellows.”

The AAAL was founded in 1990 to advance the administration of justice and encourage the highest standards of professionalism and advocacy in appellate courts. Nominations for fellowship are only accepted from current Fellows, and all nominees are thoroughly vetted by the legal and judicial communities. The AAAL’s Board of Directors ultimately elects nominees to fellowship.

Mr. Newsom is one of five Bradley lawyers to have clerked at the U.S. Supreme Court. Before joining the firm, he served as Alabama's Solicitor General, in which capacity he directed the State's litigation in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the Alabama Supreme Court. Mr. Newsom has argued four cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, filed amicus curiae briefs in many others, and authored numerous certiorari-stage briefs. He has also argued more than 35 cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits, as well as in state supreme and appellate courts and a Native American tribal appellate court. He regularly briefs and argues critical motions in trial courts, as well as proceedings before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation.

In 2011 and 2014, Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Mr. Newsom to the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules, which studies and advises the Judicial Conference of the U.S. concerning amendments and improvements to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. Mr. Newsom is one of only three private practitioners on the 10-person committee. Further, he has been recognized by The American Lawyer, Law360, Chambers USA, and The Best Lawyers in America, and authored "Setting Incorporationism Straight: A Reinterpretation of the Slaughter-House Cases," which published in the Yale Law Journal. He is also a member of the American Law Institute and has commented on legal issues for Fox News Channel, C-SPAN, National Public Radio, Time Magazine, USA Today, The National Law Journal, Forbes Magazine, and ABA Journal.