Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Ashley Madison customers revealed: James F. Henry, of prestigious Bradley Arant firm, is among many lawyers on the list at extramarital-cheaters site


James F. Henry
(From babc.com)
A Birmingham attorney, who practices health-care law at the state's largest firm, appears as a paying customer at the Ashley Madison extramarital-affair Web site.

James F. Henry is the second lawyer from Bradley Arant Boult and Cummings (BABC) that we've found on the list. The other is Rob Campbell, the husband of fellow attorney Minda Riley Campbell and the son-in-law of former governor Bob Riley.

According to his biography at the BABC Web site, Henry has been listed among the best health-care lawyers in the United States from 2012-16. He has a "preeminent rating" from Martindale-Hubbell. Here's how the bio describes Henry's practice:

Jim Henry has extensive experience representing a broad spectrum of health care providers, including hospitals, senior housing and long term care facilities, physicians and physician practices, hospices, home health providers, pharmacies, and medical equipment providers. His practice encompasses operational counseling, regulatory advice, and protecting the rights of health care providers before various regulatory agencies and in state and federal courts. Jim regularly provides advice and counsel in matters relating to Stark law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, HIPAA, contract arrangements, survey and certification, licensing, reimbursement and others.

If you are a doctor charged with malpractice or an administrator charged with health-care fraud, Henry is the guy you want to see at BABC. It seems his specialty is getting such "professionals" off--or with minimal damages. And this case suggests he is pretty good at it--although the favorable ruling came from ancient U.S. District Judge William M. Acker Jr., who is notorious for protecting corporations, health-care providers, educational institutions, and other "elites." From the Henry bio:

In addition to providing daily advice and counsel to health care providers, Jim handles litigation in the state and federal courts in Alabama and Mississippi. Jim has extensive experience in defending cases involving allegations of health care fraud and malpractice. He has also prosecuted numerous appeals of federal and state agency determinations.

543 Bristol Lane, Homewood
(From redfin.com)
How does Henry accomplish all of that while maintaining a presence at Ashley Madison? Well, we aren't sure. We sought comment from him, and he has not responded so far. Imagine how good he would be if he gave legal work his undivided attention.

Public records show that Henry is married to Kelly Jo Henry, and they have owned a home at 543 Bristol Lane in Homewood for more than 10 years. The home's estimated value is $345,800.

Those familiar with the Birmingham real-estate market know that houses in Homewood tend to be outrageously overpriced. The number above probably is the assessed value of the Henry home, but it's sales price probably would be around $500,000 or more.

It's unclear from the public record if Henry and his wife have children. Considering that their house has five bedrooms and more than 3,000 square feet, it seems likely that they have multiple children.

Come to think of it, that home might list for about $750,000 in Homewood.


Previously:

(1) Edgar C. Gentle III--attorney at Gentle Turner Sexton and Harbison, Birmingham, AL (3/8/16)

(2) Stewart Springer--attorney, solo practice in Birmingham, AL. (3/9/16)

(3) Richard W. "Dick" Bell--attorney, solo practice in Birmingham, AL (3/14/16)

(4) Robert M.N. Palmer--attorney and bar association president in Springfield, MO (3/15/16)

(5) Thomas Plouff--attorney, who is licensed in Alabama and has a practice in Chicago (3/17/16)

14 comments:

  1. Love it! Couldn't wait for the next one--and he's from Bradley Arant. Too good to be true. Keep it up, LS. Your real readers are behind you all the way on this.

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  2. You seem to think BABC is a powerhouse. Maybe so politically. But I have worked on cases in which they are involved on the defense side. I think they are pretty shitty lawyers. I beat them all the time, get good settlements for my clents. I'm a consumer lawyer, and BABC represents several large financial institutions. They are not impressive lawyers - bad arguments, bad briefs, overlook key facts, just not very intelligent.

    Not sure this has anything to do with AM but I thought I would share my opinion on this "prestigious" firm.

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  3. Good for you, @10:54. I would love to be there in person sometime when you wipe the floor with them. I don't mean to imply that Bradley Arant is filled with good lawyers--or is even a good law firm. But my impression is that they enjoy a certain "false prestige" because of their size and their tendency to represent banks and other financial institutions.

    If you are ever in a position to share more details, you are welcome to contact me at rshuler3156@gmail.com or (205) 381-5673. Unmasking Bradley Arant would be a most enjoyable task. I've already done it in a number of ways, but showing that their lawyers basically suck would be delicious.

    I bet they are good at billing those corporate big dogs, though.

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  4. Will share if I get an opportune case and can keep my name out of it - don't need this getting back to the judges I practice before.

    The standard process for BABC is to settle before trial. They don't want to face juries. While this is a common thing with corporate defense firms, my cases with BABC are usually teed up very favorably for settlement because I'm ready for trial and they are not. And they don't get cases dismissed because their briefs and arguments suck. And this is work they do for large national banks, whom I sue all the time. Other firms on the defense side are better. Seriously - this is not an impressive firm even if they are a big name. Just one man's "in-the-trenches" observation for you.

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  5. Roger,

    This is the same person who wrote in as @10:54 and @11:16 today. I would like to make a retraction of my comments.

    While I have not been impressed with BABC at times, I do not know as a fact what their standard approaches or methods on cases are. Also, I don't know for a fact that they are unprepared for trial or that they prefer to settle as opposed to going to trial. These are all opinions and I think I expressed them too hastily. BABC is no better or worse than any similar firm I have dealt with. I just wrote too quickly when I saw one of their lawyers got caught in your reporting and I thought that your story today interesting.

    I want to clear things up - my earlier comments are opinions only. And I retract what I said.

    Thank you.

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  6. No problem. Thanks for sharing your insights. I hope someone didn't recognize your writing and threaten you. That's the way things can work in Alabama.

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  7. Where did all the AM whiners go? Are they distracted by the Bentley story?

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  8. Yes, I think the Bentley story rules the day, @6:12.

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  9. What about the children?!

    What about the children?!

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  10. Sounds like the Alabama State Bar recognized @10:54 and gave him a good spanking.

    Too bad. He sounds like the rare lawyer who is honest, with a touch of bravery.

    State Bar certainly does not want lawyers like that in their ranks. I wouldn't be surprised if this guy's bar card was threatened.

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  11. Hi there! :)
    When I heard you'd written an article about Jim, I came right on over to your little blog to see for myself! All in all, it's not bad! You know what they say about there being no such thing as bad press! ;)
    I really am appalled to see that you've listed Jim's wife as Kelly, when I'm Jim's ACTUAL wife, Linda! Jim and Kelly divorced nine years ago. We've been married for almost 7 wonderful years! Call it silly, but these things matter to a girl!
    I think it's nice that you included some info from his bio, and that you referenced a case of his. Heaven knows he's the hardest working man I know. He has definitely stepped away from many a family meal or outing to meet the needs of his clients! We understand, of course, we're just so blessed that he gets to do what he loves every day! :)
    I suppose the purpose of the article was sort of "exposing" the Ashley Madison thing, but everyone's had access to the list for ages, so it's hardly news! I'd seen something on Ashley Madison on tv, was showing Jim, and so I'm the one who actually registered! Fortunately, Jim has a sense of humor about it! I'm a lucky girl! :)
    Warmest regards,
    Mrs. Linda Henry

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  12. Linda:

    Thanks for the comment and the updated marital info. Glad to hear all is well in the Henry household. Nice to see you have a sense of humor about things.


    Roger

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  13. Linda:

    Records show that someone spent $611 in Mr. Henry's name. Was that you or someone else? Seems like quite a bit of money to spend on a inside joke.

    Did you register and then proceed to spend more than $600?

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  14. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of people whose details were held by Ashley Madison had absolutely no intention whatever of having any sort of illicit affair. Many profiles were created using people's details – for instance their names, photographs nude and/or dressed, email addresses etc – without their knowledge by other persons for a huge variety of reasons. These things are easily harvested from the internet.

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