Senior & Managing Attorney

David has litigated numerous cases in federal and state courts and before the 2nd and 11th Courts of Appeals as well as the Alabama Supreme and the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. He regularly lectures on topics pertaining to ERISA and employee benefit litigation, both for continuing legal education seminars as well as to other organizations and groups. David has handled ERISA claims since 1992, and the overwhelming majority of his practice has focused on ERISA cases since 1999.

David has practiced law in Tuscaloosa for over 30 years. He first worked as a clerk and then associate before working his way up to shareholder with both McElvy & Ford, P.C., and Ford Martin & Abernathy, P.C. in Tuscaloosa. He started The Martin Law Group, LLC., in 2007.

David has been named by U.S. News and World Report's Best Lawyers as Lawyer of the Year for 2025. He has been named by Alabama Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top attorneys in Alabama in the area of employee benefits/ERISA law. He has also been selected by Strathmore's Who's Who World Wide as Professional of the year in the area of law-employee benefits. David has been consistently rated a Best Lawyer in the area of ERISA – Litigation.

 

EDUCATION

J.D., University of Alabama School of Law (1992)

• Graduated in Top 10%
• Order of the Coif
• Hugo Black Scholar
• Board of Editors, Journal of Legal Profession

University of Houston at Clear Lake (1987)

• Graduated magna cum laude

 

LICENSED IN

Alabama (1992)

 

ADMITTED IN

• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit

 

PROFESSIONAL & COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

• Member, Alabama State Bar
• Member, Tuscaloosa County Bar Association
• Board President, FOCUS on Senior Citizens
• Alabama State Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program
• Board of Editors, The Alabama Lawyer
• Chair, Task Force on Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution, Alabama State Bar

 

PUBLISHED WORKS

• “Taking Benefits Back: Reimbursement under ERISA”, 69 Alabama Lawyer 1, January 2008
• “Obtaining Neuropsychological Test Date: Why Is This So Hard,” (Co-Author), 68 Alabama Lawyer 216, May 2007
• “Unraveling ERISA Civil Penalties,” (Co-Author), 68 Alabama Lawyer 2, March 2007
• “Let Go of the Peanuts,” Alabama State Bar Addendum, August 2006
• “The Subtle Snake: Long Term Disability Under ERISA,” 66 Alabama Lawyer 279, July 5, 2005
• “Overcoming Disadvantages in Proving Medical Damages in Personal Injury Cases,” 23, Number 2, Alabama Trial Lawyers Journal 27, Spring 2003
• “Overcoming Deposition Jitters,” Alabama State Bar Addendum, February 2003
• “Take Another Good Look at Those ERISA Cases,” Alabama State Bar Addendum, Volume 7, Number 5, August 2002
• “File Retention Nightmares in the Small Firm,” Alabama State Bar Addendum, Volume 7, Number 3, April 2002
• Editor, Manual for Mediation for the Alabama Task Force on Mediation, 1996
• “The Birth of Jim Crow in Alabama 1865-1896″, The National Black Law Journal, 184, Volume 13, Numbers 1 & 2, 1993
• “The Metamorphosis of Contributory Negligence to Assumption of Risk in AEMLD Cases”, 12, Number 4, Alabama Trial Lawyers Journal 20, Fall 1992
• “Communication with Unrepresented Potentially Adverse Persons”, Volume 16, The Journal of the Legal Profession 251, 1991

 

CLASSES/SEMINARS

• Presenter, “Representing Plaintiffs in Health Care Claims,“ Birmingham Bar, 2012
• Presenter, ERISA Litigation Practical Advice for a New Practice, Georgia State Bar Employee Benefits Law Section for the Seminar, 2011
• Presenter, Subrogation Claims: Views from the Plaintiff and Defense Bars, Continuing Legal Education Presentation, 2011
• Presenter, “Discretionary Clauses in Alabama: The History and Present Litigation,“ Birmingham, AL , 2010
• Panel Discussion, Sticky and Ethical ERISA Issues, 2010
• Host and Presenter of the ERISA Litigator's Group Seminar, Plaintiff and Defense Attorney's Birmingham, AL, 2010
• Television Appearance on Law Call- Employment Law issues, One-Half Hour Program at Television Station WVUA, 2010
• Presenter, “Spotting ERISA and other Employee Benefit Cases,“ Worker's Compensation Law Seminar, Birmingham, AL, 2010
• Presenter, “ERISA/Subrogation Issues.“ Workers' Compensation Law Seminar, 2009
• Presenter, “What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About… ERISA.“ Tuscaloosa County Bar Association, 2008
• Television Appearance on Law Call- Losing Your Employee Benefits, One Half Hour Program on Television Station WVUA, 2008
• Presenter, Workers' Compensation from the Plaintiff's Perspective – Portion of Seminar Dedicated to ERISA, Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, 2006
• Presenter, “Handling the Automobile Injury Claim in Alabama.” National Business Institute, 2004
• Presenter, “Damages in Alabama Civil Trial Practice.“ National Business Institute, 2003