John N. Bolus

John's career with the Firm spans well over 35 years. He is a Shareholder who focuses on Financial Services & Corporate Governance Litigation, as well as Fiduciary Litigation. John has long been active in leadership in the legal community and in the law firm, having chaired several litigation practice groups and served for many years on the Firm's Executive Committee.

John has broad experience handling complex civil litigation, including securities class actions and shareholder derivative actions, individual securities arbitrations, individual and class-wide insurance and annuity cases, and a variety of other types of cases. Those cases have involved allegations of fraud, misappropriation, unfair sales or business practices, and lender liability, as well as complex contractual disputes, appraisal claims, business ownership disputes, and business interference claims. He has defended actions in state and federal courts and before arbitration panels across Alabama, the Southeast, and in many other states across the country, including New York, California, and Delaware. John also has substantial experience in defending regulatory matters and managing investigations.

His skills and success as a litigator have earned him accolades, including a ranking by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business as a Leading Practitioner in the area of Litigation: Commercial. He is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and listed in Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America©, which tapped him as the 2024 “Lawyer of the Year” in Securities Litigation in his regions, an honor he also had received in 2015. John was named 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” for Insurance Law. John has also been distinguished by Super Lawyers as a "Top 50 Lawyer" in Alabama for multiple years, and he is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.

John is also a registered mediator with the Alabama Center for Dispute Resolution.

John earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law, and he holds a B.S. from the University of Alabama, summa cum laude.

Community & Professional

• American Bar Association; Fellow of The American Bar Foundation
• Alabama State Bar Association
• Mississippi State Bar Association
• Birmingham Bar Association, Judicial Liaison, Past Executive Committee Member, Past Chairman Civil Courts Procedures, Past Co-Chairman Continuing Legal Education, and membership on various other committees including Grievance Committee
• Association of Life Insurance Counsel, Board of Governors and American Bar Association Delegate
• Southern Law Network, an affiliation of ten member firms from across the Southern U.S.; Chairman of Management Committee (2014-2019)
• Eleventh Circuit Historical Society, Board of Trustees, President
• John Fraser Ramsey Scholarship, University of Alabama, Board of Trustees
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of Alabama Board of Directors
• Birmingham Bar Foundation Board of Directors (2013-2017)
• Southpoint Bank, Board of Directors, (founding director, 2006-2015)
• St. Elias Maronite Catholic Church, Chairman of Stewardship Committee (2005-2009); Past Chairman of Building Committee; Lector
• Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, USA, Order of St. Sharbel Honor Guard for the Maronite Bishop, residing in St. Louis, Missouri
• Birmingham Bar Legal Aid Board of Directors, Past Director
• Leadership Birmingham, 2017-2018 Class
• Project Corporate Leadership, City of Birmingham

• Lead attorney for a publicly traded corporation in multiple shareholder derivative actions resulting in dismissal of claims, and in successful defense of judgment on appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court.
• Co-lead counsel in defending multiple putative securities class actions in federal and state courts, obtaining dismissals in multiple cases, and litigating others to a successful conclusion.
• Lead trial attorney, achieving jury defense verdict for a life insurance company in Clarke County, Alabama trial of insurance sales practice and servicing claims.
• Achieved defense verdict for a life insurance company in Walker County, Alabama jury trial of vanishing premium and fraudulent tax scheme claims.
• Lead attorney in a case in which Alabama Supreme Court established full faith and credit treatment in Alabama of nationwide class action settlement approved by New York state courts, extinguishing claims of non-opt outs. New York Life Ins. Co. v. Robinson, 735 So. 2d 463 (Ala. 1999).
• Managed and briefed defense of life insurance fraud case in which the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed dismissal and clarified Mississippi common law barring claims of oral misrepresentation that are inconsistent with writings delivered at the time of sale of insurance policies. Stephens v. The Equitable Life Assur. Soc. of the United States, 850 So. 2d 78 (Miss. 2003).
• Negotiated multiple multi-state, FINRA and/or SEC securities resolutions for broker-dealers, investment advisory firms, and individual clients.

Recognition

• 2022 Mid-South Super Lawyers Top 50 Alabama
• BTI Client Service All-Stars (2020 and 2021)
• Recognized by Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Alabama, Litigation: General Commercial (2015-Present)
• The Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law, Litigation: Banking and Finance; Litigation: Securities; Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions: Defendants (2006-Present)
• Best Lawyers® "Lawyer of the Year" for Insurance Law (2020) and for or Securities Litigation (2015, 2025)
• Recognized as a "Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation
• Mid-South Super Lawyers for Business Litigation (2016-Present)
• B-Metro, Selected as a Top Attorney (2020)
• Alabama Super Lawyers for Business Litigation, Civil Litigation Defense, Securities Litigation (2008-2015)
• Alabama Super Lawyers "Top 50 Lawyers in Alabama" (2014, 2018, 2019, 2021)
• Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent Rating

Speaking Engagements

• Co-presenter - "Legal and Ethical Implications: Insurers use of ChatGPt and other AI in connection with Policy Administration" (October 2023)
• Co-presenter - “Chatbots Cnd AI: Cheer Them or Fear Them, But They are Here to Stay,” presented at the Association of Life Insurance Counsel’s Regional Fly-In in Cincinnati, Ohio (10/3/2023)