Christian & Small is pleased to announce that the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ) has named Associate Irving W. Jones Jr. and Partners Jonathan W. Macklem and M. Jansen Voss as three of its 2017 Rising Star Lawyers, which highlights up-and-coming lawyers in the Birmingham metro area.
Jones, Macklem and Voss were among 30 honorees that, according to the BBJ, were chosen based on their contributions to their firms and their potential to shape the industry, and the Magic City’s legal world, moving forward. As part of their Rising Star profiles, Jones, Macklem and Voss provided answers to several questions posed by the BBJ, which can be found below:
Irving W. Jones Jr.
- BBJ: What has been your greatest accomplishment so far in your legal career?
- Jones: The community service I have participated in with the children of the Higher Academics Summer School and Teach For America, with the hopes that I have inspired at least one student to pursue a career in the legal field.
- BBJ: Did you have a fictional attorney who has been your inspiration
- Jones: No.
- BBJ: What’s on the top of your career bucket list?
- Jones: Atop my career bucket list is developing a reputation amongst the legal community for unrivaled preparation, precision, and attention to detail.
Jonathan W. Macklem- BBJ: What has been your greatest accomplishment so far in your legal career?
- Macklem: We defended an international manufacturer in a franchise/business dispute and achieved a Defense verdict at the conclusion of the jury trial. The case was a matter of first impression and had national implications on how the client operated its business.
- BBJ: Did you have a fictional attorney who has been your inspiration
- Macklem: I know this response is overused, but it is Atticus Finch. Finch’s quote on courage is my favorite – courage is “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway, and you see it through no matter what.”
- BBJ: What’s on the top of your career bucket list?
- Macklem: I’d like to be the Solicitor General of either the State of Alabama or the U.S. Government.
M. Jansen Voss- BBJ: What has been your greatest accomplishment so far in your legal career?
- Voss: I saved a client $1.8 million with a letter and a few phone calls.
- BBJ: Did you have a fictional attorney who has been your inspiration
- Voss: No. I don’t need a fictional attorney to look up to. There were, and are, legendary lawyers from my hometown of Alexander City who I look up to.
- BBJ: What’s on the top of your career bucket list?
- Voss: I want to leave this honorable profession better than I found it.