J. Paul Zimmerman
Partner
Phone: 205-250-6616
Fax: 205-328-7234
Email: jpz@csattorneys.com
Staff: Kristi M. White
Staff Phone: 205-795-6559
Staff Email: kmwhite@csattorneys.com
- Alabama, 1998
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama
- U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama
- University of Alabama, 1994, B.A. (Dean’s List)
- University of Alabama School of Law, 1998, J.D.
Paul Zimmerman can relate to his business owner clients. He’s run a business before and knows what it’s like to have every decision you make directly impact others and your ability to provide for your family. That’s why Paul appreciates the trust that clients place in Christian & Small, and approaches each engagement as a partnership between attorney and client because legal issues are also business issues.
Paul formerly taught paramedics. He says his days as an instructor help him talk to juries and people from all walks of life when he’s tried cases in both rural and metro Alabama courtrooms. It’s also helped him develop a better dialogue with firm clients. Paul believes that if he can educate clients about their situation, they will make better decisions, ask better questions, and hopefully, rest easier at night.
Paul is a member of The Sedona Conference Working Group 1 (Electronic Document Retention and Production) and Working Group 11 (Data Security and Privacy Liability), is a former chair of CLM’s eDiscovery and ESI committees, and serves on the firm’s Technology Committee.
- The Sedona Conference Working Group 11 (Data Security and Privacy Liability)
- The Sedona Conference Working Group 1 (Electronic Document Retention and Production)
- Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA): Member
- Alabama State Bar
- Birmingham Bar Association: Former Computer and Technology Committee Member
- City of Helena, Alabama: Former member, Design Review Board
- Helena Business and Professional Association: Former Director
- Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church: Member and occasional trumpet player
- Bugles Across America
- Selected for inclusion by The Best Lawyers in America® in 2020-2021 for Electronic Discovery and Information Management Law
- Courtroom experience includes trials that have lasted up to three weeks – with matters ranging in scope from wrongful death to software. He has tried cases in the greater Birmingham metro area and throughout West Alabama.
- Obtained summary judgment dismissal in a data breach case filed as a class action. The case involved the firm’s representation of a hospital that was subject to a data breach when a third party broke into a locked office building on the hospital campus.
- Advises an insurance company concerning data-related issues
- In an action for declaratory judgment in Alabama regarding a covenant not to compete, defeated a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction concerning a Florida company with its principal place of business in Georgia
- Obtained a dismissal of a lawsuit against a city and its police chief alleging the use of excessive force during the course of an arrest
- Defeated a plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction on all relief sought regarding supposed trade secrets except with regard to software which clients undisputedly did not have or use
- Local counsel for hospitals in a nationwide data breach class action
- Advised a scientist in his withdrawal from an LLC
- Advised a national retailer regarding a data breach involving employee and customer files
- Advised a large electronic discovery provider regarding defensibility of its machine learning tool
- Has represented companies to protect their trade secrets, as well as companies and individuals accused of misappropriating trade secrets
- Represented two individual defendants in RICO claims
- Obtained a complete dismissal of all claims by a physician against her former practice group and partners
- E-discovery projects include a $33,000,000 commercial claim alleging property damage, the defense of a defective product claim seeking damages for quadriplegia, and multiple employment cases
- Defeated a former shareholder and director’s request for injunctive relief regarding customer lists and other requested relief
- Part of a firm team that represented a Louisiana company in nearly 100 products liability cases in seven states
- Coordinated the defense of 17 fraud cases against a mortgage lender
- Obtained a defense verdict for his client in a nuisance and trespass verdict following a two-week trial
- Obtained an injunction against a client’s business partner preventing him from continuing to operate the business
- Obtained an injunction prohibiting a client’s sub-contractor from operating a rival website
- Obtained summary judgment for a smoke alarm manufacturer on products liability and breach of warranty claims in a notoriously plaintiff-friendly venue
- Systrends, Inc. v. Group 8760, LLC, 959 So. 2d 1052 (Ala. 2006) (obtaining, ultimately, a dismissal for his client after eliciting trial testimony that led to the reversal of one of the largest jury verdicts in the history of Jefferson County, Alabama).
- Phillips v. AmSouth Bank, 833 So. 2d 29 (Ala. 2002).
- Speaker, Cyberliability Insurance, Alabama State Bar Annual Conference (July 2019)
- Co-Author with Michael A. Vercher, Digital Smoking Guns Are All Around Us: A Tale of the Internet of Things, Privacy, Ethical Duties, The Alabama Lawyer (July 2019)
- Speaker, The Cyberliability Threat Landscape in the Construction Industry, Alabama State Bar Construction Law Summit (December 2018)
- Speaker, Electronic Records: Retention and Discovery, Alabama League of Municipalities Leadership Summit (October 2018)
- Co-Author with Jonathan W. Macklem, The Plot Thickens: Companies Face Increased Data Protection and Breach Response Requirements at Home and Abroad, ThreatAdvice Cybersecurity Journal (Summer 2018)
- Speaker, Electronic Records: Retention and Discovery, Alabama League of Municipalities Spring Conference (March 2018)
- Speaker, Mastering E-Discovery and Legal Data Management: Tech Tips for Non-Techy Attorneys, Alabama Law Weekly (November 2017)
- Speaker, CyberSecurity for Lawyers: Not Just An IT Problem, Birmingham Bar Association (September 2017)
- Moderator, Keeping a Step Ahead of the Challenges of Cyber Liability, Primerus Defense Institute Client Convocation, Napa Valley, Calif. (April 2016)
- Speaker, Everything You Don’t Know About E-Discovery (But Wish You Did), “Practical Advice for the Non-Techy Attorney” and “The Latest E-Discovery Precautions, Risks and Advice,” National Business Institute, Montgomery, Ala. (December 2015)
- Panelist, Protecting Your Company from Cyber Risks and Potential Liabilities, Primerus Global Conference, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (October 2015)
- Moderator, Cyber Liability Risk Management and Control, Primerus Defense Institute Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Seminar, New York City (October 2015)
- Panelist, Cyber 201: Cyber Liability Insurance, ESI Roundtable Webinar (September 2015)
- Panelist, Cyber 101: Your Preparation Plan, ESI Roundtable Webinar (August 2015)
- Author, It’s All Electronic Discovery, A Four-Part Series (Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV), Christian & Small Nonstop Insights Blog (July/August 2015)
- Author, It’s All Electronic Discovery, Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Journal (May 2015)
- Panelist, Legislative Responses to Cyberliability and Data Breaches, Primerus Defense Institute Client Convocation, Amelia Island, Fla. (April 2015)
- Co-Author with Jonathan W. Macklem, Target Corporation: Has the Pendulum Swung in Data Breach Consumer Cases?, Christian & Small Nonstop Insights Blog (January 2015)
- Co-Author with Jonathan W. Macklem and Richard E. Smith, Small, Medium-Sized Businesses Not Immune From Cyber Attacks and Data Breaches, Primerus Paradigm (Spring 2015)
- Co-Author with Jonathan W. Macklem and Richard E. Smith, Small, Medium-Sized Businesses Not Immune from Cyber Attacks and Data Breaches – It’s Happening Here, Christian & Small Nonstop Insights Blog (November 2014)
- Panelist, E-Discovery Practice Scenarios: Counseling, Negotiation, and Litigation, Huron Legal Institute, New York City (September 2014)
- Author, Addressing Social Media Use Through Jury Charges (Part IV of IV), Christian & Small Nonstop Insights Blog (May 2014)
- Author, Why Must Social Media Be Addressed at Trial? (Part III of IV), Christian & Small Nonstop Insights Blog (May 2014)
- Author, Dealing with Social Media at Trial – A Technical Primer (Part II of IV), Christian & Small Nonstop Insights Blog (May 2014)
- Author, Why Social Media Must Be Addressed at Trial – An Introduction (Part I of IV), Christian & Small Nonstop Insights Blog (May 2014)
- Author, Poor Workmanship by Homebuilder Can Trigger Coverage under CGL Policy, Christian & Small Nonstop Insights Blog (April 2014)
- Panelist, The Practical and Legal Issues Associated with Transitioning to the World of Electronic Documents, Council on Claims and Litigation Management Annual Conference (April 2014)
- Author, Hot Legal Topics for Businesses in 2014, Christian & Small Nonstop Insights Blog (January 2014)
- Co-Author with Jennifer C. Rothstein & Paul C. Garrison, Where Is It (Under) Written? Exploring the Risks and Costs of E-Discovery, Litigation Management (Fall 2013)
- Author, A Practical Guide to the Development of Jury Charges Regarding Social Media, The American Journal of Trial Advocacy (Spring 2013), cited by Tennessee v. Smith, No. M2010-01384-SC-R11-CD, 2013 WL 4804845, at *10 (Tenn. Sept. 10, 2013)
- Panelist, The Use of Social Media in 21st Century Litigation, American Journal of Trial Advocacy’s Social Media Symposium (February 2013)
- Guest lecturer, University of Alabama School of Law Trial Advocacy Program (November 2012)
- Presenter, Deposing the Electronic Discovery Witness, Birmingham (ESI) Roundtable (May 2012)
- Moderator, Electronic Discovery: A View From the Bench, Birmingham Bar Association Panel Discussion (June 2011)
- Author, A Primer on the New Electronic Discovery Provisions, 71 The Alabama Lawyer 3 (May 2010)