Annesley H. DeGaris is recognized nationally for mass torts litigation involving defective medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Mr. DeGaris also has an extensive practice in individual personal injury and wrongful death cases in a variety of circumstances including motor vehicle collisions, tractor trailer collisions, and toxic exposures. He has litigated cases against major trucking companies, insurance companies, chemical manufacturers responsible for toxic spills, aircraft manufacturers, and major pharmaceutical companies.
Mr. DeGaris has served on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and as Co-Chair for the Science Committee for In Re: Fosamax Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1789. He served on the Science Committee for In Re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2197 and the Science Committee for In Re: Hydroxycut Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL 2087. He served on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for In Re: Aredia and Zometa Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1760. He served as the Co-Chair of the Science and Expert Committee and as a member of the Administrative Committee of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for In Re: Fosamax Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1789. Mr. DeGaris currently serves on the Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel Committee for In Re: Stryker Rejuvenate and ABGII Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2441 and on the State Liaison Committee for In Re: Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation, MDL 2406.
Mr. DeGaris graduated magna cum laude from Samford University and earned his Juris Doctor at Cumberland School of Law where he graduated magna cum laude in 1988. While at Cumberland he was Casenote Editor of the Cumberland Law Review. After graduating from law school, Mr. DeGaris served as a law clerk to the Honorable E. B. Haltom, Jr., United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. While working for the federal district court, Rotary International awarded Mr. DeGaris the Rotary Foundation Scholarship for International Understanding, a full tuition international scholarship. As a Rotary Scholar he attended the University of Melbourne School of Law in Australia, ranked as one of the top 10 law schools in the world. During his time at the University, he was in residence at Trinity College and following the completion of his thesis, received an LL.M. with a concentration in International Law.
On his return to the United States, Mr. DeGaris served as a Staff Attorney for the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia and taught legal research and writing as an adjunct professor at Emory University School of Law. Following his return to Birmingham, he taught courses at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, taught as a professor of Constitutional Law at the Birmingham School of Law, and taught a course in comparative civil litigation at Cumberland School of Law, Samford University.
Mr. DeGaris is AV Peer Review rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. DeGaris has been recognized in Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Rue Ratings and was named one of Alabama’s Top 50 Attorneys in a peer review survey. Mr. DeGaris is certified as a Life Member of both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He is listed in “Who’s Who in American Law,” “Who’s Who in America,” and “Who’s Who of Professionals.” In 2013, Best Lawyers selected Mr. DeGaris as Lawyer of the Year for Plaintiff Mass Tort Litigation and Class Actions in Birmingham, Alabama.
Mr. DeGaris has written extensively on a variety of legal topics including the role of judges in settlements, politics in the judicial system, and dangerous products. His legal writings have been published nationally and internationally in diverse publications ranging from the University of Tasmania Law Review to Federal Rules Decisions (F.R.D), Voir Dire, the Cumberland Law Review, the Australian Dispute Resolution Journal, and the Alabama Association for Justice Journal. He is also a frequent lecturer nationally on a variety of litigation topics.
ACADEMIC
Adjunct Professor: 2013 to present
Cumberland School of Law: Birmingham, Alabama
Teaching courses in: Comparative Civil Litigation
Professor: 1993 – 2011
Birmingham School of Law: Birmingham, Alabama
Teaching courses in: Constitutional Law, Agency and Partnership, Civil Procedure
EDUCATION
University of Melbourne Law School, Trinity College: 1992
Melbourne, Australia LL.M. (concentrating in International Law)
Attended the University of Melbourne Law School and was a resident of Trinity College on full scholarship as a recipient of a Rotary Foundation Scholarship for International Understanding
Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham, Alabama: 1988
Juris Doctor
Magna Cum Laude
Class Rank 13/183; G.P.A.: 3.56/4.0
Casenote Editor, Cumberland Law Review: 1987-1988
Justice, Henry Upson Sims Moot Court Board
Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges: 1987-1988
Member, Curia Honoris
Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama: 1985
BS, Public Administration
Magna Cum Laude
Class Rank: 18/386; G.P.A.: 3.798/4.0
Pi Kappa Alpha (Social Fraternity)
Omicron Delta Kappa (Honor Fraternity)
Phi Kappa Phi (Honor Fraternity)
MEMBERSHIPS
Bar Admissions
Alabama
Court Admissions
Admitted, Alabama Supreme Court (1989)
Admitted, United States Supreme Court (01/09/1995)
Admitted, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit (12/18/2006)
Admitted, United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit (11/15/2004)
Admitted, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (05/19/2005)
Admitted, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (03/23/1992)
Admitted, United States District Courts, Northern, Middle and Southern District of Alabama
Admitted, United States District Court, Southern District of New York (2007)
Admitted, United States District Court, Northern District of Florida (2008)
Appointments
Plaintiffs’ Lead Counsel Committee, In Re: Stryker Rejuvenate and ABGII Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2441
State Liaison Committee, In Re: Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation, MDL 2406
Member, Science Committee, In Re: DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., ASR Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2197
Member, Science Committee, In Re: Hydroxycut Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL 2087
Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, In Re: Aredia and Zometa Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1760
Plaintiff’s Steering Committee, In Re: Fosamax Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1789 (Co-Chair Science and Expert Committee and Member Administrative Committee)
Legal / Professional
American Association for Justice
Alabama Bar Association
Southern Trial Lawyers Association
Board of Governors 2015
Alabama Association for Justice
Sustaining Member 1998-2010
AAJ Board of Governors 2010
AAJ Executive Committee 2001-2014
Journal Editorial Committee
Birmingham Bar Association
Committee on Bench & Bar Relations 2000-01
Civil Courts Procedures Committee 2003
Member, Board of Directors
Alabama Civil Justice Foundation 2014-15
American Plaintiff Interstate Trucking Lawyers Association-
National Advisory Board 2011 – Present
HONORS
Rue Ratings’ Best Attorneys of America, 2015
Top 100 Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group, 2014
Top Attorneys in Alabama, 2014
Top 50 Attorneys in Alabama, 2014
AV Preeminent Peer Review, Rated by Martindale Hubbell
Best Lawyers in America, 2013: Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions and Personal Injury Litigation
Best Lawyers in America, 2013, 2015
Best Lawyer of the Year, Birmingham, AL, 2013 – Mass Tort Litigation/Class Action, Plaintiffs
Super Lawyers Alabama – 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
American Trial Lawyers Association – Top 100
Million Dollar Advocates Forum – Life member
Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum – Life member
Cumberland Club, Cumberland School of Law, Samford University President 2007-2014
