Troy King was born and raised in the small, south Alabama town of Elba. When he was ten years old, an event happened that changed his life path. “I’ll never forget it,” he said. “My dad sold real estate in Elba. In 1979, that was a hard job. Inflation was skyrocketing. Interest rates were high. No one was buying houses. My dad called a family conference and told us, ‘We are going to have to make some sacrifices in our family’s budget. There is simply no money.’ I realized then that families like mine needed someone to fight for them. I have never forgotten the struggles my dad faced to make ends meet. It made me a champion for those whose voices, too often, are not heard. I went in to government to represent them. Now, I have my own law practice . . . and I am still doing what I believe I was called to do – to represent them.”
Troy attended Troy University, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree. He then attended the University of Alabama School of Law.
Troy has spent his entire career working for the people of Alabama, serving two Alabama governors and one attorney general. Most recently, Troy completed a six year tenure as Attorney General. During his time in office, Troy gained a hard earned reputation for standing up for the most vulnerable in Alabama. He waged war on child pornographers and sex offenders, those who prey on and hurt our children. A father of three, Troy explained, “Our children are our most precious resource.”
Troy was also a driven protector of Alabama’s seniors, pursuing those who prey on the elderly relentlessly. So important did he consider this work that his first official act as Attorney General was to create the Family Protection Unit, a new team of lawyers in the Office of the Attorney General charged with the sole task of protecting Alabama’s families, from our children to our grandparents. A string of convictions proved that, to Troy, his was not a job, it was a calling. “I always heard the cries of those no one else listened for and counted it a privilege to fight for them. Nothing tells you more about a society than the way they treat their vulnerable citizens. I was proud to always treat them as my most important priorities.” Proof of that commitment came when Troy determined that the big drug companies were stealing from the Alabama Medicaid program. Never afraid of a fight, he sued them.
After multiple trials and settlements, Troy’s team of lawyers returned over $123,000,000 to the General Fund of Alabama through settlements and jury verdicts worth $352,000,000. “No one in Alabama had ever been willing to take on companies that were as big and powerful as these drug companies. I understood though that every dollar they stole was a dollar that could not be used to deliver life-saving medicines and pain-alleviating treatments to someone in my state. For that reason, I could not just look the other way. Our actions proved that no one is big enough, rich enough, or powerful enough to break the law. I am very proud of this work.”
When the DeepWater Horizon oil platform exploded off Alabama’s gulf coast, Troy once again led. In so doing, he had to buck his own state’s governor. When no one else in the state moved to hold the oil giant to account for their destruction of the coast, Troy sued them. Alabama was the first state to do so. That willingness to do what was right, no matter the political cost, has positioned Alabama as the leader in the governmental litigation against BP.
Troy’s philosophy is simple: “My daddy always told me, ‘do right and fear no man.’ There is more to life than winning an election. Actually, losing an election has made me stronger and more determined than ever to continue doing what I have always felt called to do. Being in private practice has showed me that being in public office actually limited the scale and scope of how I could help the people I serve.” Today, Troy has a personal message to the people who he has spent his life serving: “I have always been for the underdog, stood up for those others seemed to ignore. Today, I’m still standing up for them. I’m still fighting. I may not have a Family Protection Unit to go after those who hurt people in my state any longer, but I now have a law firm that is doing that same important work. These days, as a private lawyer, I am still protecting you.”
Chip Nix has been a trial lawyer for over 30 years. In 1989, he formed a law firm which grew over the next 20 years from 2 lawyers and one secretary to 18 lawyers and 45 staff members in two offices – Montgomery and Daphne, Alabama. Chip has built a solid reputation for his litigation skills and for his ability to handle complex legal issues. He is known for being tough and effective in fighting for his client’s rights.
Chip graduated from Auburn University in 1970 where he was a member of Phi Eta Sigma, a scholastic honor society. He graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law with a juris doctor degree in 1973. He competed on the Law School’s national moot court team and was inducted into the Order of Barristers, an honor society for law students who demonstrated special distinction in arguing appellate cases. Chip is a member of The Association of Trial Attorneys of America, The American Association for Justice (formerly The American Trial Lawyers Association), and numerous other legal professional organizations. He is Board Certified in Civil Trial Practice by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and has served as a Bar Commissioner with the Alabama State Bar Association.
Chip has handled litigation on a broad array of legal topics. He represented the State of Alabama in the largest class action of any kind in Alabama up to that time. He has represented individuals, governmental entities, and corporations. Chip has experience in both complex and straightforward, large and small cases. Among the types of cases Chip handles for plaintiffs are trucking accidents, construction accidents, employment litigation, automobile accidents, medical malpractice, wrongful death, personal injury, fraud and bad faith. He litigates cases in state and federal court throughout the State of Alabama.
In 1990, Chip was the president of the Alabama Defense Lawyer’s Association, an organization of over 1200 members who devote a large portion of their practice to the defense of civil cases. As Chip’s practice has taken a turn over the last 20 years so that he now represents plaintiffs in civil litigation, Chip took everything he learned working to defend insurance companies and is now using it to help his clients in their lawsuits against those same companies. When asked about his former work as a defense lawyer, Chip made the following comment: “I know how the other side thinks and where their pressure points are. Every day, I have an opportunity to put that knowledge and experience to work for my clients and it makes a big difference. In fact, it makes the winning difference for the people we represent.”
