BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --Balch & Bingham LLP announced today that D. Paul Jones, Jr., its former partner and the retired Chairman and CEO of Compass Bancshares, Inc., is returning to the firm.
Jones served as primary outside counsel to Compass when he previously was a partner at Balch & Bingham. He joined Compass Bancshares in 1978 as General Counsel and by 1989, Jones had risen to President and COO, and later became Chairman and CEO in 1991.
At the time of his retirement from Compass, the bank had $47 billion in assets, 622 offices in seven states, and ranked as the 26th largest bank in the United States based on deposits.
Alan Rogers, Balch & Bingham's executive committee chairman, said "We are most fortunate to have someone of Paul Jones' stature rejoin the firm. Paul began his impressive career here in 1967, and we are proud to have him back, providing a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience to our clients, and particularly for our growing financial services practice."
Hamp Boles, partner at Balch & Bingham, said "I joined this firm the same week as Paul in 1967. I have had the honor of working with Paul as a partner with this firm and as one of Compass' lawyers for about 40 years. He is an outstanding lawyer and corporate executive with a unique ability to identify the important issues and to guide others to the right answers. Paul has many good friends at the firm and we all look forward to working with him as he returns to the practice of law."
Jones has served as president of the Alabama Bankers Association and as a trustee of the Alabama Banking School. His civic responsibilities and leadership roles are numerous, including board memberships on the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, the President's Cabinet at the University of Alabama and service as Chairman and Director of the Business Council of Alabama.
Founded in 1922, Balch & Bingham LLP is a corporate law firm with more than 250 lawyers and lobbyists in offices in Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Gulfport and Jackson, Mississippi; and Washington, D.C. The firm represents individuals, businesses and multi-national corporations. It provides a variety of services, including litigation, banking, public finance, corporate and securities, labor and employment, environmental, healthcare, intellectual property and energy law.