Five Ball Ball Attorneys receive designations by Super Lawyers® 2025

Ball Ball Matthews & Novak is honored to share that five of our attorneys have been recognized by Super Lawyers® for 2025. Congratulations to Joel Pearson, Tabor Novak, Jim Rives, Chalankis Brown, and Courtney Huggins for earning this recognition. Their dedication to excellence continues to strengthen our firm and the clients we serve.

2025 Super Lawyers® Honorees:

Joel Pearson

2025 Mid-South Super Lawyer, Civil Litigation Defense

Tabor Novak

2025 Mid-South Super Lawyer, Civil Litigation Defense

Jim Rives

2025 Mid-South Super Lawyer, Alternative Dispute Resolution

Chalankis Brown

2025 Rising Star, Civil Litigation Defense

Courtney Huggins

2025 Rising Star, Personal Injury General Defense

Joel Pearson is a partner in the Montgomery office. His practice focuses on auto accident defense, construction law, insurance bad faith, premises liability defense, products liability defense, and trucking and transportation defense. Joel has served as counsel on numerous appeals, with reported appellate court decisions from each of Alabama's appellate courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He has presented oral argument before both the Supreme Court of Alabama and the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals and has served as a Hearing Officer for the State of Alabama. Joel has also been appointed and served as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of Alabama. He has Martindale-Hubbell's highest "AV" rating.

Tabor Novak, a senior partner in the Healthcare and Medical Liability Practice Group, has over 40 years of experience in medical negligence and complex litigation, with more than 175 jury trials in state and federal courts. Known for defending medical professionals, state officials, and entities, he also handles commercial litigation, class actions, and professional liability cases. Recognized as a top litigator, Tabor has been honored as a "Super Lawyer" annually since 2008, ranked by Chambers USA in multiple fields, and is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Jim Rives, a partner in the Montgomery office, focuses on mediation, arbitration, and litigation with over 35 years of legal experience. Certified as a mediator since 1999, he has mediated more than 3,000 cases across various legal fields and handles around 200 mediations annually. Jim's expertise is recognized with an AV-rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and he was named 2024 Lawyer of the Year for Mediation in Montgomery by The Best Lawyers in America®. He is also a 2024 and 2025 Mid-South Super Lawyer and a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.

Chalankis Brown, a partner in the Montgomery office, focuses on civil defense litigation, insurance litigation, medical malpractice defense, and workers' compensation. A 2014 graduate of the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, he is active in leadership roles, serving on the Central Alabama Community Foundation’s Executive Board and as Co-Chair of the Defense Research Institute’s Young Lawyers Division Diversity Subcommittee. Chalankis is a native of Millbrook, Alabama, and a former collegiate athlete with a political science degree from Sewanee: The University of the South.

Courtney Huggins is an associate in the Mobile office and practices in the areas of auto accident defense, construction law, insurance defense, personal injury defense, and premises liability defense. She is a member of the Alabama State Bar, the Baldwin County Bar Association, and the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association.