Julian D. Butler Board of Trustees, District 5 Julian Butler is a native of Eva in Morgan County, grew up in Birmingham and has lived in Huntsville since 1966. Butler received his undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama where he served as President of the Student Body. Butler received his law degree from the University of Alabama. Butler worked in Washington as an Assistant to United States Senator Lister Hill and as an Assistant to Congressman Carl Elliott. In 1991 Congressman Elliott received the first Profile in Courage Award given by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. Elliott described Butler as "a man of great imagination and extraordinary creative talents." Butler served as law clerk to the Honorable Seybourn H. Lynne, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Butler has practiced law in Huntsville since 1966. He is a partner in the state wide law firm of Sirote & Permutt. Butler specializes in employment, local government law and commercial litigation, representing both private and governmental clients. Following a trial in federal court in 1992, United States District Judge E. B. Haltom, Jr. said, in open court on the record, "This Court might also make the observation that for as long as this Judge has been on the bench, that he has known and been familiar with Julian Butler, the senior lawyer for this Plaintiff, and has presided over a number of cases in which Mr. Butler has represented litigants, both Plaintiffs and Defendants. And this Court is of the considered opinion that he is one of the best trial lawyers in the State of Alabama. . . ." Butler is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. Butler is a member of the Huntsville/Madison County Bar Association, the Alabama State Bar and the American Bar Association. Butler was elected a Fellow of the Alabama Law Foundation, which is a recognition of his accomplishments by his colleagues and is limited to 1% of bar membership. Butler was awarded the 2005 Community Service Award by the Madison County Bar Association. Butler has served as County Attorney for Madison County, Alabama since 1977. In that capacity, he represents the county governing body - the Madison County Commission, the Sheriff, the Probate Judge, the District Attorney, the Tax Assessor, the Tax Collector, the Circuit Court Clerk and all of the various Boards and Departments of county government. Butler has served as the President of the National Association of County Civil Attorneys, on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counties, represented America's Counties on the Board of the State and Local Legal Center in Washington, D.C., and was a founder and the original county attorney serving on the Advisory Committee of the National Association of Counties' Financial Services Center. In 1991, Butler was recognized by the National Association of Counties for his policy leadership of federalism and constitutional law. In presenting the award, the National Association of Counties noted, "For nearly a decade, Julian Butler, Madison County attorney, has been recognized nationally as a leader in local government law and the integration of law and public policy. . . . In a profession which prides itself on excellence, Julian Butler is one of our best." In a Huntsville Times article in 1997, Butler was described: "For 20 years Butler has sat at his desk next to the commissioners, separate but equal, the man county leaders turn to for advice on everything from right of way deeds to lawsuits." Birmingham News reporter Bob Dunnavant, Jr. described Butler as a lawyer "who keeps lots of people from making history they shouldn't." Butler served as a Special Assistant Attorney General representing the State of Alabama in litigation by appointment of Attorney General Bill Baxley and Attorney General Don Siegelman. Butler has represented other local governments in the area, including the City of Huntsville, the Jackson County Commission, the City of Scottsboro Board of Education and the Morgan County Emergency Management Communications District. Butler has been active in Democratic politics on the local, state and national levels. Butler has served as the attorney for the Alabama Democratic Party and for the Madison County Democratic Executive Committee. In 1976 he served as the Statewide Chairman of the combined Democratic Campaign in Alabama. He has served as Statewide Chairman for Democratic candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General. In 1971, Butler was presented a Certificate of Merit from the Jefferson County Progressive Democratic Council, the first African-American Political Action Group in the State of Alabama, for "exceptional and extraordinary service in the field of civil rights and political advancement of the community." Butler served as Chairman of Leadership Huntsville-Madison County. He gives the keynote address on leadership to the opening retreat of each Leadership Class. He also speaks to each Class of Inside Huntsville-Madison County, sponsored by Leadership Huntsville-Madison County, and frequently speaks to the Youth Leadership Classes. In 2002, Butler was made an "Honorary Graduate" of the Adult Leadership Program. An award given to a non-Leadership graduate who has contributed significantly to the success of Leadership Huntsville-Madison County is named in Butler's honor. The intent of the award is to recognize and salute community leaders who have made major and generous contributions to the Leadership Huntsville-Madison County Program, even though not a Leadership graduate. Butler was the first recipient of the award. Butler was a member of Class V of Leadership Alabama. Butler has also spoken to the Marshall County Leadership Challenge and to Leadership Jackson County. Butler has served in leadership positions in a wide variety of civic activities. Butler was a founding member and the first Chairman of the Center for Public Law and Service at the University of Alabama. Butler was a founding member and the second Chairman of the Environmental Law Section of the Alabama State Bar. Butler served as President of The Arts Council, as Vice-President of the General Joe Wheeler Home Foundation, as President of the Huntsville/Madison County Chapter of the University of Alabama Alumni Association, as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Junior League of Huntsville, and as a member of the U. S. Space and Rocket Center Advisory Committee. Butler twice served as Chairman of the Creek District of the Boy Scouts of America. Butler serves as a Trustee of the Eleventh Circuit Historical Society, and as a member of the Council of the Alabama Law Institute. Butler is a contributing member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, Thomas Jefferson Foundation, The Ladies Hermitage Association, Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, The William J. Clinton Foundation, and the Historic Huntsville Foundation. Butler and his wife, Betty, have three children and four grandchildren. Julian D. Butler Sirote & Permutt, P.C. 305 Church Street, Suite 800 (ZIP 35801) Post Office Box 18348 (ZIP 35804) Huntsville, AL Phone: 256-536-1711 FAX: 256-518-3681 e-mail: mnivens@sirote.com Home: 628 Owens Drive Huntsville, AL 35801 Phone: 256-551-0157 Return to Board of Trustees