TUSCALOOSA, Ala.-- Balch & Bingham LLP recently made a leadership gift to The University of Alabama School of Law Building Campaign, with 54 of the firm’s attorneys making pledges to the campaign.

A classroom in the new building, with the naming opportunity set at $250,000, will be named for the firm.

Partner James F. Hughey Jr., a 1970 graduate of the UA Law School and chair of the firm’s executive committee, views the contribution as a way to reward the school for its history of producing the state’s finest lawyers. “This gift is one way we can show our appreciation for the School of Law’s continued commitment to providing high-quality legal education in the state of Alabama,” he said.

Ken Randall, dean of the UA School of Law, has been raising funds for the new building campaign for more than a year. “Balch & Bingham’s leadership gift brings us one step closer to making the new building a reality. It is gratifying when Alabama firms make a commitment to the state’s sons and daughters, our future generation of lawyers,” Randall said. “Balch & Bingham’s gift will help ensure that the Law School continues to produce lawyers who give back to Alabama through the legal profession and by assuming leadership roles.”

Balch & Bingham was founded in 1922 in Birmingham and now has offices in Huntsville, Montgomery, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Gulfport and Jackson, Miss. The recent addition of the Atlanta office, the result of a merger with Meadows, Ichter & Bowers, made Balch & Bingham the largest Alabama-based law firm. The firm has been a major supporter of the UA Law School for many years. The Balch & Bingham Scholarship is a tribute to the late partner John F. Mandt. The firm presents two awards to deserving students during Law Week -- the Balch & Bingham LLP Corporate Law Award and the Balch & Bingham LLP Harold A. Bowron Jr. Labor and Employment Law Award.