Hank Caddell, Esq.

Partner and expert in wills and estates.

Born in Decatur, Alabama, Hank graduated from Decatur High School second in his class and received his BS from the University of Alabama, with honors. He graduated in 1971 from Harvard Law School where he was Chairman of the Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Research Committee. Since April, 1985, he has been a partner at Thiry & Caddell, LLP, where he has successfully handled hundreds of estate planning and probate matters and other civil litigation.

Hank is licensed to practice law in Alabama including the Federal Northern, Middle and Southern Districts and the Fifth and Eleventh United States Circuit Courts of Appeal. From 1971-79 he served as Chief of the Environmental Protection Division of the Alabama Attorney General’s office. Next he worked seven years with the Legal Services Corporation of Alabama, first as Statewide Consumer Law Specialist and then as Managing Attorney of the Mobile Region of LSCA.

In private practice for the past thirty years Hank has handled many types of litigation along with an office practice. He has specialized in wills, estates and probate matters including conservatorships and deceased estates. He has been a member of the Probate Law Section of the Mobile Bar Association for twenty-five years, serving previously as Vice Chairman and is a member of the Probate Court Volunteer Guardian Committee.

Areas of Practice

• Probate, Wills and Estates
• General Civil Litigation
• Personal Injury
• Litigation Percentage

35% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Alabama, 1971
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Alabama, 1973
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1984
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1975
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Alabama, 1977
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Alabama, 1972

Education

• Harvard University Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• J.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence – 1971
• University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• B.S.
• Honors: With High Honors
• Honors: Algernon Sidney Sullivan Award 1967
• Honors: Dean’s List
• Honors: Chemistry Honorary
• Major: Chemistry

Published Works

• Alabama Consumer Law Handbook , Legal Services AL , 1983

Representative Cases

• Clark by and through Caddell v. Clark, 514 So.2d 1321 (Ala. 1987) (Heirs are entitled to interest upon funds held by Executor)
• Bolton v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County, 514 So.2d 820 (Ala. 1987) (Employee tenure rights established)
• Stewart v. Baldwin County Board of Education, et al, 908 F.2d 1499 (Eleventh Circuit 1990) (Vindicated First Amendment Rights of maintenance employee.)
• Fort Morgan Civic Association, Inc., et al v. Baldwin County Commission, 890 So.2d 139 (Ala. Civ. App. 2003) (Proposed condominium project rejected as violating zoning regulations.)
• Nelson v. Megginson, 165 So.3d 567 (Ala. 2014) (School Board lacks immunity from suit by non-tenured employees).

Representative Clients

• Alabama Education Association, 1985-Present
• Classes / Seminars
• Eleven presentations between 1985 and 2015 at the annual Alabama Education Association Attorney Network Training, San Destin, Florida
• Discovery in Employment Cases sponsoring organization: Cumberland Institute for Continuing Legal Education “Employment Law”, 1988
• Federal Education Privacy Act. Sponsoring organization: National Business Institute, 2009

Honors and Awards

• Mobile Volunteer Lawyer of the Year , 2005
• Alabama State Bar Pro Bono Award, 2006
• Recognition for 500 hours service on Volunteer Lawyer Cases, 2013
• Recognition as Founding Board Member Family Promise of Coastal Alabama, 2003-2009

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Mobile Bar Association (Member), 1994-1995, 1998-1995, Public Relations
• Mobile Bar Probate Law Section, Vice Chair , 1993 – 1994
• Mobile Bar Association Chair Pro Bono Program, 2003 – 2008
• Alabama State Bar Environmental Law Section Chair, 1977 – 1980

Past Employment Positions

• Alabama Attorney Generals Office, Chief, Environmental Protection Div , 1971 – 1979
• Legal Services Corp of Alabama, Consumer Law Specialist , 1979 – 1981
• Legal Services Corp of Alabama, Managing Attorney, Mobile AL Region , 1981 – 1985

Pro Bono Activities

• Mobile Bar Pro Bono Program , 1993 – Present