James Bates Pope & Spivey

Biography

Stephen Dillard is chairman of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. Before joining James Bates, Stephen served as a law clerk to Judge Daniel A. Manion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (2001-2003), and as an associate with the law firm of Stone & Baxter, LLP (1996-2001).

Stephen has handled numerous appeals/petitions before the Court of Appeals of Georgia, the Supreme Court of Georgia, the Eleventh Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Stephen also manages complex trial litigation, having served as lead counsel in a slew of jury/bench trials, administrative/governmental hearings, and other judicial proceedings.

Additionally, Stephen was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2009 to the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission, and in 2007 to the Public Defender Selection Panel for the Macon Judicial Circuit. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Speakers Bureau, lecturing to student chapters across the country on constitutional issues (as well as to other civic organizations on occasion). He also served as a legal policy advisor to Governor Mike Huckabee during his 2008 presidential bid, and was named, in 2009, by Super Lawyers as one of Georgia’s “rising stars.” On June 1, 2009, Stephen was nominated by Senator Cecil Staton to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Georgia, and, on July 1, 2009, the Judicial Nominating Commission selected him as one of nine finalists for this position. In 2010, Stephen was named by Campaigns & Elections Magazine as one of the Top 50 “Republican Influencers” in Georgia.

Stephen also has extensive experience in dealing with the print and broadcast media on a variety of complex legal and policy issues. He has been seen and/or heard on numerous television and radio programs, including (but not limited to): NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Hardball with Chris Matthews, Catholic Answers Live, American Family News Network’s “One News Now,” Catholic Radio International, and NewsTalk Central Morning Show (featuring Kenny Burgamy and Charles E. Richardson). He has also been interviewed, quoted, and/or featured in the following publications: MSNBC, Washington Post, Washington Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Fulton County Daily Report, New York Daily News, New York Observer, National Review Online, Weekly Standard, and The Nation (to name just a few).

Stephen is married to the former Krista McDaniel, and they have three children: Jackson, Lindley Kay, and Mary Margaret. He is an active member of Saint Joseph Catholic Church, and the former president of the school board for Saint Joseph’s Catholic School.

Education

1. Samford University (B.A. 1992)
2. Sigma Chi
3. Omicron Delta Kappa
4. Phi Alpha Theta
5. Mississippi College School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1996)
6. Moot Court Board
7. American Jurisprudence Award in Appellate Advocacy and Alternative Dispute Resolution
8. Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy (chapter president)
9. Phi Delta Phi
10. Christian Legal Society

Clerkship

1. The Honorable Daniel A. Manion, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (2001-2003)

Admitted

1. Georgia, 1996
2. Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1996
3. Supreme Court of Georgia, 1996
4. United States District Court for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia, 1996
5. U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, 2001
6. U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 1996
7. The Supreme Court of the United States, 2000

Professional Organizations/Activities

1. Appellate Practice Section, State Bar of Georgia
2. Chairman, Middle & Southern Georgia Committee of the Appellate Practice Section, State Bar of Georgia
3. Macon Bar Association
4. Appellate Practice Committee, American Bar Association
5. William Augustus Bootle American Inn of Court (Barrister)
6. Judicial Nominating Commission (appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2009)
7. Public Defender Selection Panel, Macon Judicial Circuit (appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue in 2007)
8. Criminal Justice Act Appellate Panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
9. Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy (President of Macon Lawyers’ Chapter)
10. Legal policy advisor to Governor Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign (2008)
11. Contributor, First Things “First Thoughts” (online publication)

Representative Cases

1. Transportation Ins. Co. v. Piedmont Constr. Group, LLC, 301 Ga. App. 17, 686 S.E.2d 824 (2009)
2. In re Estate of Miraglia, 290 Ga. App. 28, 658 S.E.2d 777 (2008)
3. Housing Auth. of Macon v. Younis, 279 Ga. App. 599, 631 S.E.2d 802 (2006)
4. Bogan v. Thompson, 176 Fed. Appx. 34 (2006)
5. Cash In Advance of Florida, Inc. v. Jolley, 272 Ga. App. 282, 612 S.E.2d 101 (2005)
6. Board of Tax Assessors of Ware County v. Baptist Village, Inc., 269 Ga. App. 848, 605 S.E.2d 436 (2004)
7. Lamad Ministries, Inc. v. Dougherty County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 268 Ga. App. 798, 602 S.E.2d 845 (2004)
8. Luke v. Ga. Dept. of Natural Res., 270 Ga. App. 647, 513 S.E.2d 728 (1999)
9. Folmer v. Perry, 229 Ga. App. 257, 493 S.E.2d 631 (1997)

Awards & Recognition

Short List Nominee, Supreme Court of Georgia (selected by Judicial Nominating Commission in 2009)
Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Star (2009)
AV® Preeminent ™ Peer-Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
Named by Campaigns & Elections Magazine as of the Top 50 Republican Influencers in Georgia
Bibb County Chairman for Congressman Nathan Deal (gubernatorial campaign, 2010)
Lawyers for Congressman Nathan Deal (statewide steering committee member, 2010)
Georgia Eighth Congressional District Chairman for Karen Handel (gubernatorial campaign, 2009-10)
Statewide Steering Committee to Elect Justice David Nahmias (2009-10)
Catholics for McCain National Steering Committee (2008)
Georgia Eighth Congressional District Delegate, Republican National Convention (2008)
Georgia Eighth Congressional District Chairman for McCain/Palin (2008)
Georgia Eighth Congressional District Chairman for Governor Mike Huckabee (2008)
Bibb County Chairman for Governor Sonny Perdue (2006)
Bibb County Steering Committee for President George W. Bush (2004)
Monroe County Chairman for Governor George W. Bush (2000)
Judge Robert G. Gillespie Outstanding Achievement in Appellate Advocacy Award (1994)
American Jurisprudence Award in Appellate Advocacy (1994)
American Jurisprudence Award in Alternative Dispute Resolution (1994)

Publications

1. Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties (M.E. Sharpe 2005) (five essays)
2. Encyclopedia of Great American Judges (ABC-CLIO 2003) (essays on Griffin Bell and Antonin Scalia)
3. Encyclopedia of Great American Lawyers (ABC-CLIO 2001) (essays on Kenneth Starr and Joseph Story)
4. The Tempting of America to be America: Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Papers (Special Collection of Samford University Library 1990)

Speaking Engagements

1. “Originalism and the Rule of Law,” Republican Leadership for Georgia (2009)
2. “The Most Dangerous Branch” (Campbell University, 2009; John Marshall-Atlanta, Mercer University, 2008; Washington & Lee University, Georgia State University, University of South Carolina, University of Virginia, 2007; University of Notre Dame, Samford University, Mississippi College, 2006)
3. “Presidential Candidates on Judicial Philosophy,” Federalist Society of Dallas (representing Governor Mike Huckabee 2008)
4. “The Role of the Federal Judiciary Under the Constitution,” One Columbus’s E Pluribus Unum Series (2007)
5. “The Law as a Vocation,” Christian Legal Society of Mercer University (2006)
6. “The Supreme Court and the Rule of Law,” Macon Rotary Club, Bibb County Republican Women, and Federalist Society of Mercer University (2005)
7. “Life in the Blogosphere: Pajamaheddin or New Media?,” Federalist Society of Montgomery (2005)
8. “Recent Supreme Court Developments,” Federalist Society of Mercer University (2004)
9. “Originalism in the Twenty-First Century,” Federalist Society of Mercer University (2001)
10. “Federalism after the States’ Rights Cases of 1999,” Federalist Society of Mercer University (1999)
11. “Glorifying God in the Legal Profession,” Christian Legal Society of Mercer University (1999).

Community Service

1. Saint Joseph Catholic Church (member and lector)
2. Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Coordinator for Capital Campaign (2010)
3. Saint Joseph Catholic School Board (2006-2010, President, 2008-2009)
4. Nazareth Life Ministries (Director, 2004-2006)
5. Make-a-Wish Foundation of Central and Southern Georgia (Of Counsel, 1999-2001)

Practice Areas

1. Appellate Practice
2. Complex Litigation
3. Administrative Law
4. Constitutional Law

Administrative/Legal Assistant Contact Information

1. Name: Allison Hobby
2. Title: Legal Assistant
3. Phone: 478.749.9913
4. E-Mail: ahobby@jbpslaw.com

Paralegal Contact Information

1. Name: Vanessa Maddalena
2. Title: Paralegal
3. Phone: 478.749.9917
4. E-Mail: vmaddalena@jbpslaw.com