Advocates for Murray Lawrence Jr. Say Birmingham Firm Withdrew From Habeas Petition Work

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Advocates for Alabama inmate Murray “Bubba” Lawrence Jr. say a Birmingham law firm withdrew from preparing a federal habeas petition on his behalf at a key point in his post-conviction case.

Lawrence, a Baldwin County man who has served more than two decades in prison after his murder conviction, has maintained his innocence.

Advocates describe agreement with the firm

According to lead advocate Francis Paul Ripp, the firm Maxwell-Tillman had agreed to help draft a federal writ of habeas corpus after appeals in district, appellate and state courts had been exhausted. Ripp said the agreement was made verbally and through a formal invoice, with three members of the advocacy team present as witnesses. He said nearly half of the firm’s stated fee was paid as a down payment.

The advocacy team later received a non-engagement letter from the firm. According to the advocates, the letter said no attorney-client relationship had been formed and that materials the team had shared would not be treated as confidential unless the firm was formally retained.

Advocates’ accusations

“This came after two years of working with us,” Ripp said. “They accepted funds, agreed to collaborate, and suddenly bailed, abandoning the commitment and the case. It’s hard to view that as anything but professional misconduct.”

Ripp said the letter’s wording “seemed to suggest they could disclose privileged information.” The advocates’ accusations against the firm have not been proven, and the firm’s position, as described by the advocates, is that no attorney-client relationship existed.

Nancy R. Koerner, an advocate and research lead who was the team’s contact on the firm’s client portal for more than a year, said the case documents the firm returned were mostly motions and filings, along with exhibits she had taken from the trial transcript or prepared through her own research.

“They did no real discovery,” Koerner said. She said the firm did not persuade the state on the advocates’ claims of Brady violations, which involve the disclosure of evidence favorable to a defendant.

Communication with Lawrence

Ripp and Koerner said communication with the firm during its two years on the case was irregular. They said the firm contacted Lawrence by phone twice and that its primary partner, Leroy Maxwell, visited him in prison once. They said Gabby Humber, the attorney assigned to the case until she left in June, never visited him.

The advocates also said their concerns about a prison wall phone that failed to connect Lawrence with his lawyers were not addressed. Koerner said her portal access was removed after she pressed those issues, and that the firm cut ties around the time Ripp and Lawrence’s father, Murray Lawrence Sr., asked that her access be restored.

Coroner’s report

Ripp said the advocates’ research, including what he described as a suppressed Alabama state coroner’s report on the exhumation of the victim and the removal of all seven cervical vertebrae, was never presented at an evidentiary hearing.

Next steps

“Families should know what happened,” Ripp said, adding that the advocates’ aim is prevention, not retaliation.

Ripp and Koerner said they will continue research, outreach and the search for other legal options. Koerner said the team is looking for a documentary film producer to draw attention to the case.