President-Elect Profiles, 0515 ALBJ, 76 The Alabama Lawyer 160 (2015)
| Author | J. Cole Portis, W.N. “Rocky” Watson |
| Position | Vol. 76 3 Pg. 160 |
J. Cole Portis,
W.N. “Rocky” Watson
Pursuant to the Alabama State Bar’s Rules Governing the Election of President-elect, the following biographical sketches are provided of J. Cole Portis and W.N. “Rocky” Watson. Portis and Watson were the qualifying candidates for the position of president-elect of the Alabama State Bar for the 2015-16 term and the winner will assume the presidency in July 2016.
J. Cole Portis
Cole is, first and foremost, a husband and a father to nine children. He is married to Joy and they have four daughters and five sons. Cole and Joy are strong advocates for adoption. They have adopted six of their nine children. The couple also serves as foster parents, having fostered 18 children in the last four years. Cole and his wife are the founders of Love 100 Ministry, which assists Alabama families with adoption costs.
Cole graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1990 and joined Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles PC in 1991, where he is now a principal. Cole represents people and families who are injured or killed by defective products. This calling allows him to counsel his clients, to uphold the 7th Amendment right of individuals to a trial by jury and to help society as a whole by creating safer products for consumers. In addition to handling litigation matters at Beasley Allen, Cole manages the firm’s product liability/personal injury section.
Cole participates in multiple service organizations because he believes in helping others inside and outside the profession. Since 2007, he has served as a bar commissioner representing the 15th Judicial Circuit. As a commissioner, he serves on the Executive Council. He is a board member of the Alabama Law Foundation, where he is also a Fellow, a member of the Finance Committee and a member of the Atticus Finch Society. He supports the Alabama Civil Justice Foundation through its Pioneers of Justice Society and is a Montgomery County Bar Association volunteer lawyer. He is past president of the Alabama State Bar Young Lawyers’ Section, the Montgomery County Bar Association and the Montgomery County Trial Lawyers Association.
Recently, Cole was recognized as a finalist for Public Justice’s 2014 Trial Lawyer of the Year. He is an AV-rated lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell.
In the Montgomery community, Cole has been...
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