Meet The Firm

Thomas J. “Jay” Skinner— Managing Partner
Before forming the firm in 2008, Mr. Skinner was a shareholder with a 30+ lawyer firm located in Birmingham, Alabama, where he practiced in the areas of real estate law and title insurance, general civil litigation, defense of workers compensation claims, and defense of Federal Black Lung claims. Mr. Skinner is a 1990 graduate of the University of Alabama with a B.S. in Commerce and Business Administration with a Major in Real Estate, and he is a 1993 graduate of Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Mr. Skinner was admitted to the Alabama State Bar in 1993. He has also held a Real Estate Broker’s License in the State of Alabama since 1992. Mr. Skinner is peer review rated “AV” with Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Skinner is a member of the Alabama Bar Association, Birmingham Bar Association, and the Dixie Land Title Association. Mr. Skinner was also a member of the Alabama Real Estate Lawyers Association (First VP 1997-1998; President 1998-1999). Mr. Skinner is licensed to practice law in the State of Alabama, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama, the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and the Supreme Court of the United States. In addition to his civilian practice, Mr. Skinner is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, serving as the Chief of Military Justice at the 167th Theater Sustainment Command where he oversees all military justice matters for the Alabama Army National Guard. In 2013, Lt. Colonel Skinner deployed to Southwest Asia where he served in Kuwait and Qatar in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Mr. Skinner, a resident of Mountain Brook, Alabama, is also active in his community where he served as the President of the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Pastoral Council, worked with the Boy Scouts of America as Cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 63 and Assistant Scoutmaster at Boy Scout Troop 28, served as a board member of SCI of Alabama, Inc., a conservation organization, and currently serves as a board member of Alabama Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association.
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Areas of Specialization

Real Estate and Title Insurance Services

The Law Offices of Thomas J. Skinner, IV, LLC specialize in real estate and title insurance Law, providing legal services to title insurance carriers, real estate companies, corporate real estate departments, as well as individuals, for virtually all matters involving real property. Our services include:

• Claims to title and title insurance matters
• Easements, rights-of-way, and access to real property
• Enforcement and defense involving liens and encumbrances to title, including mechanic’s and materialmen’s liens, judgment liens, restrictive covenants, and other encumbrances to title
• Boundary line disputes and adverse possession
• Division and partition of co-owned real property
• Land use issues, life estates, deed and mortgage reformations, and defective acknowledgements
• Homestead rights and exemptions
• Representation of commercial lessors
• Representation of parties to commercial real estate transactions
• Assertion and defense of breach of warranty claims
• Quiet title actions
• Mobile home title conversions
• Bona fide purchaser/lender claims

 

Tax Sales and Redemption Services

We provide legal services to individuals, escrow servicers, and lenders throughout the State of Alabama who seek to either purchase or redeem real property sold for taxes or fire dues by counties or fire districts. Our firm also assists our clients in recovering tax overbids from county tax collectors and revenue departments.

General Civil Litigation

Our firm provides general civil litigation services to insurance companies, business entities, employers, and individuals in all State and Federal Courts in Alabama.

We provide defense of claims involving negligence, fraud, and other general tort claims; business torts and contractual disputes; and coverage, bad faith and general liability defense.

Business and Corporate Law

We provide legal services to corporations, LLCs, and other business entities, including formation, dissolution and general representation of corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and other business entities. Our firm also provides consultations and general corporate/business law advice for small to mid-sized businesses and their owners.

Estate Planning and Probate, Wills, Estates, and Trusts

Our firm provides a full range of probate and estate planning services for individuals, couples and families, including wills, trusts, advance directives, and powers of attorney.