Robert P. MacKenzie III

Since graduating from law school 41 years ago, Bob MacKenzie has had the good fortune to work at Starnes Davis Florie. The founding partners of the firm stressed that to be successful, a lawyer should have a keen understanding of the law, commitment to the client, and there was no substitute for preparation. These principles remain as true today as the founders intended 50 years ago. As a result, the firm has provided Bob and others the opportunity to practice law the way it is supposed to be. Corners are not cut, resumes are not exaggerated, results are real, and all without sacrificing professionalism.

For the majority of his career, Bob has focused on defending medical and legal malpractice actions. Success in those areas has allowed Bob’s practice to expand to include commercial litigation, shareholder derivative suits, and unique matters such as defending church conferences in ecclesiastical disputes and addressing the disparity of school funding. Bob has tried in excess of 120 jury trials to a verdict. Outside the traditional courtroom setting, Bob represents lawyers, judges, and other professionals before Alabama regulatory boards and the Alabama Court of the Judiciary. He has published multiple articles on the defense of legal malpractice suits and ethics.

For his effort, Bob is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Within the College, he has served as Chair of the Outreach Committee, State Chair for Alabama, and the Board of Regents. Bob is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and International Society of Barristers. He is a Past-President of both the Birmingham Bar Association and the Judge James Horton Inn of Court. Bob is recognized by Chambers USA in the areas of medical malpractice defense and commercial litigation.

Professional Recognition

fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, where he has served as the State Chair for Alabama and on the Board of Regents

Past President of the Birmingham Bar Association (2015 - 2016)

Past - President of the Judge James E. Horton American Inn of Court (2018 - 2020)

Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and previously served on the National Board of Directors

fellow of the International Society of Barristers

Top Leading Litigator by Chambers USA

Listed in Best Lawyers in America. In addition, Best Lawyers in America has named Bob MacKenzie the “Birmingham Best Lawyers Medical Malpractice Defense Lawyer of the Year”for 2013

Life fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the Alabama Law Foundation and of the Birmingham Bar Foundation

Named “Litigation Star” in Benchmark Litigation

Super Lawyer in Alabama by Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine

An AV rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings

Presentations and Publications

•Make Your New Year Happy - Avoid a Suit for Legal Malpractice, CLE by the Bundle/Cumberland, Birmingham, AL, December 20, 2018.
•Direct & Cross Examination of Expert Witnesses, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham, AL, March 28, 2017.
•Ethical Issues Facing Attorneys, James E. Horton Inn of Court, Birmingham, AL, March 21, 2017.
•Alabama State Bar Professionalism, New Admitted Members of the Alabama State Bar, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham, AL, October 23, 2015.
•Direct & Cross Examination of Expert Witnesses, Alabama Defense Trial Academy, Birmingham, AL, August 7, 2015.
•Cross Examination of Plaintiff’s Expert Witness, Alabama Defense Lawyers Association Trial Academy, Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham, AL, August 8, 2014.
•Common Oversights That Lead to Malpractice Claims, Attorneys Insurance Mutual Of the South, Inc., Mobile, AL, November 8, 2013.
•Ethics: Avoiding a Suit for Legal Malpractice, The Judge James Edwin Horton American Inn of Court, Birmingham, AL, October 22, 2013.
•Responding to a Bar Complaint, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 73. No. 2, March 2012.
•Welcome to the Trophy Generation, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 73. No. 1, January 2012.
•Jury Misconduct What Happens Behind Closed Doors, Alabama Law Review, Vol. 62, No. 3, 2011.
•Seeking a Recusal: Calling the Judge a Lizard Won’t Help Your Cause, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 71, No. 3, May 2010.
•Nine Ways to Avoid a Suit for Legal Malpractice, The Alabama Lawyer, Vol. 65, No. 4, July 2004.
•The Professional Liability of Attorneys in Alabama, Cumberland Law Review Vol. 30, No. 3 (1999-2000).

News & Insights

• Starnes Davis Florie Obtains Multiple Appellate Victories
• Twelve Starnes Attorneys Selected for Mid-South Super Lawyers 2025
• Benchmark Litigation 2026 Ranks Starnes Davis Florie as a Highly Recommended Litigation Firm
• Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2026
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked a Top Law Firm by Chambers USA 2025
•Fourteen Attorneys Selected for Mid-South Super Lawyers 2024
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked as a Highly Recommended Litigation Firm in the 2025 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
•33 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2025
•Starnes Davis Florie Achieves Multiple Appellate Victories
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked a Top Law Firm by Chambers USA 2024
•SDF Sponsors the 2024 UA School of Law BLSA Annual Scholarship Awards Banquet & Congratulates Alfred Perkins on the Gail K. Johnson Award
•Eleven Attorneys Selected for Mid-South Super Lawyers 2023
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked as a “Highly Recommended Litigation Firm” in the 2024 Edition of Benchmark Litigation
•30 Starnes Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2024
•SDF Attorneys MacKenzie & White Obtain Defense Verdict in 6-Day Wrongful Death Trial
•Starnes Davis Florie Ranked a Top Law Firm by Chambers USA 2023
•Starnes Attorneys MacKenzie & Still Secure Defense Verdict in 5-Day Wrongful Death Trial
•16 Starnes Attorneys Listed in the 2022 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
•Starnes Davis Florie Highly Ranked in Benchmark Litigation 2023
•30 SDF ATTORNEYS LISTED IN BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA 2023

Highlights

Secured a writ of mandamus from the Alabama Supreme Court in Ex parte Alabama-West Fla. Conference of the United Methodist Church, Inc., directing the trial court to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, as the dispute centered on an internal church disaffiliation vote rather than a neutral property issue (Plaintiff’s have filed an application for rehearing).

Obtained a defense verdict in a 6-day wrongful death case in favor of a defendant, Hospitalist, in a case alleging failure to ensure that a patient was placed on necessary cardiac monitoring.

Secured a defense verdict in a medical malpractice wrongful death suit following a five-day jury trial, involving allegations of improper administration of Tissue Plasminogen Activator (“TPA”) to a stroke patient by the defendant Emergency Room nurse and hospital. The case was bifurcated under the Alabama Legal Services Liability Act resulting in the dismissal of the suit against the attorney.

Following a six-day trial, obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a plastic surgeon in a case involving post-operative complications from mesh used during the surgical procedure, which was chest reconstruction following breast cancer.

Following a nine-day trial, obtained a defense verdict for a defendant Hospitalist in a case alleging injuries from an alleged failure to diagnose spinal cord compression.

Obtained a defense verdict in favor of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in a case involving a bilateral total joint replacement of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Obtained a defense verdict for a defendant gynecologist in a case alleging negligent failure to diagnose breast cancer, resulting in a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

Removal and dismissal of legal malpractice claim against out of state attorney and law firm.

Obtained summary judgment in a legal malpractice suit pending in the United States District Court for New Jersey arising out of an underlying patent litigation matter.

Obtained summary judgment in favor of a law firm in a suit for legal malpractice pending in Federal Court arising out of an underlying will contest.

Obtained defense verdict for an addiction medicine physician in case arising out of care provided during the patient’s detoxification.

Obtained a defense verdict in favor of an anesthesiologist in a case arising out of a cervical epidural block which led to a spinal cord injury.

Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an OB/GYN after a five day trial in a case arising out of pregnancy complications.

Obtained a defense verdict in favor of two pathologists in a case arising out of a false positive interpretation of breast tissue which led to unnecessary surgery.

Obtained summary judgment in legal malpractice action arising out of alleged negligent failure to properly construct a multi-million dollar bond issue. Decision was affirmed by written opinion issued by the Alabama Supreme Court