Cason Kirby
Partner
Overview
Cason Kirby is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight's Birmingham office. Mr. Kirby has a proven track record of delivering solutions to clients in complex and high-stakes litigation. His practice includes a broad range of commercial disputes, with particular experience in business competition issues. Mr. Kirby regularly represents clients in the financial services and insurance sectors in restrictive covenant enforcement, trade secrets disputes, and unfair competition and business tort claims.
Mr. Kirby also has extensive experience counseling corporate officers, directors and shareholders on fiduciary duty and shareholder rights issues, including litigating minority shareholder oppression and breach of fiduciary duty claims. He has also defended a large law firm in multiple fraud and legal malpractice claims. Clients value his counsel for identifying efficient business solutions to complex disputes and for meeting their changing needs throughout each step in the litigation and appeals process.
In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Kirby served in a leadership role on an Alabama Law Institute drafting committee for Alabama's first-in-the-nation non-disparagement obligation statute, which was signed into law in 2021.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Kirby was a litigation attorney for a boutique business litigation law firm in its Birmingham office.
Representative Experience
- Won the complete reversal on appeal of a plaintiffs' trial fraud judgment in favor of a class of individual debtors against a Georgia financial services company
- Won a multimillion-dollar jury verdict after a two-week trial in favor of a financial services company asserting business fraud claims against a former business associate
- Served as lead counsel for a privately owned financial services company defending fraud claims related to a regulated investment product
- Won the dismissal of trade secrets claims asserted against a technology consulting company retained by litigants in a restrictive covenant dispute
- Successfully defended an office product supply company in trade secrets litigation brought against employee by former employers
- Represented a national insurance brokerage firm in trade secrets and restrictive covenant disputes with former employees
- Represented a national insurance brokerage firm in trade secrets and business tort claims asserted by a competitor
- Represented a national pharmacy chain in opioid-related litigation brought by municipalities and hospitals
- Represented a health insurance company in multidistrict litigation alleging antitrust violations under the Sherman Act
- Represented a group of physicians alleging minority shareholder oppression and squeeze-out claims against one of the former largest for-profit hospital companies in the United States relating to their interests in a hospital joint venture
- Represented a national pharmacy chain in real estate disputes with commercial tenants
- Won a multimillion-dollar judgment on defamation claims by a regional political consulting firm against a law firm and political website blogger, which was affirmed on appeal
- Won a complete defense summary judgment in favor of a large regional law firm on fraud claims asserted by an opposing lawyer, which was affirmed on appeal
Credentials
- The University of Alabama School of Law, J.D.
- The University of Alabama, B.A., magna cum laude
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- All U.S. District Courts in Alabama
- All State Courts in Alabama
- All U.S. District Courts in Mississippi
- All State Courts in Mississippi
- Alabama Law Foundation, Fellow, 2023
- American Bar Association (ABA), Business Torts and Unfair Competition Committee, Subcommittee Co-Chair; Journal Editor, 2021-Present
- Alabama Law Institute, Elected Member, 2021-Present
- International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), 2022-Present
- Alabama Episcopal Foundation, Trustee and Chairman, 2020-Present
- The Blackburn Institute, Fellow, 2012-Present
- Mid-South Super Lawyers magazine, Business Litigation, 2018-2023
- Birmingham Magazine, Top Attorney, Appellate and Rising Star, 2020
- Birmingham Business Journal, Rising Star of Law, 2018
- Tuscaloosa News, 40 Under 40, 2018
- Jasons Senior Men's Honorary, The University of Alabama, 2008-2009