Sybil Newton is a partner at Starnes Davis Florie and has practiced with the firm for over twenty-five years. She currently heads the firm’s Appellate Law and Written Advocacy Group. Prior to her position with the firm’s Appellate Group, Sybil had an active trial practice, participating in over twenty jury trials, defending primarily medical malpractice actions across the state. She has handled a variety of appeals on behalf of litigants and has been retained by non-litigants to intervene as amicus curiae as well. Sybil previously served as the Firm’s Administrative Partner for six years.
Professional Recognition
- Appointed by the Alabama Supreme Court in 2018 to serve a fourth term as a member of the Standing Committee on Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure until October 2021
- Recognized as a leading Appellate practitioner in the Eleventh Circuit Benchmark: Appellate
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America®for Appellate Law
- AV Peer Rating by Martindale Hubbell for over 20 years
- Listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers® magazine as one of the top attorneys in the state of Alabama
- Member of The American Society of Legal Advocates, which selects less than 1.5% of lawyers nationwide for membership
Community Involvement
- Sybil volunteers as a CASA (court appointed special advocate for children), advocating for the best interests of abused or neglected children who have been removed from their homes.
- Sybil is a member of the Cathedral Church of the Advent, which she attends with her husband and their five children.
- She serves as a reader and radio reader at the Church of the Advent.
Highlights
- Obtained from the Alabama Supreme Court a reversal and remand of a plaintiff’s verdict and judgment in a medical malpractice case on behalf of a defendant anesthesiologist due to the plaintiff’s failure to produce a qualified expert witness during trial.
- Obtained an affirmance by the Alabama Supreme Court of a defense verdict in favor of an OB/GYN in a retained foreign body/surgical sponge case.
- Obtained a favorable opinion from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals affirming the dismissal of a complaint arising from orthodontic care and treatment.
- Obtained a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court of Alabama affirming the trial court’s granting of summary judgment in favor of their clients in a case involving allegations of harm caused by the long-term use of a medication.
- Obtained a favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court on behalf of their clients, a national little league baseball program and its local director, after a spectator was hit by a baseball and sustained a serious brain injury/bleed.
- Obtained a favorable opinion from the Supreme Court of Alabama reversing and remanding a trial court’s denial of a client’s request to compel arbitration of claims filed against his business in Baldwin County, Alabama.
- In June 2015, Sybil Newton, along with Jay Ezelle and Randy Sellers, obtained favorable ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court on behalf of a university provost in a suit involving an on-campus shooting of six faculty members. The Alabama Supreme Court affirmed all of the decisions of the trial court and rejected plaintiffs’ request for a rehearing.
News & Insights
- White, Newton & Bates Secure Favorable Supreme Court Opinion
- Twenty-Six Attorneys Named to the 2020 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
- Twenty-Six SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2021
- Another Appellate Win for SDF – Affirmance of Defense Verdict at Trial
- SDF Appellate Win – AL Supreme Court Grants Reversal & Remand
- Appellate Win for Starnes Davis Florie
- Appellate Win for Starnes Davis Florie
- THIRTY-ONE SDF ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2019 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
- Bob MacKenzie, Sybil Newton, Warren Butler, and Clayton Bromberg Obtain Ruling from The Supreme Court of Alabama Affirming Dismissal of Legal Malpractice Action
- Chris Eagan, Sybil Newton, and Sarah Chamberlain Obtain Favorable Ruling from the Supreme Court of Alabama
- Thirty SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers 2020
- SDF Attorneys Sybil Newton & Jordan Gerheim Obtain Favorable Ruling From Alabama Supreme Court
- SYBIL NEWTON REAPPOINTED TO A 4th TERM ON THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON AL RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE & FEATURED IN THE BBJ FOR HER DEDICATION TO CASA
- THIRTY-ONE SDF ATTORNEYS NAMED TO THE 2018 EDITION OF MID-SOUTH SUPER LAWYERS
- Twenty-Seven SDF Attorneys Listed in Best Lawyers in America 2019
- Twenty-Eight SDF Attorneys Named to the 2017 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
- Newton Butler and Presley Obtain Favorable Ruling from The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals
- Twenty-Six SDF Lawyers Listed in the 2018 Edition of Best Lawyers in America
- SDF Attorneys Obtain Favorable Opinion From Supreme Court of Alabama
- Twenty-Six SDF Attorneys Named to the 2016 Edition of Mid-South Super Lawyers
Fun Facts
Sybil is the mother of five children. Her eldest, Adair is married and resides in Mobile, Alabama with her husband. Her second, Richard, is an architect in Atlanta, Georgia. Her twin boys, Ross and William are students at Auburn University. Her son Lucas is a student at Altamont high school.