President's Page

Jana Russell Garner serves as the 151st president of the Alabama State Bar. She was installed on July 18, 2026, during the Grand Convocation at the Bar’s Annual Meeting in Point Clear, and her term will run through July 17, 2027. Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah H. Stewart administered the oath of office.

Garner is a solo practitioner who maintains offices in Selma and Tuscaloosa. She represents individuals, families, and businesses in civil matters throughout Alabama, with a concentration in central and west Alabama. She also serves as a registered mediator in trial court and appellate matters.

A graduate of Judson College and Cumberland School of Law, Garner has spent much of her career serving the legal profession and the people of Alabama. Her leadership experience includes service through the Alabama State Bar, the Board of Bar Commissioners, the Court of the Judiciary, the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Alabama Rules of Evidence, professional organizations, local bar associations, and numerous Bar sections, committees, and task forces.

Those experiences have shaped her view of Alabama lawyers and the role of the State Bar.

“I have seen lawyers serve quietly and without recognition,” Garner said. “I have seen lawyers lead in their communities, mentor younger lawyers, strengthen local bars, volunteer their time, answer the call when help was needed, and take seriously the responsibility that comes with this profession.”

Alabama Roots Run Deep

Garner’s presidential theme, Alabama Roots Run Deep, reflects pride in the history and traditions of Alabama’s legal profession while recognizing the importance of continued growth.

Alabama became the first state to adopt a written code of legal ethics in 1887. That code later helped form the foundation for the American Bar Association’s original Canons of Professional Ethics. Cases arising from Alabama have also helped shape important areas of American law, including the right to counsel, equal representation, freedom of the press, and equal protection.

“Our roots are where we come from,” Garner said. “They are the values that anchor us: integrity, professionalism, service, courage, competency, accountability, and respect for the rule of law.”

For Garner, deep roots are not a reason to remain still. They provide the foundation needed for the profession to grow, respond to change, and serve future generations.

“Deep roots are not meant to keep a tree frozen in place,” she said. “Deep roots make growth possible.”

Priorities for the Year

During her term, Garner will focus on strengthening communication and collaboration across the profession, supporting the competency and confidence of Alabama lawyers, and creating opportunities for members to connect with one another and serve their communities.

Her priorities include supporting the Bar’s sections, committees, task forces, local bars, young lawyers, volunteers, and leaders throughout the state. These groups serve as the branches through which the Bar reaches its members, develops ideas, and carries its work into communities.

Garner also plans to highlight the work Alabama lawyers are already doing every day, whether they are helping clients through difficult circumstances, mentoring younger attorneys, volunteering at legal help events, serving through local bars, or choosing professionalism when no one is watching.

“The strength of this Bar lives in its individual lawyers,” Garner said. “The Alabama State Bar is not separate from its members. It is its members.”

Stamped for Success

The Bar’s statewide continuing legal education initiative will be known as the Stamped for Success Tour.

The tour will bring practical and meaningful education to lawyers in communities across Alabama. Its goal is to provide members with the tools, competency, and confidence they need to succeed in a changing profession.

The stamp imagery represents purpose, value, movement, and connection. It reflects the Bar’s responsibility to deliver useful resources directly to lawyers throughout the state.

Alabama Lawyers Deliver

Garner will also introduce Alabama Lawyers Deliver, a series of Community Legal Help Days designed to connect Alabama lawyers with communities and individuals who need legal information and assistance.

“If Stamped for Success is about bringing education to lawyers, Alabama Lawyers Deliver is about bringing service to the public,” Garner said.

“Alabama lawyers deliver counsel. They deliver guidance. They deliver time. They deliver leadership. They deliver access to people who may not otherwise know where to turn.”

The initiative reflects Garner’s belief that the legal profession is strongest when it is rooted in service.

A Place for Every Alabama Lawyer

Throughout the year, Garner hopes Alabama lawyers will find new ways to participate in the work of the Bar, whether through a section, committee, task force, local bar, continuing legal education program, legal help day, or volunteer opportunity.

“This year, I hope every Alabama lawyer will see a place to connect with the work of this Bar,” Garner said. “Each of us has a role in strengthening this profession from the roots up.”

Garner and her husband, Paul, have two children, Fair and Sam. She credits her family’s encouragement and support with making her service possible.

“As I begin this year of service, I do so with gratitude for the past, confidence in the present, and hope for the future,” Garner said. “Let us honor the roots. Let us tend the branches. Let us celebrate the good work already growing across Alabama. And let us carry this profession forward, together.”