Name Donald Watkins | Role Lawyer | |
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Well-Known Attorney Donald Watkins And Son On Trial Facing Federal Fraud Charges
Donald V. Watkins (born September 8, 1948) is an American trial attorney, banker, and entrepreneur.
Contents
- Well Known Attorney Donald Watkins And Son On Trial Facing Federal Fraud Charges
- he got up 1980 donald watkins kenneth mceastland
- Early life
- Career
- References
he got up 1980 donald watkins kenneth mceastland
Early life
Watkins was born in Parsons, Kansas on September 8, 1948 to Dr. Levi Watkins, Sr. (1911–1994) and Mrs. Lillian Bernice Varnado Watkins (1917–2013). He is the fifth of six children born to Levi and Lillian Watkins. His father was president of Alabama State University from 1962–1981, his mother was an educator.
Watkins attended Southern Illinois University from 1966 to 1970. In September 1970, Watkins was one of two black students to attend the University of Alabama School of Law after three black law students broke the color barrier at the law school the prior academic year. Watkins attended the three-year law school program on a Herbert Lehman Scholarship awarded by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York City. Lehman Scholarships were awarded to young African-American students in the 1970s who demonstrable an interest in advancing the cause of civil rights and/or serving the public interest.
After graduation from law school, Watkins started a law practice in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1979, he was elected to the Montgomery City Council where he served as from 1979 to 1983. In 1985, Watkins expanded his law practice into Birmingham, Alabama, and became a confidant and Special Counsel to Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington Jr., until 1998.
Career
In 1976, Watkins won a pardon for Clarence Norris, one of the Scottsboro Boys. Watkins was a longtime attorney and confidant of Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. He represented HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy, whose acquittal he won in a 2005 trial.
Watkins attempted to purchase the Minnesota Twins in 2002 and the Anaheim Angels in 2003. The owner of the Twins decided against selling his baseball team and the Angels were sold to Arturo Moreno.
In March 2012, Nabirm Energy Services (PTY) Ltd., Watkins' Namibian-based energy services company signed an exclusive contract with the government of Namibia to mine uranium for sale to nuclear power stations worldwide. In July 2012, Watkins' energy services company was awarded a petroleum exploration license by the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy.