Alabama Legal Research Services for Attorneys
The National Legal Research Group was founded in 1969 to provide quality research and writing services to law firms of all shapes and sizes. More than 50 years, 50,000 clients, and 185,000 research projects later, we still have the same goal.
We have served over 700 attorneys in Alabama on over 2,300 research projects. We list some of these attorneys below, along with what they have said about our services.
NLRG offers a broad range of work products, both objective and advocacy. Our objective products can help you evaluate a case or give you sources to cite in a work product of your own. Our most common advocacy product is a motion brief or trial brief. Earlier in the case, we can draft complaints, answers, and motions, including discovery motions. We also draft signature-ready appellate briefs to the Eleventh Circuit, the Alabama Supreme Court, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, and the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. Here is a broader discussion of the types of products we prepare.
Many of our clients are solo practitioners and small firms. We take great pride in allowing these clients access to the same legal research firepower enjoyed by larger firms, at an affordable price. We cannot work for non-attorneys.
We have over 25 research attorneys. Some work at our headquarters building; others work remotely. We list below some of our attorneys who most regularly work on Alabama cases. You can also view full biographies of our entire attorney staff. We specialize by area of law, and most of our attorneys have years of experience working in their areas. All of our research projects are done by human attorneys; we use AI only as one among many research tools.
Our normal turnaround time is 2-3 weeks, but we can sometimes do quick email or telephone reports in as little as 1-2 days, though at a higher billing rate. Here is a full list of our billing rates.
Alabama Legal Research Attorney Spotlight
Senior Attorney Anne Hemenway
B.A., Harvard University, 1979, Cum Laude. J.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 1985. Member, New Mexico Bar. Anne worked as a legislative assistant for former Senator Birch Bayh and former Senator Joe Tydings in Washington, D.C. Upon graduating from law school, she practiced commercial law for five years before joining NLRG. Read Full Bio.
Senior Attorney Jason Holder
B.A. (Philosophy), University of Virginia; J.D. University of Richmond School of Law. After law school Jason served as a magistrate in Virginia’s 15th Judicial District. As a magistrate, Jason would provide an independent review of complaints of criminal conduct brought by law enforcement and the general public. He would issue various types of processes including arrest warrants, bonds, and search warrants as well as conduct bail hearings for individuals arrested on warrants charging them with a criminal offense. Jason served as a magistrate primarily in the Stafford County and Fredericksburg City Magistrates’ Offices before joining NLRG in June 2016. In 2025, he became a member of NLRG's Management Committee. Read Full Bio
Senior Attorney Matthew McDavitt
B.A., University of Virginia, 1993. J.D., University of Virginia, 2006, where he was a member of the Virginia Environmental Law Forum and was a Public Interest Law Association Grant Winner.
Matthew specializes in Wills, Trusts and Estates, Pensions, and Environmental Law. His conservation efforts on behalf of critically endangered sawfishes have been internationally recognized, as he was a 2008 recipient of the Peter Benchley Shark Conservation Award. Read Full Bio
Research Attorney Trayce Hockstad
B.A., Lee University, 2012. J.D. Regent University School of Law, 2017. Member, Alabama and Virginia Bars.
Over the course of her legal career, Trayce has served as a law clerk in Norfolk and Newport News Circuit Courts of Virginia, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Region III Office of the Environmental Protection Agency. She joined NLRG in 2021, and her areas of expertise include criminal law, evidence, and environmental practice. She has authored five law review articles and is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Alabama. Read Full Bio
Testimonials
"I've been using NLRG since 1977. All work product generated by NLRG has been of the highest quality and beneficial. The latest work of Paul Ferrer continues that trend. His response to my recent request was prompt and directly on point."
—Robert Vargo, Huntsville, AL
"I have needed help on two occasions, one was extremely complicated and the other called for a quick turn-around. [In] the complex project . . . Ms. [Charlene] Hicks' brief won the issue, and kept the case in court for my client. Frankly, I had expected to lose. . . . The second matter . . . she helped me file excellent responses to [three] motions within roughly 48 hours. The responses completely refuted [the] motions, and [the opposition] offered a generous settlement two days later. "
—J. Tim Coyle, Birmingham, AL
"[Matt McDavitt] was very knowledgeable and effective."
—Phillip Leslie, Mobile, AL
"Completely satisfactory!"
—Robert S. Edington, Mobile, AL
"I was treated with great interest and courtesy and the work product was first rate. Everything was excellent."
—Francis H. Hare Jr., Birmingham, AL
