Practice Areas: Family Law, Appellate, Criminal Defense; view more
Licensed in Alabama since: 2009
Education: Birmingham School of Law
Languages Spoken: English, Hindi, Punjabi
Details
Attorney Pooja Chawla is the founder and sole practitioner at the Pooja Chawla P.C. law firm in Birmingham, Alabama. Serving a diverse range of clients throughout Jefferson County and the surrounding areas, Ms. Chawla provides comprehensive legal services in a variety of practice areas in order to help individuals, families and business owners with their most important and complex legal challenges.
A highly rated attorney with more than eleven years of experience, Ms. Chawla has achieved notable success representing her clients' rights and best interests in a wide range of legal matters involving criminal defense, family law and appellate work. In addition, she also provides probate representation to help her clients secure their rightful inheritances.
A 1998 graduate of the Jawaharlal Nehru Academy of Languages, Ms. Chawla received her post-graduate diploma in communication and management and public relations from the R.P. Institute at the University of Delhi in 1999. After working at a major engineering and construction consultancy firm in India, Ms. Chawla immigrated to the United States and attended Birmingham School of Law in Alabama, where she obtained her Juris Doctor in 2009.
That same year, the Alabama State Bar Association admitted her to practice, and Ms. Chawla honed her legal skills at a prestigious area law firm and then served as judicial assistant for the Honorable Eugene R. Verin of the Jefferson County Circuit Court before establishing her own private practice.
Active in her legal community, Ms. Chawla is a member of several local, state and national bar associations, and she currently chairs the Birmingham Bar Association's New Lawyer Mentoring Program. She was recently elected to serve on the Executive Committee with the Birmingham Bar Association. She also served as vice-president for board member of the FBI Birmingham Citizens Academy Alumni Association and provides pro bono services for the Legal Aid Society of Birmingham, where she also served as President for the board of trustees, and continues to serve as an active board member.
Ms. Chawla was recognized by Super Lawyers as Rising Star in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Ms. Chawla was also recognized as Top Women Attorneys 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and Top Flight Attorneys 2019, by their local B-Metro Magazine.
Practice areas
Family Law, Appellate, Criminal DefenseFocus areas
Adoption, Alimony & Spousal Support, Appeals, Assault & Battery, Child Support, Criminal Domestic Violence, Criminal Law, Custody & Visitation, Divorce, Domestic Violence, Drug & Alcohol Violations, Failure to Pay Child Support, Father's Rights, Felony, Juvenile Delinquency, Juvenile Law, Marital Property, Mediation & Collaborative Law, Misdemeanor, Motor Vehicle Offenses, Name Change, Paternity, Prenuptial Agreements, Probation, Theft, Traffic Violations
- 60% Family Law
- 20% Appellate
- 20% Criminal Defense
First Admitted: 2009, Alabama
Professional Webpage: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pooja-chawla-esquire/
- Alabama State Bar - Leadership Forum Selection Committee
- Alabama State Bar - Membership Benefits Task Force
- Alabama State Bar - Leadership Forum, Executive Council
- Birmingham Bar Association - Executive Committee Board Member
- Alabama State Bar - Women in the Law Task Force, Subcommittee chair
- Alabama State Bar - Pro Bono Committee, Sub-committee chair
- Birmingham Bar Association - Entertainment Committee, Member
- Birmingham Bar Association - Chair, New Lawyers Mentoring Program
- M.L. v. Jefferson County Department of Human Resources, 2200948 and 2200949 (Ala. Civ. App. 2022) - Reversed after successful oral arguments. Precedent setting case that establishes the authority of the statute listed under Ala. Juvenile Justice Act which does not give the juvenile court authority to terminate the parental rights of a parent of a child who is over 18 years of age. , 2022
- T.B. v. Jefferson County Department of Human Resources, 2210177 (Ala. Civ. App. 2022) - Reversed, 2022
- Guardian ad Litem
- Mediation - Dependency/Termination of Parental Rights, 2022
- Mediation - Domestic Relations/Civil, 2021
- Birmingham Bar Association, Executive Committee Board Member, 2021
- Alabama State Bar - Women in the Law Task Force
- Alabama State Bar, Pro Bono Committee - Chairing efforts to expand pro bono services in the State of Alabama
- FBI Birmingham Citizens Academy Alumni Association, Executive Vice-President, 2019
- Birmingham Bar Association's New Lawyer Mentoring Program, Chair
- Legal Scout, Advisory Board - 2018
- Legal Aid Society of Birmingham, President for the Board of Trustees - 2019 Legal Aid Society of Birmingham, Vice President for the Board of Trustees - 2018
- Membership among America’s Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys® is meant to identify and highlight the accomplishments of the nation’s most esteemed and skilled White-Collar and General Criminal Defense Attorneys. Only 100 attorneys in each state* will receive this honor and be selected for membership among America’s Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys®. Candidates for membership are initially identified through third-party research or peer nominations by other elite attorneys in the community. Once a candidate is identified, they are carefully screened through third-party research and analysis involving proprietary algorithms applying multi-criteria decision making methods to create a Pareto efficiency frontier. These algorithms assess a broad array of criteria and data for each candidate, including (but not limited to) the attorney’s lifetime legal achievements, professional experience, significant case results and/or verdicts, peer reputation, client satisfaction, other notable honors, media notoriety, and community impact, among many other proprietary factors.The Pareto efficiency frontier created by the analysis of these criteria establishes a measure for each attorney that indicates the relative effectiveness of the attorney in Criminal Defense matters in comparison to other attorneys in the community. Through Qualitative Comparative Analysis, the most efficient and effective White-Collar and General Criminal Defense Attorneys among the community are then identified for selection among America’s Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys®.Every attorney selected for membership among America’s Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys® must pass through this multi-phase screening process and be found among the Top 100 Criminal Defense attorneys in their community based on our screening criteria. Attorneys cannot buy or “peer nominate” their way into membership. If an attorney does not meet the standards established by our criteria to be selected among the Top 100 in their community, then there is no amount of money (or peer nominations) that will change that.The integrity of our multi-phase selection process is paramount in achieving our objectives and ensuring that all attorneys selected for this great honor reflect the highest ideals and ethical standards of the legal profession., America's Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys, 2018
- R.P. Institute at the University of Delhi, Post-Graduate Diploma, Majors: Communication, Management and Public Relations , 1999
- Jawaharlal Nehru Academy of Languages, Graduate, 1998
- I presented oral arguments in front of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. This case was an appeal from my client (a mother) for termination of her parental rights to her child who was over 18 years old. I argued that one of the statutes as listed under Ala. Juvenile Justice Act does not give the juvenile court authority to terminate the parental rights of a parent of a child who is over 18 years of age. This was a case of first impression, which means that there is no other case law that address this issue. All five justices agreed and reversed the juvenile court’s decision termination mother’s parental rights to her 18 year old child. Going forward, this case will set a precedent for similar issues., Landmark ruling - M.L. v. Jefferson County Department of Human Resources, 2200948, Family Law, 2022
- B-Metro Top Women Attorneys, 2022
- B-Metro - Top Women Attorneys, 2020
- B-Metro - Top Attorneys in Family Law, 2022
- B-Metro - Top Women Attorneys, 2021
- B-Metro Top Women Attorneys, 2018
- B-Metro Top Women Attorneys, 2019
- B-Metro Top Flight Attorneys, 2019
- America's Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys, 2019
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 100, 2019
Selections
- Rising Stars: 2017 - 2019