Paul Compton
Paul is a founding partner of Compton Jones Dresher. The law practice, comprised of experienced lawyers, primarily serves clients in the real estate, financial services and banking industries — providing legal advice and support for the transactions and operations that are key to them.
Compton Jones Dresher’s modern, nimble, firm structure enables Paul and his colleagues to bring a low-overhead approach to the practice of law — focusing closely on the needs of each client, while offering a level of practice sophistication commonly associated with “BigLaw” firms.
Paul concentrates his practice on: 1) Multi-family housing, as well as affordable housing and community development matters — especially those involving low income housing tax credits, new markets tax credits, historic tax credits and opportunity zone investments. 2) Regulatory and growth & expansion activities of financial institutions — including merger and acquisition activity, enforcement matters, and development of new products.
Over his 30+-year career, Paul has participated in hundreds of transactions —in Alabama and nationwide — including a number of landmark and first-of-a-kind transactions. Paul is intimately familiar with the regulatory issues affecting financial institutions. Moreover, his tenure as a senior federal official in Washington, D.C. gives him special perspective on the challenges facing regulated entities.
After working with a large Birmingham firm for 21 years, Haskins Jones started his own firm in 2013 — enabling him to provide greater personal focus to his clients and their needs and affording him more flexibility in structuring alternative fee arrangements; two practice advantages he enjoys today as a founding partner of Compton Jones Dresher.
Haskins has over two decades of experience practicing commercial and general corporate law, with an emphasis on finance and commercial real estate, including healthcare and senior living properties. With his extensive real estate experience, Haskins offers clients a broad knowledge of industry best practices and market terms and conditions.
Haskins regularly counsels lenders, borrowers, buyers, sellers, tenants, investors and developers in a wide variety of commercial real estate transactions. He provides general corporate and business law advice to small and mid-size companies.
Prior to forming his own firm, Haskins was a partner in the Birmingham firm Johnston Barton Proctor & Rose LLP — where, in addition to his law practice, he served on the firm’s management committee for many years.
Haskins Jones
Dave is a founding partner of Compton Jones Dresher, and has practiced more than 35 years across the full range of issues that impact real estate interests and financial institutions. He has been a trusted advisor, offering a combination of technical skills, can-do attitude and the ability to bring matters to successful conclusion. He frequently finds himself in the board room guiding important decisions from a legal and practical standpoint.
Dave concentrates his practice on: 1) Real-estate related transactions, representing owners, developers and managers; 2) Bank representations including commercial and real estate lending, workouts and other bank regulatory and operational issues; and 3) representation of family-owned businesses.
Dave Dresher
Hayes joined Compton Jones Dresher in September 2021 and was elected partner in January 2023. Admitted to the Bar in 2008, Hayes began his practice with a large southeastern law firm where he focused on commercial real estate and lending. Immediately prior to joining Compton Jones Dresher, Hayes was corporate counsel for a regional bank and responsible for all legal aspects of the bank’s corporate real estate portfolio including, leasing, acquisitions, dispositions, facilities management, and construction project management.
Hayes concentrates his practice on the representation of buyers, sellers, developers, landlords and tenants in all types of commercial real estate matters including, acquisition, development, financing, and leasing matters. He also represents lenders and borrowers in real estate and commercial lending transactions including acquisition and construction lending, refinancing and secured and unsecured credit facilities.
Hayes graduated from Washington & Lee University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and received his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law.
Lesley DeRamus
Lesley DeRamus’s practice involves helping financial institutions navigate and manage compliance with regulatory requirements. For over 30 years, she’s advised various types of financial institutions on compliance and regulatory issues — including federal and state banks, finance companies, and mortgage lenders and servicers. Lesley’s practice also includes advising clients in connection with numerous laws and regulations affecting their financial services businesses, as well as state regulations and industry guidance and rules.
Lesley helps clients with compliance issues related to product and service agreements, notices and disclosures, policies and procedures, product development and implementation, regulatory examinations, complaint responses, advertising disclosures and error correction. She regularly counsels clients on regulatory requirements and risk issues involved with vendor contracts. She also works with clients on questions related to electronic banking; calling and messaging requirements; and payments issues.
In addition, Lesley has significant experience with regulatory complaints, consumer disputes and enforcement actions.
Carrie’s practice involves a wide range of corporate and transactional matters, including real estate finance and development, commercial lending, bank regulation, general corporate law and capital market activities.
She has represented developers, financial institutions and equity investors in a variety of real estate transactions, including low-income housing tax credit (Internal Revenue Code Sec. 42) and historic tax credit transactions. She has assisted financial institutions in a variety of regulatory matters, including those relating to the growth of banks and the development of new financial products. Additionally, she has experience representing various parties in transactions involving marketable securities.
Carrie received a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law.
Lisa concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial real estate and related corporate matters with particular emphasis on purchase and sale transactions, commercial leasing and real estate development. Over the past twenty years, Lisa has acquired extensive experience in her commercial real estate practice with a unique emphasis on real estate matters related to healthcare providers through her representation of hospitals, physician groups and numerous assisted living and nursing homes providers. Lisa also regularly assists sellers, buyers, developers, landlords and tenants in the acquisition, sale, lease and development of commercial real estate.
Admitted to the Alabama bar in 1998, Lisa began her practice at a long-established Birmingham law firm where she remained for twenty-two years before joining Compton Jones Dresher.
Courtney concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial real estate, transactions involving low-income housing and historic tax credits, commercial lending and general corporate matters.
Admitted to the Alabama bar in 2016, Courtney began her practice at a boutique law firm specializing in commercial real estate transactions and corporate matters. Prior to joining Compton Jones Dresher, Courtney was a residential real estate closing attorney for a title and settlement company.
Courtney is a graduate of the Cumberland School of Law and an honors graduate of the University of Montevallo.
Eli focuses his practice on the representation of buyers, sellers, developers, landlords and tenants in all types of commercial real estate transactions, including acquisition, development, financing and leasing.
Prior to joining Compton Jones Dresher, Eli spent more than a decade representing corporate clients, including state and federal banks, credit unions, mortgage servicers and healthcare companies in a variety of complex litigation and regulatory matters.
Eli has an Economics degree from the University of the South and received his law degree, with honors, from the University of Alabama School of Law in 2006.