About Don
Don McKenna studied finance as an undergraduate at Auburn University, completing a B.S. in 1992 after beginning studies in 1988. He went on to earn his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 1995. Those academic years set the groundwork for a career spent largely in courtroom practice across Alabama.
McKenna began his legal career in 1993 at the Birmingham firm Taylor & Taylor. He joined Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton, LLP a few years later and became a partner there in 1997. Over more than two decades at the firm he has handled matters that required appearances in both trial and appellate settings. His progression from associate to partner reflects steady engagement in litigation and firm work rather than a brief specialist turn.
He is admitted to practice before state and federal tribunals across Alabama, including the Alabama Supreme Court and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Alabama. He is also admitted to the Eleventh Circuit. Those admissions have allowed him to carry cases from local trial dockets to federal court and to take appeals to a regional level when necessary.
Outside the courtroom he has been active in bar and trade organizations. He has served on the Birmingham Bar Association Public Service Committee since 2011. He has been a member of the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association executive committee since 2000. His memberships also include the Alabama Association for Justice, the American Association for Justice and the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund, each of which he joined in the mid-1990s or later. Those affiliations reflect ongoing engagement with professional peers and with issues tied to civil litigation and public accountability.
Colleagues describe McKenna as a litigator who spends much of his time preparing cases for trial and handling courtroom work when trials proceed. He has experience taking depositions, arguing procedural motions, and presenting evidence before juries and judges. He also handles appeals and briefing when matters require review beyond the trial level.
He continues to practice at Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton, LLP. He focuses his practice on litigation in Alabama state and federal courts and on appellate work in the Eleventh Circuit.
