Ed Sledge is a business trial lawyer who has developed a diverse litigation practice immediately responsive to clients’ most demanding litigations. Ed has a wide range of trial experience in high-stakes, bet-the-company disputes for a variety of corporate clients and private equity groups nationwide. He uses collaborative problem-solving to help clients achieve their objectives and is equally adept at representing plaintiffs or defendants in complex commercial disputes.
Ed is regularly called in just before trial to assess case posture and the client’s readiness for trial, advising on or handling a myriad of issues, including the client-insurer relationship, the client’s relationship with its insurer-appointed counsel, the pre-trial resolution prospects and pathways, and assuming first-chair trial responsibilities. He routinely represents business owners in connection in business divorce disputes and represents financial services firms in the defense of class actions, lender liability, securities, and RICO claims. In addition to commercial disputes, Ed regularly litigates product liability matters, consumer finance disputes, intellectual property disputes, and insurance coverage matters for business policyholders, as well as personal injury and wrongful death matters. He and other Bradley attorneys serve as national trial counsel for a unit of a Fortune 50 corporation.
Ed is a frequent lecturer and author on civil litigation and trial issues. He recently served as the director of the IADC Trial Academy at Stanford University in 2023, as the Trial Academy’s director-elect in 2022 and as a member of the Trial Academy faculty in 2018. Ed is consistently recognized for his skills in Mid-South Super Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America®, Benchmark Litigation and other publications. He is a past chair of the IADC’s Business Litigation Committee and the Alabama State Bar’s (ASB) Leadership Forum Section.
In addition to his professional achievements, Ed is civic-minded. 2025 marks the conclusion of his two years of service as president of the Foundation Board of the IADC and as the chairman of the Board of Glenwood, a local nonprofit. As a veteran with a deep family history of military service, Ed has been active in giving his time to initiatives that support veterans. For three years in a row, Ed received the ASB’s President’s Award, which is presented to members of the bar who best exemplify the ASB motto, “Lawyers Render Service.”