Frank Mims Bainbridge

Frank Mims Bainbridge passed away on Monday, December 27th, 2021. Born in Jefferson County, Alabama in 1932, Frank is survived by his wife, Philippa McClellan Bainbridge. They shared many similar interests and together enjoyed more than sixty happy years of marriage. He is also survived by his daughter, Philippa Bainbridge Straus (Michael); his granddaughter, Philippa Bainbridge Straus, II; grandson, Jacob Marcus Straus; his sister, Betty Bainbridge Jackson (Cory); his two nephews, Cory Gantt Jackson (Leanne) and Neal Bainbridge Jackson (Jennifer); and his cousin, Charles Ellis (Jane). Frank was predeceased by his father, Frank Bainbridge; his mother, Mildred Mims Bainbridge; and his son, Frank Mims Bainbridge, Jr.

Frank graduated from Ramsey High School in 1950. Active in numerous high school activities, he was President of the Chi Sigma Chi fraternity. As an undergraduate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, he was a member of and served two terms as President of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. In 1956 he graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law having been elected to serve on the “Board of Editors of the Alabama Law Review” and elected to membership in the legal honorary society, Phi Delta Phi. After graduation, he served two years as First Lieutenant in the United States Army until his honorable discharge in 1958.

After his military service, Frank entered the practice of law with his father, Frank Bainbridge and his uncle, Walter Mims in the firm of Bainbridge and Mims. During his 60 years practicing law, he handled more than 40 appellate cases before the Supreme Court of Alabama, as well as appearing before the 5th and 11th Circuit Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court of the United States of America. He was a member of the Alabama and Birmingham Bar Associations. He served as President of the Young Lawyers section of the Birmingham Bar Association, and served twice as a member of the Executive Committee of the Birmingham Bar Association; serving as its President in 1977.

In 1970, Frank was the chairman of a specially appointed joint Alabama and Birmingham Bar Association committee to investigate fraudulent divorce decrees being furnished in exchange for a fee to out-of-state residents by a group of disbarred attorneys and two rural circuit judges. Some 5,700 never-filed-in-court divorce files were uncovered that contained copies of purportedly final decrees of divorce that were mailed to some 11,400 non-residents -- when no divorce had ever been filed and no divorce decrees were recorded in any court – resulting in all of the named parties not being legally divorced. As a result of the committees’ investigation, all of the disbarred attorneys and judges were convicted in Federal Court of mail fraud and sent to federal prison. In 1971, the Alabama State Bar presented him with an “Award of Merit” for his service on the committee. In 1978 he was chosen Lawyer of the Year by the Alabama Legal Secretaries Association. He was elected to membership in the Alabama and Birmingham Bar Foundations. In 2003 the Birmingham Bar Association named Frank “Outstanding Lawyer of the Year, In Recognition of Dedicated Service Beyond all Recompense to His Profession.”

In February, 2021, Frank received the Sam W. Pipes Distinguished Alumnus Award, the highest honor bestowed by The University of Alabama School of Law given to an outstanding alumnus who has distinguished himself through service to the Bar, The University of Alabama, and the School of Law.

Frank prided himself on being a general practitioner handling a wide variety of cases from all aspects of the law, including complex business litigation, stockholder derivative actions, condemnations, wills, trusts, and numerous other matters. He was a lawyer’s lawyer who was often called upon to represent other attorneys and law firms when they were sued and needed representation.

Frank was a member of the Episcopal Cathedral Church of the Advent and served on its vestry. He was also a member of the Mountain Brook Club and a 50-year member of the Redstone Club.

Frank enjoyed fishing and hunting and cherished time spent at his lake house at Lake-in-the-Woods with family and friends.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. at Elmwood Cemetery, Thursday, December 30th. Due to the ongoing pandemic, there will be no visitation following the service. Memorials may be sent to the Bainbridge-Mims Professorship, University of Alabama School of Law, P.O. Box 870382, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487, or to the charity of your choosing.