Groth, Makarenko, Kaiser & Eidex is pleased to announce its continued growth across the Southeast with the opening of an office in the Birmingham metropolitan area. The firm now extends its insurance defense practice into a third state, building upon a longstanding presence in Georgia and, more recently, Tennessee. This strategic expansion reflects GMKE’s commitment to bring its extensive trial experience to insurance companies, self-insured corporations, and other clients in the Alabama market.
The Birmingham area office is located at 1 Chase Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Hoover, AL 35244. The phone number is 205-578-6780.
GMKE is proud to also announce the addition of attorney Bentley Patrick as lead partner in Alabama. He joined the firm in September 2025 and has played a key role in establishing the Birmingham office and preparing to advance the firm’s regional expansion efforts.
“Bentley’s deep understanding of insurance litigation, shaped by years of representing leading insurance carriers and his tenure as a circuit judge, makes him an exceptional addition to our team,” said Managing Partner Joseph Kaiser. “His insight and leadership will be invaluable as we expand our footprint across the Southeast.”
Bentley served as an in-house trial attorney for three leading property and casualty insurance companies, which gives him deep insight into the claims litigation process for personal and commercial lines of insurance. He has managed cases in 48 of Alabama’s 67 counties, including trials in 21 counties. His defense of insurance claims includes matters involving general liability, construction defects, product liability, insurance coverage, professional malpractice, and workers’ compensation. He is also experienced in large loss subrogation matters.
Judicial experience gives Bentley a comprehensive perspective of the claims and litigation process. He served as a circuit court judge in the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Alabama from May 2015 to January 2017. During that time, he presided over more civil jury trials than any other circuit judge in Alabama, and hearings in civil cases in excess of $10,000, plus cases involving equity jurisdiction. He also served as an Alabama District Judge in Jefferson County from April 2019 to January 2021.
As a trained mediator, Bentley has mediated dozens of civil cases in a wide variety of insurance disputes. He has rendered written opinions in more than 300 arbitration cases between insurance companies and has defended employers in circuit courts across Alabama in party and expert depositions, mediations, and trials. GMKE proudly offers mediation services throughout Alabama through its affiliate, Sugarloaf ADR.
Click on the link to read the full biography for Bentley Patrick.
Click on the link to connect with Bentley Patrick on LinkedIn.
About Groth Makarenko Kaiser & Eidex LLC
Groth, Makarenko, Kaiser & Eidex LLC is a Georgia-based insurance defense law firm with an extensive record of trying cases and obtaining results. The firm’s litigators have handled more than 565 trials across the states of Georgia and Tennessee, with a focus on the Metro Atlanta and more recently the Metro Nashville areas. The new Alabama office reflects the firm’s commitment to serve clients across the Southeast.
GMKE concentrates its practice in the areas of motor vehicle liability, premises liability, trucking claims, commercial defense litigation, as well as insurance coverage and declaratory judgments. In 2023, GMKE launched Sugarloaf ADR, a full-service alternative dispute resolution provider operating in Georgia and Tennessee.
Partners and senior partners have extensive experience working as in-house counsel at one of the largest personal line insurance companies in the country. As a result, firm members bring a deep understanding of claims management priorities to every case. Details are available online at https://gmke.law/ and https://sugarloafadr.com/.
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January 6, 2026
