U.S. Magistrate Judge
Southern District of Alabama
Sonja Bivins has been appointed as the new U.S. magistrate judge in Mobile, Ala. Bivins is the first minority to be appointed a U.S. magistrate judge in the Southern District of Alabama. As a U.S. magistrate judge, she will handle many different aspects of civil and criminal cases in federal court. Magistrates are appointed to eight-year terms of service.
Prior to her appointment, Bivins had been a partner in the Atlanta office of McGuireWoods, where she had worked since its 1999 merger with Mack & McLean. She has focused her practice on representing employers in a variety of employment related actions filed under federal and state antidiscrimination laws. She is a member of both the Alabama and Georgia bars.
Bivins received her bachelors degree from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., and her law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She was born and raised in Mobile, Ala.