Frances Ross Nolan has practiced in the area of matrimonial and family law exclusively since 2005. Frances was formerly with The Crittenden Firm, PC, for eight years prior to founding Nolan Byers, PC, in March 2013.

Committed to providing alternatives to the traditional adversarial method of dispute resolution whenever possible and appropriate, Frances has been a leader and moving force in the effort to make the Collaborative process available to Alabama families. A certified Collaborative lawyer and family law mediator, Frances co-founded and served as inaugural President of Alabama’s first Collaborative Practice Group, Birmingham Collaborative Alliance (“BCA”).

In addition to her work as President of BCA, Frances currently serves on the Alabama State Bar Council for the Alternative Dispute Resolution. She served as the 2012-2013 Family Law Section Representative on the American Bar’s Advisory Council for Alternative Dispute Resolution and as the 2011-2012 Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Family Law. Frances was appointed in August 2013 by the Alabama Supreme Court to serve on a special committee on Collaborative Law Rules of Procedure and she has also served on the Alabama Custodial Laws Revision Task Force, the Alabama Law Institute Collaborative Law Act Committee and as an official Observer to the Uniform Law Commission’s Collaborative Law Act Committee.

An alumni of Indian Springs School, she is immediate past president of the school’s Alumni Council and former ex officio member of the school’s Board of Directors. Nolan was among the first women to graduate from the formerly male-only Indian Springs School. She is a graduate of San Francisco State University and a cum laude graduate of Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Frances is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Practitioners, the American, Alabama and Birmingham Bar Associations, the Family Law Sections of the American and Alabama Bar Associations, the Alternative Dispute Resolutions Sections of the Alabama and Birmingham Bar Associations, the Rotary Club of Shades Valley, Horton Inn of Court and the Birmingham Inn of Court.

Frances was designated a Rising Star in Family Law for 2011 by Super Lawyers and was named a top lawyer in family law in Birmingham Magazine’s March 2012 edition.

Although dedicated to the advancement of alternative practices in dispute resolution, Frances is trained in litigation and is qualified to provide quality legal representation suitable for each client’s circumstances, goals and legal issues through whatever process is necessary.

Frances has been married for twenty five years to William G. Nolan (Bill), an attorney practicing in the area of Elder Law; she and Bill are the proud parents of one son, William G. Nolan, Jr. (William) who currently lives and works in Edina, Minnesota.