Cecil is a 1968 graduate of the University of Alabama Law School and is admitted to practice before all of the district courts in the State of Alabama, as well as the U. S. Courts of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit, the Eleventh Circuit, the Federal Circuit, and the U. S. Supreme Court. He has been listed in Naifeth and Smith “The Best Lawyers in America,” Labor and Employment Law, in each of the editions of that publication. He is a member of the Alabama, Mobile County and American Bar Associations, and served on the grievance committee of the Alabama Bar Association. He has been a member of the Lawyers' Coordinating Committee since its inception. He is a founding member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Alabama Bar, and has served as an officer in that organization on various occasions. He is also a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is named in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.

Cecil was recognized by the Greater Mobile Port Council, AFL-CIO in 1996 with their ‘Able Helmsman’ award given annually to persons who have made significant contributions to the trade union movement. In 1999 the Mobile County Democratic Party presented Cecil with it’s Award of Distinction in recognition of his years of work for democratic party candidates at all levels. Then in 2001 the Alabama AFL-CIO gave him it's Community Services Award. In 2002 the Alabama Organized Labor Awards Foundation gave Cecil its ‘Friend of Labor’ award.

Cecil serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of South Alabama and on the Advisory Board of Mobile AIDS Support Services. He has served in the past on the board of directors for the United Way, Historic Mobile Preservation Society and the Oakleigh Garden District Society. He was the Vice Chairman of the Mobile Democratic Executive Committee and is actively involved in state and federal politics. In addition to his work at The Gardner Firm, Cecil is also of counsel at the prominent New York City firm Lankenau & Miller, LLP.

When he is not working, Mr. Gardner can usually be found on his sailboat, “Dolphin's Waltz,” and enjoys spending time with his family and two golden retrievers.