Our Firm originated when Kent Beals and Bill Ragsdale, classmates at the University of Virginia Law School, began practice together on January 2, 1980. Ellis Hooper and Bill Seigler joined the Firm in 1981, with the partnership of Ragsdale, Beals, Hooper & Seigler formally created in January 1982. Russell Patterson began his practice with the Firm in 1985. Hal Gray joined the Firm in 1999; Brian Morrissey and Ed Mangiafico joined in 2006. As of September 2006, the name of the Firm was changed to Ragsdale, Beals, Seigler, Patterson & Gray, LLP. Our founding partner Kent Beals passed away in 2007. In 2009, our remaining founding partner Bill Ragsdale passed away. Bob Bartlett joined us as a partner as of January 1, 2010. Ed Mangiafico passed away in 2018. Bob Bartlett passed away in 2020.
We bring together experiences from many different legal backgrounds: large national firms, medium-sized regional firms and local Atlanta law practices. Our diverse nature is a tremendous asset, in that we have the expertise found in larger legal organizations combined with the knowledge of exactly what our clients need in the way of representation. Unlike many law firms, we understand and appreciate the difference between answering a client's question and embarking on a major client representation. We have the experience and knowledge necessary to address legal problems as they arise in many different substantive areas.
