GEORGE R. RAGSDALE 

George R. Ragsdale – Founder, Ragsdale Liggett PLLC and Litigation Partner

George R. Ragsdale is a senior partner and a founding member of Ragsdale Liggett PLLC, a law firm that since its formation in 1972 has developed an extraordinary reputation in the area of civil litigation, enjoying significant courtroom successes ranging from local state courts to the United States Supreme Court in areas with far-reaching implications. George has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Who’s Who in American Law, The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, and has a lifetime membership in the National Registry of Who’s Who. He enjoys the prestigious designation as a Diplomate of the National College of State Trial Judges and has been a recipient of numerous awards, among them the North Carolina Distinguished Citizens Award. Business Leader Magazine described him as “…among the top lawyers in North Carolina.”

With a law practice in a wide range of areas including complex business litigation, real estate and administrative law, George’s civil practice encompasses many phases of litigation, including an extensive trial and motion practice, discovery, writs, appeals, arbitrations and mediations. He is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in North Carolina, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States. George successfully argued Darden v. Nationwide, U.S. Supreme Court, (112 S. Ct. 1344 (1992), resulting in a unanimous decision in favor of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, George graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School with honors in 1954. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1958, where he was elected President of the Senior Class, as well as Permanent President, Class of 1958, and Chairman of the Men’s Honor Council. He was honored by membership in Order of the Grail and the Order of the Golden Fleece. George received his LLBJD in 1961 from the University of North Carolina Law School, where he was a recipient of the prestigious Richardson Fellowship. After law school, George served as Assistant to the Chief Counsel and Staff Director, United States Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights under well-known United States Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr., who was later chairman of the Senate Watergate hearings during the Nixon era.

In 1962, George became a partner in the firm of Bailey & Ragsdale and in 1965 was named Legal Counsel to Dan K. Moore, Governor of North Carolina. George was appointed Judge of the North Carolina Superior Court in 1968, following in the footsteps of his great-great uncle, Superior Court Judge William Smith O’Brien Robinson. At 32 years old, George became one of the youngest persons ever appointed as a Superior Court judge. George returned to private practice in 1970 as a founding partner in the Ragsdale Liggett law firm.

George’s public service includes membership on the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also served as its chairman. He has served as a member and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UNC Endowment, and since 1979, he has been a member of the UNC Board of Visitors. In demand for his considerable expertise, George has served on the boards of directors of a number of publicly traded companies both in this country and abroad, among them the British-American Insurance Company, Ltd.; the Occidental Fire and Casualty Company of Denver, Colorado; the Occidental Life Insurance Company of North Carolina; and the Windsor Life Assurance Co., Ltd., Windsor, England.

George is co-author of “You Can Be Sued By People Who Are Not Your Patients”; “Punitive Damages: Are they Constitutional in North Carolina and Does Your Liability Policy Cover Them”; and “Race-Based Peremptory Challenges of Civil Jurors Held Unconstitutional.” A frequent lecturer, George has lectured on the collapse of the Kansas City Hyatt Hotel Skywalks, where he was lead defense counsel to the insurance carriers. He has spoken before the North Carolina Association of Defense Counsel on the Doctrine of Comparative Negligence in Admiralty Cases and before the Excess/Surplus Lines Claims Association on the Defense of Mass Catastrophe Litigation.

Active all his adult life in civic and charitable causes, George maintains membership in a number of clubs, citizen and professional associations. He is a founding member and First Vestry Clerk at Raleigh’s Holy Trinity Church, a member of the Anglican Communion Network. George and his wife, Adora, have two sons and a daughter and reside in Raleigh.