Ronald L. Motley (October 21, 1944 – August 22, 2013) was an American trial attorney, and a principal of Motley Rice LLC–a law firm based in Mount Pleasant,

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

. He is best known for leading lawsuits against tobacco and asbestos companies.

Early life, education, and death

Ronald L. Motley grew up in

North Charleston North Charleston is the third-largest city in the state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. On June 12, 1972, the city of North Charlest ...

, where his father owned an

Amoco Amoco () is a brand of fuel stations operating in the United States, and owned by BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company in 1889 around a refinery in Whiting, Indiana, a ...

gas station.Inside the tobacco deal - Interview with Ronald Motley
''Pbs.org'' He graduated from the

University of South Carolina School of Law The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law School, is a professional school within the University of South Carolina. The school of law was founded in 1867, and remains the only public and non-profit law schoo ...

in 1971.Biography from Motley Rice
''Motleyrice.com'' Motley died on August 22, 2013, after a prolonged illness. The cause of death was described by one colleague as "respiratory complications and by another as "complications from organ failure".

Late-career activities

Motley was lead counsel for more than 6,500 family members and survivors of the

September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

seeking justice against

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

’s financiers.

Industry recognition

Motley has over his three-decade career won major judgments for his clients against the asbestos and tobacco industries. Ronald Motley was portrayed by

Bruce McGill Bruce Travis McGill (born July 11, 1950) is an American actor. He worked with director Michael Mann in the movies '' The Insider'' (1999), '' Ali'' (2001), and ''Collateral'' (2004). McGill's other notable film roles include Daniel Simpson "D-Day ...

in the 1999 film '' The Insider'', starring

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Max ...

External links

Law Firm of Motley Rice LLCRon Motley bio

References

* Bartleme, Tony
"Ron Motley, famed asbestos and tobacco lawyer, dead at 68."
''Post and Courier ''August 22, 2013 * Searcey, Dionne
"Hard-Charging Attorney Ronald Motley Dead at the Age of 68."
''Wall Street Journal ''blog. * Senior, Jennifer. "A Nation Unto Himself", ''New York Times'' March 14, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Motley, Ronald 1944 births 2013 deaths South Carolina lawyers University of South Carolina alumni People from North Charleston, South Carolina 20th-century American lawyers