South Carolina
Ronald L. Motley
Founding Member Attorney
Ron Motley is internationally recognized as one of America’s most accomplished and skilled trial lawyers. Over a career spanning more than three decades, his persuasiveness before a jury and his ability to break new legal and evidentiary ground has brought to justice two once-invincible giant industries whose malfeasance took the lives of millions of Americans — asbestos and tobacco. Armed with a combination of legal and trial skills, personal charisma, nose-to-the-grindstone hard work and record of success, Ron has built Motley Rice into one of the nation’s largest plaintiffs’ law firms focusing on highly complex litigation.
Noted for his role in spearheading the historic litigation against the tobacco industry, Ron served as lead trial counsel for 26 State Attorneys General in the lawsuits. His efforts to uncover corporate wrongdoing and scientific wrongdoing resulted in the Master Settlement Agreement, the largest civil settlement in U.S. history, in which the tobacco industry agreed to reimburse states for smoking-related health care costs.
Through his pioneering discovery and partnerships, Ron exposed asbestos manufacturers and the harmful and disabling effects of occupational, environmental and household asbestos exposure. He has represented thousands of asbestos victims, achieving numerous trial breakthroughs, including the class actions and mass consolidations of Cimino et al. v. Raymark et al. (U.S.D.C. TX), Abate et al. v. ACandS et al. (Baltimore) and In Re: Asbestos Personal Injury Cases (Mississippi).
In 2002, Ron once again advanced cutting-edge litigation as lead counsel for the 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism with a lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 6,500 family members and survivors of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The suit seeks justice and ultimately bankruptcy for al Qaeda’s financiers, including numerous individuals, banks, corporations and charities in the Middle East who provided resources and monetary aid. He has served as lead counsel in numerous individual aviation security liability and damages cases under In Re September 11 Litigation filed against the aviation and aviation security industry, on behalf of victims’ families devastated by the security failures of 9/11. Ron fights for greater justice, accountability and recourse. He also brought the landmark case of Oran Almog v. Arab Bank against the financial sponsor of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Israel.
Additionally, Ron is leading the firm in litigation efforts involving individuals and businesses in Gulf Coast communities suffering as a result of the BP oil spill that began in April 2010.
Ron has won widespread honors for his ability to win justice and compensation for his clients and for his seminal impact on the course of civil litigation. In 2010, the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) awarded him with their highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been named for more than ten consecutive years to The Best Lawyers in America and was named in the 2010 edition as the SC Personal Injury Litigator of the Year. Ron was also included in the 2008 and 2009 editions of South Carolina Superlawyers, and the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 editions of The Lawdragon 500. The American Association for Justice honored him in 2007 with the David S. Shrager President’s Award for his outstanding contributions to the safety and protection of American consumers and the civil justice system. In 1998, he was named Harry M. Philo Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and in the same year, he received the President’s Award of the National Association of Attorneys General for his "courage, legal skills and dedication to our children and the public health of our nation." The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids gave him their Youth Advocates of the Year Award in 1999. For his trial achievements, BusinessWeek magazine characterized Ron’s courtroom skills as "dazzling." American Lawyer dubbed him "The man who took on Manville," and The National Law Journal has ranked him, "One of the most influential lawyers in America."
Ron is a member of the American Association for Justice, has served on its Board of Governors since 1977 and has served as chair of its Asbestos Litigation Group since 1978. He is also a member of the American Bar Association, Civil Justice Foundation, Inner Circle of Advocates, International Academy of Trial Lawyers and South Carolina Association for Justice. He founded the Mark Elliott Motley Foundation, Inc., in 2002 in loving memory of his son. The focus of the Foundation is to help meet the health, education and welfare needs of children and young adults in the Charleston, South Carolina community.