Local law firm Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley, P.C. (BBGA) is delighted to announce that six of its attorneys have been included in the 2021 Edition of The Best Lawyers® in America.

Lawyers from BBGA recognized on The Best Lawyers® in America list include Henry Garrard, Drew Hill, Jim Matthews, and Michael Ruppersburg. Attorneys Haley Robison and Charles Ruffin have been recognized on The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list. 

Best Lawyers® has been publishing its list for more than three decades and is considered the most reliable, unbiased source of legal referrals in the industry. Founded in 1981, Best Lawyers® was created for the purpose of highlighting the extraordinary accomplishments of those in the legal field. Attorneys who make the list are divided by geographic region and practice area. Each lawyer is reviewed by his or her peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to ensure they are currently in practice and in good standing.

About the Attorneys: 

BBGA senior firm shareholder Henry Garrard is being recognized for his contributions to mass tort litigation, medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation, and product liability litigation. Garrard has been recognized on the Best Lawyers® list for 29 years. Throughout his extensive career, Garrard has handled a wide variety of complex injury claims, including those involving medical malpractice, products liability, tort liability, and class action lawsuits. Additionally, he has experience handling complicated litigation, including multidistrict litigation. Garrard, alongside other BBGA attorneys, has fought to remove defective medical products from the market that affect both men and women. Garrard and the firm serve as co-lead counsel for all the Transvaginal Mesh mass accumulation of cases. He is also currently serving on the Executive Committee in Los Angeles, California for litigation involving talc exposure leading to ovarian cancer in women, as well as a leadership role in mass litigation dealing with hearing loss in veterans and active duty military. Garrard is also lead counsel in mass consolidations of thousands of cases in West Virginia, Georgia, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. In his career, Garrard has tried cases in 17 different states across the U.S.

A mass tort is a civil action involving numerous plaintiffs against one or a few defendants in state or federal court. In a mass tort action, each plaintiff has an individual claim, unlike a class action lawsuit, which are not generally considered individually. 

BBGA shareholder Drew Hill is being recognized for his work in mass tort and personal injury litigation. Hill has been recognized on The Best Lawyers® list for 19 years. His practice at BBGA encompasses several types of personal injury cases, including tractor-trailer crashes. He also focuses on medical negligence and products liability cases. Over the last 42 years Hill has successfully fought for and won multimillion-dollar settlements and jury verdicts for his clients. He currently represents 80 Georgia counties in nationwide opioid litigation. 

BBGA shareholder Jim Matthews is being recognized for his contributions to medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation, and products liability litigation. Matthews has been recognized on the Best Lawyers® list for 23 years. Matthews handles a wide variety of cases and is skilled in product liability, mass tort, defective and dangerous medical devices, medical negligence, personal injury, and tractor-trailer crashes. Matthews currently serves as co-lead counsel in two national hernia mesh litigations.  

BBGA shareholder Michael Ruppersburg is being recognized for his work in personal injury litigation. This is Ruppersburg’s first year being recognized on the Best Lawyers® list. His practice is focused on a wide range of personal injury litigation, including slip & falls, car crashes, tractor-trailer crashes, nursing home abuse, pedestrian accidents, and wrongful death. Ruppersburg secured over $5 million for his clients in 2019 alone. 

BBGA attorney Haley Robison is being recognized on The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list for her work in labor and employment law. This is Robison’s first year being recognized. She is an associate attorney at BBGA and focuses her practice on all aspects of business litigation, real estate law, labor and employment issues, and legal banking issues.

BBGA attorney Chase Ruffin is being recognized for the first time on The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch list for his contributions to personal injury litigation. Ruffin is an attorney in the firm’s personal injury and mass tort practice group and his practice is largely focused on representing individuals who have been injured by defective and dangerous medical devices. Ruffin is currently representing victims injured by defective hernia mesh implants. He also represents plaintiffs in cases involving medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, car and truck accidents, and dangerous property conditions. 

In addition to the six attorneys who are being recognized, BBGA has been designated as “Top-Listed.” The "Top-Listed" designation is given to the firm that has the most recognized lawyers in a specific location and practice area. This award is based exclusively on the number of recognized lawyers in the region. The “Top Listed” City Awards BBGA is being recognized for include: 

• Total Lawyers in Athens recognized: Six lawyers
• Personal Injury Litigation attorneys recognized: Four lawyers

Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley, P.C. has been assisting clients nationwide for nearly 40 years with a wide range of complex legal matters. From personal injury to business representation and litigation – to tax and estate planning, and commercial and residential real estate – BBGA’s experienced attorneys help clients based on their individual needs. Since the firm’s founding in 1984, BBGA has remained one of the largest law firms in the Athens region.