Ryals Drayton Stone

Ryals is a lawyer in the Atlanta office of Stone Law Group who represents individual and corporate plaintiffs in the areas of catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, medical negligence, civil fraud/RICO, as well as commercial and consumer litigation. Ryals is the oldest son of Stone Law Group senior partner William S. Stone. The firm's predecessor was founded in 1915 by Ryals' great-grandfather, the late William Lowrey Stone. Past members of the firm include Ryals' grandfather, Lowrey S. Stone, who later served for fifteen years as Chief Judge of Superior Courts, Pataula Judicial Circuit. Upon being admitted to the Georgia Bar, Ryals proudly became the 5th straight generation of Georgia attorneys in the Stone family. Ryals was born in Albany, Georgia on February 1, 1982. He grew up in the rural Southwest Georgia town of Blakely (Early County). Ryals graduated high school with honors from Southwest Georgia Academy in 2000. After high school Ryals attended the University of Georgia, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2005 while majoring in History. Ryals received his law degree in 2009 from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Following his second year of law school, he participated in a Summer Study Abroad at the University of Cambridge in England and was awarded the highest marks in both international comparative constitutional law and professional responsibility. While at law school, Ryals earned the top grade in several other classes, including Basic Skills in Trial Advocacy. As a 3rd Year law student, Ryals was also selected as an Abraham J. Caruthers Fellow, serving as a mentor to 1L's as part of Cumberland's renowned first-year legal research and writing program. Throughout his third year at Cumberland, Ryals worked part-time as a law clerk for both the in-house counsel's office at Southern Progress Corporation and the Bessemer, Alabama District Attorney's Office. Ryals became a member of the State Bar of Georgia in 2010. Ryals is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Georgia, as well as the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court. Ryals is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (GTLA), the American Bar Association (AAJ), the American Association of Justice, the Atlanta Bar Association, and he currently serves as the President of the Pataula Bar Association. Ryals currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia, as well as the Civil Justice PAC Board of Directors. For the past 2 years Ryals has been a member of the GTLA Executive Committee as the Committee Chair for the LEAD Program ("Leadership Education and Advanced Direction), a leadership academy which he co-founded in 2013 for talented young Georgia trial lawyers. During his career as an trial attorney, Ryals has handled many complex civil cases, and he has been an integral member of the Stone Law Group trial team during several multi-week jury trials which have resulted in verdicts, judgments, and settlements of over $100 million combined. Ryals resides in Atlanta with his wife Lauren, and they are currently expecting their first child in May 2015. Together they enjoy cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs, traveling, spending time with family, friends, and their black lab "Bubba." Awards and Honors Super Lawyers® Selectees Ryals Drayton Stone included in a Super Lawyers® list Honors 2014 Daily Report Verdicts Hall of Fame - Boone & Stone (Foster v. Landstar Ranger Inc.), 2014 - Present Other Sources of Feedback About Ryals Drayton Stone Included on the 2026Georgia Super Lawyers list Past Lists 2025 Georgia Super Lawyers list 2024 Georgia Super Lawyers list 2023 Georgia Super Lawyers list 2022 Georgia Super Lawyers list 2021 Georgia Super Lawyers list 2020 Georgia Super Lawyers list 2019 Georgia Super Lawyers list 2018 Georgia Super Lawyers list

• Partner

• Bentley, Bentley & Bentley, Summer Associate, 2007 - Present
• Camp Laney for Boys, Program Director (2006); Camp Counselor, 2000 - 2006
• Southern Progress Corporation, In-House Counsel, Law Clerk
• Bessemer, Alabama District Attorney's Office, Law Clerk

• "Important Questions to Ask During Voir Dire" , Georgia Trial Lawyers Association’s Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, April 2013
• GTLA LEAD Program, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Co-Chair, 2013 - 2015
• “Black Diamond Damages: Maximizing Your Client’s Non-Economic Damages at Trial”, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association’s SkiLE, Park City, Utah, March 2016
• “Generations of GTLA Leadership: A Tradition of Active Involvement and Giving Back”, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association’s LEAD Program Kickoff Session, Athens, Georgia, November 2017
• “Why LEAD Matters”, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association’s Annual Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, April 2018

• Foster v. Landstar Ranger, Inc., et al.
• Citation: Civil Action File No. 09-A-1698
• Court: Cobb County State Court
• Year: 2011
• Widner v. J.H. Harvey, Food Lion, LLC, et al.
• Citation: Civil Action File No. 12 C-903918-2
• Court: Gwinnett County State Court
• Year: 2013
• Evans v. The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Co., et al.
• Citation: Civil Action No. 2008-062
• Court: Early County State Court
• Year: 2014
• Trabue, et al. v. Atlanta Women’s Specialists, et al., Civil Action File Co. 14-EV-001821Y (Fulton State Court 2017)

• First Baptist Church of Rome, Member
• First Baptist Church of Rome, Budget Finance Committee
• Coosa Country Club, Member
• Rome Floyd Chamber of Commerce, Member

• Georgia, 2010
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, 2011
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia, 2011
• Supreme Court of Georgia, 2011
• Georgia Court of Appeals, 2011
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Georgia

• State Bar of Georgia, 2010 - Present (Member)
• State Bar of Georgia, 2010 - 2017 (Young Lawyers Division)
• State Bar of Georgia, 2014 - 2016 (Director of Sponsorship)
• State Bar of Georgia, 2014 - 2016 (Litigation Committee Co-Chair)
• Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2011 - Present (Champion Member)
• Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2013 - Present (Executive Committee)
• Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2013 - 2015 (LEAD Committee Chair)
• Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2013 - Present (LEAD Class Selection Committee)
• Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, 2015 - 2016 (New Member Orientation Committee)
• Civil Justice PAC Board of Directors, 2014 - Present (Member, Champion Donor)
• Civil Justice PAC Board of Directors, 2018 - Present (Secretary)
• Civil Justice PAC Board of Directors, 2017 - 2018 (Treasurer)
• American Association of Justice, 2011 - Present (Member)
• American Association of Justice, 2016 - Present (Board of Governors, Georgia Revitalization Governor)
• Rome Bar Association, 2016 - Present (Member)
• Pataula Bar Association, 2014 - Present (President)
• Attorneys Information Exchange Group (AIEG) (Member)
• Fraternities and Sororities
• Phi Gamma Delta