Meet Rod Ray

The Attorneys of Ray & Perry PLLC

Rod Ray is a true litigator. No matter the fight, whether it is defending the criminally accused or fighting big insurance, to protect the people of Mississippi; Ray has done it all. In fact, Rod has worked with small firms, large firms, with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, as an assistant district attorney.

Since 1998 Rod has been involved in every type of litigation, both criminal and civil, all across the State of Mississippi. When asked what kind of lawyer he is, he is known to say “I cut my teeth as a prosecutor, and loved helping people who were injured through no fault of their own, so I guess I am just a lawyer that loves to fight for people, and I don’t mind those fights ending up in the courtroom, in fact I love it!”

Rod Ray has extensive litigation experience in both criminal and civil matters. Being the proud son of a Minister, Rod was raised in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, experiencing, and learning to deal with, many environments and many people. In hindsight, he is sure many of those people did not enjoy dealing with him, as he was the stereotypical preacher’s kid.

When Rod reached the seventh grade, his family settled in Columbus, where they remained, and he graduated from Caldwell High School. After high school graduation, Rod attended and graduated from the University of Mississippi. After a year of working in Nashville, Tennessee, he returned to law school at the University of Mississippi School of Law where he obtained his Juris Doctorate Degree.
Shortly after graduation in 1990, Rod moved to central Florida and began working in a small law firm that specialized in eighteen-wheeler truck litigation. Missing his adopted and beloved state of Mississippi, and his fiancé,’ he returned to Mississippi and began working in a small firm in Hernando, where he was introduced to high drama cases and, as a result, fell in love with the courtroom.

In 1992, Rod accepted a position with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety as a Chief Counsel for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. In that role he not only represented the Bureau of Narcotics Statewide but lobbied the Mississippi Legislature on behalf of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, as well as handling all personnel and civil litigation matters. In 1994 Rod returned home to Columbus and served as an Assistant District Attorney for the 16th Circuit Court District.

As an Assistant District Attorney for an extremely aggressive District Attorney, he prosecuted hundreds of cases and was forced to try many, many Jury Trials, which, after the same, realized served him well. In fact, while trying those cases, a state Senator began appearing at the closing arguments of the cases Rod was prosecuting and ultimately recruited him to be his litigator, teaming up with another young attorney who he had recruited from a large insurance defense firm.

Rod teamed with Senator Bennie Turner and Orlando Richmond and engaged in the practice of representing injured clients exclusively. After gaining valuable experience helping injured people, but wanting to be his own boss, Rod decided to open his own practice in 1998.

Since 1998 Rod has been involved in every type of litigation, both criminal and civil all across the State of Mississippi. When asked what kind of lawyer he is, he is known to say “I cut my teeth as a prosecutor, and loved helping people who were injured through no fault of their own, so I guess I am just a lawyer that loves to fight for people, and I don’t mind those fights ending up in the courtroom, in fact I love it!”

Rod is a member of the Mississippi Bar, the Florida Bar, admitted to all Courts, both State and Federal, in Mississippi. He is a highly competitive person and loves running races and participating in triathlons. During a short period of insanity, he ran the Boston Marathon, the New York Marathon, the Mercedes Marathon and Rocket City Marathon, but has since regained his sanity. Rod and his Wife, Julia, have three children, Evelyn, Jones and Parker. Rod enjoys following his children’s activities and absolutely loved watching his daughter dance on the dance team and his boys playing football and baseball.