Womble Carlyle attorney Bill Ragland has been selected to receive the 2017 Intellectual Property Community Service Award, sponsored by Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, the State Bar of Georgia, and the Atlanta Bar Association. 

The IP Community Service Awards are given to IP professionals who have made outstanding contributions to community service. Ragland’s long history of community service includes:

  • Serving on the National Board of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum, education and research complex.
  • Serving as a long-time member and past President of the Atlanta Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Atlanta Bar Association, of which he also is a past President. The Foundation supports projects that promote equal access to justice, pro bono services, and assistance to youth and public understanding of the law.  
  • Serving on the Board of Trustees and as an officer of the Atlanta Youth Academy Foundation. Atlanta Youth Academy is a pre-K through 8th grade Christian school that provides a superior education and character and leadership development for inner city children from low income families. 

In 2013, Ragland received the Leadership Award—the Atlanta Bar Association’s highest honor—for his civic and professional leadership.

Ragland and other 2017 Intellectual Property Community Service Award winners will be honored at an Oct. 11 ceremony at Georgia State University.

Bill Ragland is among Womble Carlyle’s most experienced lead litigators and trial lawyers, with particular experience in intellectual property litigation. He has litigated more than 60 patent infringement and other patent-related cases in his 30-year career. Ragland also provides strategic advice regarding the structure, negotiation and implementation of intellectual property enforcement and licensing programs and portfolio management services. Intellectual Asset Management magazine recently named him as one of the top 300 intellectual property strategists in the world. In addition to serving as President of the Atlanta Bar Association, Ragland co-founded the Atlanta Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Section and served as its first co-chair. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia.