J. Thomas Ratchford III

Associate

J. Thomas “Tommy” Ratchford rejoined Murray Barnes Finister LLP in August 2020 after serving for two legislative sessions as Assistant Executive Counsel in the Office of the Governor. In this role he worked closely with state agencies, elected officials, advocates, and private enterprises on contractual, legislative, and regulatory matters. In addition to these responsibilities, he provided counsel in the policy areas of Tax, Economic Development, Transportation, Local Government, Natural Resources, Judiciary, Ethics, Public Safety, and Government Transparency.

Tommy’s public finance experience with Murray Barnes Finister LLP includes serving as bond and disclosure counsel to governmental issuers implementing tax-exempt financings as well as working in partnership with authorities and businesses on economic development projects to generate investment and growth through tax abatement transactions.  He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and is admitted to practice in Georgia Superior Courts as well as the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Tommy earned his B.A. in political science with honors from Yale University and his J.D. with honors from Emory University School of Law. At Yale, he played on the Varsity Tennis Team and was a two-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association Academic All-American. During Law School, he served as a Notes and Comments Editor for the Emory International Law Review, where his journal comment was selected for publication in the fall of 2017.

Additionally, Tommy has worked for a multi-national forestry products company, a Fulton County Superior Court Judge, and the Professional Staff of the Foreign Relations Committee in the United States Senate.