“It gave me a good experience and background educationally but provided opportunities to lead and get involved and help other people – things I’ve tried to continue to do throughout my life,” Raleigh said.
After growing up in Georgia, Raleigh attended the University on an ROTC scholarship. He said his interest in both law and the government fostered his decision to attend law school. After graduating from the University’s law school, he served in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps for five years in Europe before returning to Alabama.
“Something that I try very, very hard to teach my students – and I would say that Rich epitomizes this – is that it is a privilege to be a lawyer,” Pamela Pierson, a University law professor, said.
During his time in law school, Raleigh assisted with Pierson’s research.
“People come to lawyers because they have problems, and they’re at a really hard time in their lives, and they need somebody whose judgment they trust,” Pierson said. “Lawyers should always treasure that confidence with the people who come to them for help. Rich does that.”
Before becoming president of the state bar, Raleigh served on the Board of Bar Commissioners and many philanthropic organizations throughout the state.
“For me to seek this position was a decision I had to make with my family and my law firm as well,” he said.
Raleigh will be responsible for collaborating with several law schools, the Supreme Court, the Alabama State Legislature and representing the state bar. The job requires a large amount of traveling, and Raleigh said he is excited to make a positive difference in the state bar while working with others. He was sworn in on July 12.
William Brewbaker, a University law professor, met Raleigh when he became president-elect of the State Bar.
“He has been a strong supporter of the Law School as well, serving as a trustee of the Farrah Law Society,” Brewbaker said. “He is personable, oriented toward solving problems and energetic. He will be an outstanding ambassador for the legal profession in our state.”
In addition to his recent installment as president of the state bar, Raleigh practices and is the managing shareholder of the firm Wilmer & Lee in Huntsville, Alabama. He has set many hopes for the upcoming year and said he plans to focus the bar’s agenda on aiding veterans, supporting Alabama’s lawyers so that they may perform to the best of their ability and improving accessibility to the justice system for all Alabamians.
“I think of these things a lot. There are always challenges, but you can make a difference in so many ways by just reaching out and doing something, by getting started,” Raleigh said. “Optimism and pessimism are both infectious. I think that the millennials – your generation – is very optimistic, and optimism spreads more rapidly from the top down than any other direction. We just need to find things and work – hard.”
