Matt Alford, Nathan Cronic, and Mark DeGennaro are proud to continue the long tradition of service and record of success of the Willis McKenzie law firm. Our firm traces its history to Horace E. Richter and A.W. Birdsong, who initially founded the firm as Richter and Birdsong in 1949. Jerry Willis joined the firm in 1975 followed by Ray McKenzie in 1979. After the death of Mr. Ritcher and the departure of Judge Birdsong to the Georgia Court of Appeals where he served with distinction for 21 years, Jerry and Ray moved the firm to our current location in 1985.
Over the next 40 years, Jerry Willis achieved unparalleled, state-wide success as a trial lawyer, particularly in the area of medical malpractice defense, while continuing to serve our community as the County Attorney for the Troup County Board of Commissioners for over 52 years. Jerry and Ray continued to grow the firm by welcoming our current partners, Mark DeGennaro (1991), Matt Alford (1999), and Nathan Cronic (2004), and the firm eventually became Willis McKenzie LLP.
In 2025, Jerry and Ray continue to serve of counsel for our firm. In January 2025, Mark DeGennaro was appointed by the Troup County Board of Commissioners as County Attorney for Troup County, Georgia, taking over from Jerry Willis after his 52 years of service in that position.
REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS Our firm provides representation to many individuals and businesses, both locally and regionally. Some representative business clients to whom we have provided service in general business matters or litigation include Diverse Power, Batson-Cook Company, Knology, Callaway Foundation, and DASH. We work with insurers in our medical malpractice defense practice such as MAG Mutual Insurance Company, CURI Insurance, MedMal Direct Insurance Company, and Doctors Direct Insurance Company. We also represent several local governmental bodies such as Troup County, Georgia, Troup County Health Department, and Troup County Development Authority.