We recently spoke with new State Bar President Bill Gentry. By virtue of his office, President Gentry will serve on the Judicial Council of Georgia until June 30, 2027.
Condensed and edited for clarity.
Noelle Lagueux-Alvarez: Please tell our readers a little about yourself.
Bill Gentry: I was born and raised in Atlanta, more precisely in the Garden Hills neighborhood of Buckhead. When I was growing up in the 1960s and 70s, that part of the city was like Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show. I can remember driving along Peachtree Road with my parents in the heart of Buckhead and cars were parked at an angle. I cannot imagine backing out of a parking spot onto Peachtree nowadays. That is how much change I’ve witnessed in Atlanta during my lifetime.
I attended Atlanta Public Schools and then went off to the University of Virginia, where both of my older brothers and, later, my younger brother also attended. I always thought it was unique that four brothers from Georgia all attended UVA. I graduated from there in 1981 and headed to Washington, D.C. to work on Capitol Hill, where I served as a legislative aide for Congressman Wyche Fowler. After working in his office for a couple of years, I returned to Geogia to attend law school at the University of Georgia and graduated in 1986.
NL-A: How about your professional background?
Bill Gentry: Right out of law school, I worked for a boutique litigation firm in Atlanta— Webb & Daniel. Hal Daniel, Past President of the State Bar, was one of the partners. Then, a good friend from law school had been encouraging me for years to join him in Cobb County. He and I partnered in 1990 and practiced together for close to 10 years. After that, I practiced both as a solo and small firm practitioner for about 25 years. At the beginning of July 2026, I moved our family law lawyers into a multi-state law firm called Petrelli Previtera, LLC, where I’m a partner.
NL-A: What led you to serve in leadership at the State Bar of Georgia?
Bill Gentry: My wife likes to joke that I want to be the president of any organization that I join. I do have a long history of volunteering. I was Student Council President in high school, Fraternity President in college, President of the Student Bar Association in law school, and President of the Cobb County Bar Association.
I joined the State Bar’s Board of Governors in 2012 and after seven or eight years, I was voted onto the State Bar’s Executive Committee. From there I was encouraged by colleagues to become an officer. It’s funny though, the person who really kindled my interest in the State Bar was Hal Daniel, my old boss from my first job out of law school. All those years ago, when I was a young associate at his law firm, he very much encouraged me and all of the other attorneys to go to the State Bar Annual Meeting and to get involved with the State Bar. In the 90s, I teamed up with Judge Jeff Bagley and presented the Bridge of the Gap seminar. I’ve also served on many committees over the years.
NL-A: You’ve been deeply involved with the State Bar for decades now, which gives you such a great historical perspective on everything the State Bar has experienced and accomplished as you start your year-long term as State Bar President.
Bill Gentry: Yes, I’ve learned a number of things by being closely engaged with the State Bar for my entire career. When I transitioned my practice from Atlanta to Marietta, I was surprised to find a lot of mistrust at the time of the State Bar by lawyers in Cobb County. When I transitioned my practice from Atlanta to Marietta back then, the relationship between Cobb County lawyers and the State Bar was not as strong. They didn’t understand what the State Bar did. I would explain my own positive experience with the State Bar: it’s there to support lawyers, to support judges, and to support the legal system as a whole.
Over the years, I’ve gotten to know many of the approximately 100 employees of the State Bar. They are excellent people, always striving to do the best job. Damon Elmore is an outstanding Executive Director and always very accessible. General Counsel Russ Willard and COO Sarah Coole also come to mind. They care about lawyers. They care about the justice system. And, they’re just great people.
NL-A: I agree. The State Bar has wonderful staff throughout the entire organization. In our work, my team and I frequently collaborate with the State Bar and it’s always a pleasure. There’s a genuine spirit of cooperation.
Bill Gentry: That same collaborative spirit is mirrored in the relationship between the State Bar and the Justices of the Supreme Court of Georgia. I just returned from the ABA conference in Chicago, where I heard horror stories from other states about the dysfunction between their State Bar and their Supreme Court. We really are blessed here in Georgia. I’m very grateful for the wonderful working relationship between the State Bar of Georgia and the Georgia judiciary.
NL-A: What are your priorities for your year as State Bar President?
Bill Gentry: I’ve got three main priorities. The first is to support the Rule of Law in very tangible ways. I’ve given a great deal of thought about what I and other lawyers can do in everyday life to support the Rule of Law. It starts with treating one another with dignity, respect, and courtesy. Disagreeing without being disagreeable and counseling our clients to do the same. If a ruling doesn’t go in your client’s favor, sometimes they jump to accusing the judge of corruption. Many times, I’ve found myself advising a client that a judge is not corrupt, rather he or she simply disagreed with their perspective.
My second priority is to help Georgia lawyers thrive. A big part of that is the newly created Senior Lawyers Division (SLD). Many of the inaugural officers for the SLD are Past Presidents of the Young Lawyers Division. I intentionally sought out people who had that experience because of their natural leadership, their drive, and their dedication to the bar. A few of our key SLD objectives are encouraging our senior lawyers to do more pro bono work and to mentor young lawyers. We are also providing socialization opportunities for members. As lawyers get older, maybe their significant other has died, they become isolated, maybe they retire and have limited social outlets. Opportunities for socializing are so important for mental and physical health.
My third priority is artificial intelligence as it relates to the practice of law. AI offers great opportunity to improve the way legal services are rendered and at a lower cost. Certainly, guardrails in the usage of AI are needed and we have a State Bar Committee on Artificial Intelligence dedicated to moving forward in the right way—embracing the opportunities and addressing the challenges.
NL-A: Shifting gears, what do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
Bill Gentry: My wife and I love to travel. Some of our best trips have been European river cruises. We’ve done the Danube, the Rhone, and the Garonne. They were just such fun and I find travel so inspiring. I’m reminded of the Mark Twain quote that “travel is fatal to… narrow-mindedness.”
NL-A: Given your involvement with the State Bar all these years, you’ve undoubtedly been all over Georgia.
Bill Gentry: Yes, and I love it. My parents were from South Georgia. My mom was from Dublin, and my dad was from Eastman. I love talking with folks from all over the state. I love getting to know them, hearing issues that matter to them, and helping them resolve challenges.
NL-A: It’s been such a pleasure to talk with you, Bill. Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Bill Gentry: I’ll share this final thought. My dad was a Georgia lawyer and a Georgia judge. He graduated from Emory Law School and practiced law for many years. He was also a Magistrate Court Judge in Fulton County from 1980 to 1986. So, from him, I got a little window into the judicial perspective. Growing up around the dinner table with my dad and my mom, who was my dad’s legal secretary for 20 years before he became a Magistrate Judge, I picked up on the way lawyers talk, the way they think, and the way they approach problems. Neither my father nor my mother ever said, “you should be a lawyer.” But after years of exposure to a lawyer’s way of thinking, I was naturally drawn to the profession.
