The next challenge

Fry grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the son of a lawyer and a music teacher, and went to Belmont College. After graduation, he was inspired by the Tom Cruise movie “Cocktail,” and decided it was time for a break.

“I moved down to Fort Lauderdale and for two years, all I did was work out and hang out on the beach and sling drinks at night,” Fry said. “Then my motivation got to me and I was bored and ready for the next challenge. I had always wanted to be a lawyer, and I knew that was the right time to go.”

He didn’t want to do the same sort of law his father did — estate and tax work, “one of the most boring fields in the world” — but remembered being interested in cases where older clients were taken advantage of by financial firms.

“That’s how I kind of went into the personal injury area,” Fry said. “One thing that got me interested in personal injury law is I always wanted to be in the courtroom and be a litigator, but … most law students thought there was too much litigiousness in the country. I wanted to be a defense attorney representing insurance companies. Within months of seeing how the insurance companies treated the people, I knew now I found my calling of what I wanted to do.”

Fry attended John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, and worked as a personal trainer to pay for his education. He worked with several different law firms in Atlanta and Decatur before breaking out to start his own firm.

“[Attorney Bruce Hagen] is the one that really taught me how to try cases, how to conduct myself as an attorney in the courtroom and how to win with grace and how to win with humility,” Fry said. “I had six wonderful years working for Bruce, but after six years I was ready to go out on my own.”

The Fry Law Firm began in 2011 with Fry and his telephone, and six years later there are three attorneys, three paralegals and seven legal assistants in the spacious suite at 1401 Peachtree Street.

“We’ve been very blessed to grow so quickly,” Fry said.