The firm was founded in 1870 by Judge Granville Sumner Ridley. Judge Ridley enrolled in school at Cumberland University in Lebanon after the close of the Civil War; he completed his formal training and immediately began practicing in his hometown of Murfreesboro. Judge Ridley subsequently spent the balance of his professional life in Murfreesboro in the private practice of law and as a Circuit Judge. Judge Ridley was joined in the practice by his son, Granville Sumner Ridley, Jr., after his graduation from Vanderbilt University and service as an officer in the United States Army during World War I. Mr. Ridley practiced law in Murfreesboro until the late 1970's. During his career, he served as a Special Justice on the Supreme Court of Tennessee.
Mr. Ridley was joined in the practice by his nephew, Granville Sumner Ridley Bouldin, in 1953. Mr. Bouldin was graduated from Washington & Lee University in 1951 and spent two years as an officer in the United States Marine Corp trying general court martials during the Korean conflict.
In 1988, Mr. Bouldin's son, Granville Sumner Ridley Bouldin, Jr., joined the firm. Mr. Bouldin was graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1985 and spent approximately three years practicing with a large law firm in Nashville before returning home.