Mr. Ortale is a founding partner of the firm, which began on April 1, 1971. He obtained his B.A. degree from Hanover College in Indiana in 1952 and his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1955. In the year 2005 he received Senior Counselor status with the Tennessee Bar Association.

In July 1955 Mr. Ortale received his license to practice law in the State of Tennessee and shortly after that was licensed to practice law in the U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee and later approved to argue cases before the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and finally receiving permission to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. During his career, he submitted cases to all of these courts and obtained several recorded opinions. For the last several years, Mr. Ortale has been an active Mediator and Arbitrator. Having been appointed a Rule 31 Mediator by the Tennessee Supreme Court and approved by the National Association of Securities Dealers for arbitrating and mediating NASD disputes. Most of his career was spent in litigation before juries.

Mr. Ortale is a Fellow of the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations. He has been active for many years with the Nashville and Tennessee Bar Associations, The Tennessee Defense Lawyers and conducted trial demonstrations and seminars for the Defense of Civil Actions. He is presently serving on the Vanderbilt Law School National Alumni Council.