[2][3] He had practiced law since the late 1940s, and is known for combining a sharp legal mind with a folksy demeanor.
He had represented a wide variety of clients, from rural Southerners to international businessmen and corporations.
He was reputed to have been the inspiration for the television series Matlock main character Ben Matlock, which starred Andy Griffith as a Georgia attorney.
He attended Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee.
He recalled a time of racial prejudice when African Americans were "required to sit in the balcony of old courtrooms".