Ranking: 139
Industry: Law Practice
Mission: Building Today’s Companies for Tomorrow’s Economies. They uniquely address two modern profit drivers: innovation (uptake and development), and corporate social responsibility, considering profits alongside promoting positive environmental and social impact and transparency. The Appalachian Innovation Corridor representing clients and interests globally.
What 3 words best describe your company culture?
Accessible, Energetic, Innovative
How is your product or service having a positive social and/or environmental impact?
We’re the first B Corp law firm in Tennessee, and we’re also a 1% For The Planet member. Last year we launched B Tennessee, an initiative to foster events and workshops around corporate social responsibility. We serve as pro bono counsel to B Academics and regularly dedicate time to panels and research intended to advance CSR/social enterprise.
We also intentionally operate offices in economically depressed regions including Cookeville and Jackson, Tennessee, where the local population does not have access to intellectual property and entrepreneurship counsel. We sponsor a large list of economic and social impact nonprofits, including the Biz Foundry, IMPACT Cookeville, Mustard Seed Ranch, Mayhem Mission, Green Spaces, Urban Green Lab, B Academics, Living Lands and Waters, Highlands Economic Partnership, Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale, and the American Alpine Club. We’re the only IP attorneys that regularly hop on kayaks to clean up local waterways.
Principle and founder Kevin Christopher is the son of an immigrant mother and father who suffered from PTSD resulting in homelessness. Kevin’s successes are built on the backs of mentors and supporters, and so Rockridge is imprinted with a spirit of giving back and lifting up the marginalized in its community.
What is your company’s vision for the future?
We look to become the preeminent venture law group across the southeast, and one particularly that marries expertise in intellectual property, privacy and technology law with a missional mindset.