Famous Atlanta lawyer dies of drowning

A prominent Atlanta attorney drowned while swimming off the coast of Georgia with his teenage son.

Page Pate, 55, died Sunday while swimming in a cove on St. Simons Island where his family has a home.

Pate and his son were swept into open water by strong rip currents, according to Glynn County Coroner Marc Neu.

His son managed to return to shore, but a rescue team had to pull Pate from the water. Despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was later pronounced dead at Brunswick Hospital in the Southeast Georgia Health System.

Pate worked for over 25 years as a trial lawyer, splitting his time between his offices in Atlanta and Brunswick, Georgia.

He was also known as a legal expert to national news channels and radio stations and covered a series of high-profile cases.

“Although he was a formidable, sometimes intimidating, lawyer in the courtroom, Page had an easy smile, a hearty laugh and a great sense of humor,” said Pate Law Firm, Pate , Johnson and Church, in a press release.

Pate was a founding member of the Georgia Innocence Project.