Areas of Practice
Criminal Defense
Securities Litigation
Product Liability Defense
Defamation
Accountant Liability
Death Penalty Litigation

James G. Thomas joined Neal & Harwell in 1982. He served a two-year clerkship for the Honorable Thomas A. Wiseman, Jr., United States District Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee, Nashville.

Mr. Thomas has experience in a broad range of civil and criminal litigation matters, primarily in the federal district and appellate courts. In addition to Tennessee state and federal courts, Mr. Thomas is admitted to the bars of the United States Supreme Court and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits.

Mr. Thomas graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in German in 1976. He earned his J.D. in 1980 from Vanderbilt University School of Law, where he was an associate editor of the Law Review.

Notable / Representative Cases

• Johnson v. Bell, Warden, 525 F.3d 466 (6th Cir. 2008)
• Hamilton v. Carell, 243 F.3d 992 (6th Cir. 2001)
• United States v. Stephens, 118 F.3d 479 (6th Cir. 1997)
• In re Federal Grand Jury Proceedings 89-10 (MIA), 938 F.2d 1578 (11th Cir. 1991)

Recognition

• AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review, highest rating awarded

Professional Associations

• Member, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Member, American Bar Association / Criminal Justice and Litigation Sections
• Member, Tennessee Bar Association
• Member, Nashville Bar Foundation
• Member, Criminal Justice Act (CJA) Panel Selection Committee for the Middle District of Tennessee since 1999
• Member, Sixth Circuit Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions Committee, 1987 – 1991
• Member, Tennessee Campaign for Criminal Justice Reform Committee (ABA Death Penalty Representation Project),
  2008 – Present Civic & Community Service
• Board Member, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee from 1996-2001; president in 2000.
• Board Member, Project Return, Inc. since 2003; president,
  2007 – present
• Nashville Adult Literacy Council Corporate Spelling Bee, team member since 2007