As a member of Butler Snow’s Products, Catastrophic and Industrial Litigation, Appellate and Written Advocacy, and Commercial Litigation practice groups, Thomas has experience defending clients across the country in all stages of litigation in both state and federal courts. Before joining Butler Snow, Thomas clerked for Judge G. Steven Agee on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Judge Henry E. Hudson on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Thomas finished first in his class at the University of Richmond School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Richmond Law Review.
Overview
As a member of Butler Snow’s Products, Catastrophic and Industrial Litigation, Appellate and Written Advocacy, and Commercial Litigation practice groups, Thomas has experience defending clients across the country in all stages of litigation in both state and federal courts. Before joining Butler Snow, Thomas clerked for Judge G. Steven Agee on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Judge Henry E. Hudson on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Thomas finished first in his class at the University of Richmond School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Richmond Law Review.
Practice Areas
Experience
- Drafted preliminary and dispositive briefs and helped oversee discovery for an international medical device manufacturer in personal injury litigation where we served as national counsel.
- Prepared domestic and international clients for depositions, including travel to Tokyo to prepare a witness through the use of translators.
- Secured early dismissal for a medical device maker in a personal injury action arising from the use of a duodenoscope.
- Obtained full dismissal for a product manufacturer defending claims of breach of contract and warranty.
- Represented manufacturers in asbestos litigation, including taking the depositions of several plaintiffs.
- Won early dismissal for a plastics manufacturer on personal jurisdiction grounds in an asbestos suit.
- Devised litigation strategy employed by a client facing novel tort claims related to global warming.
- Secured a full dismissal with prejudice in a premises liability case without noticing an appearance.
Distinctions
- Up & Coming Lawyer, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, 2023
Bar Admissions
- Virginia, 2016
- U.S. District Courts
- Virginia: Eastern, Western
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 4th Circuit
- 11th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Education
- University of Richmond School of Law, J.D., summa cum laude, 2016
- Member, Order of the Coif
- J. Westwood Smithers Medal for having the highest cumulative grade point average of the graduating class
- Cudlipp Medal for having the highest cumulative grade point average at the end of the second year
- T.C. Williams Law School Scholarship Award for making the most significant contribution to overall legal scholarship
- Editor-in-Chief, University of Richmond Law Review
- Vice President for Speakers, The Federalist Society
- Member, Omicron Delta Kappa, National Leadership Honor Society
- Member, McNeill Law Society, University of Richmond’s Legal Honor Society
- CALI Award for Excellence in Appellate Courts, Civil Litigation, Constitutional Jurisprudence, Federal Courts, Legal History, and Remedies
- Wake Forest University, B.A., Religious Studies, cum laude, 2011
- Clerkship, Honorable G. Steven Agee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2019-2022
- Clerkship, Honorable Henry E. Hudson, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 2016-2017
Associations
- Virginia Bar Association
- Appellate Practice Section
- Federalist Society
- John Marshall Center
- Member
- Richmond Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
- Richmond Chapter
- American Bar Association
- Litigation Section
- Young Lawyers Division
- John Marshall Inn of Court
- Member
Papers, Presentations & Publications
- Author, "Paranoid Androids: Artificial Intelligence, In-House Counsel, and the Attorney-Client Privilege," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 17 No. 3, September 2024.
- Quoted, "Get Focused on Right-to-Repair," F&I and Showroom, March 18, 2024.
- Author, "Fair Notice as a Defense to Novel Tort Liability," 2024 Litigation Update: Navigating Emerging Trends and Technology, March 2024.
- Co-Author, "My Gut Says, "Yes," but Is That Correct?" For The Defense, October 2023.
- Speaker, “Fourth Circuit Practice,” The Virginia Bar Association 2023 Appellate Summit, Richmond, Virginia, September 28, 2023.
- Author, “10 Tips From a Former Clerk: How to Become a Better 4th Circuit Practitioner,” On Appeal, Fall 2023.
- Speaker, “The Right-to-Repair Movement: My Gut Says, ‘Yes,’ But Is That Correct?” Tennessee Association of Corporate Counsel, Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 22, 2023.
- Author, "Group Pleading and Personal Jurisdiction: Strengthening the Defense in Mass Tort Cases," The Brief Case: DRI Committee News, Volume 2, Issue 5, May 2023.
- Co-Author, "High Court Ax Of Atty-Client Privilege Case Deepens Split," Law360, February 24, 2023.
- Co-Author, "Atty-Client Privilege Arguments Give Justices A Moving Target," Law360, January 18, 2023.
- Co-Author, "To Plead or Not to Plead Citizenship," American Bar Association, January 17, 2023.
- Co-Author, "High Court Pa. Could End Personal Jurisdiction Divide", Law360, November 11, 2022.
- The Highest Court: A Dialogue Between Justice Louis Brandeis and Justice Antonin Scalia on Stare Decisis, 51 U. RICH. L. REV. 1149 (2017).
- Standing in a Post-Spokeo Environment, 30 REGENT L. REV. 11 (2017) (with The Hon. Henry E. Hudson and Christopher M. Keegan).
- Comment, A Shot in the Dark: Why Virginia Should Adopt the Firing Squad as Its Primary Method of Execution, 49 U. RICH. L. REV. 779 (2015).
Civic Involvement
- Appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin, Board of Trustees, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
- Elected Member of the Anglican Diocese of Christ Our Hope’s Constitution and Canons Committee
- Adjunct Professor of Advanced Legal Writing, Spring 2022 Semester, Washington & Lee University School of Law