John Charles Thomas (born 1950) is an American

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

and a former justice of the

Supreme Court of Virginia The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...

. Thomas graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Arts in American government in 1972. He next attended the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

and received his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1975. Following law school, Thomas joined Hunton & Williams, then styled Hunton, Williams, Gay & Gibson. He was the first African-American at the firm. "I did not know what to expect. We were not many years from the searing violence that scarred the nation during the days of the Civil Rights Movement; the Selma March, King's assassination, riots in the streets of major cities all were within recent memory. And so it was a major step to be the first Black lawyer at Hunton & Williams; I saw it as part of the integration of our society." He was admitted to the law firm's partnership in April 1982 and was the first Black lawyer in the history of the American South — from Virginia to Texas — to come to an old-line, southern law firm out of law school and "go up the line" to make partner. In 1983, he was appointed to the

, becoming the first African American and (being 32) the youngest person of any race to sit there. In the middle of his seventh year on the court, he resigned (due to illness) and was succeeded by

Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr. Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. (August 17, 1955 – February 9, 2011), was a justice of the Virginia Supreme Court and the first African-American Chief Justice of that Court, serving two four-year terms from February 1, 2003, to January 31, 2011. ...

who later became the court's first black chief justice. Following his retirement from the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1989, Judge Thomas practiced law in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

as part of the

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is an American law firm created by the merger of Hunton & Williams LLP and Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP on April 2, 2018. The firm has offices in 20 cities, primarily in the United States. History Hunton & Williams (formerl ...

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

. Judge Thomas is now retired. In 1995, he received the NAACP's Lifetime Image Award. In 2005, Thomas was named a member of the Court of

Arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ' ...

for Sport, which is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The members of the Court include lawyers and former jurists from around the world. CAS is an independent arbitral institution created in 1983 to settle sports-related disputes involving drug violations and rules of international sports federations. It hears cases arising from most world-class sporting competition and has global jurisdiction. The Court has offices in Lausanne, Switzerland; Sydney, Australia; and New York City, and establishes ad hoc offices in Olympic host cities, as required. In 2006, Thomas was appointed to the Board of Visitors of the College of William & Mary, a position to which he was reappointed in 2009. In 2009, Thomas asked to be considered for a seat on the federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Virginia Bar Association included Thomas on the list of candidates it submitted to Virginia's two senators on February 24, 2009.

References

External links

Official biography
from

Hunton & Williams Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is an American law firm created by the merger of Hunton & Williams LLP and Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP on April 2, 2018. The firm has offices in 20 cities, primarily in the United States. History Hunton & Williams (formerl ...

One Journey In A Century by John Charles ThomasConvocation speech at the College of William and Mary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, John Charles Living people 1950 births Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia Virginia lawyers University of Virginia School of Law alumni African-American judges African-American lawyers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people