Jeffrey E. Tompkins
Top rated Civil Litigation attorney in Atlanta, Georgia
Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins LLP
Practice Areas: Civil Litigation, General Litigation, Business Litigation; view more
Licensed in Georgia since: 1987
Education: Emory University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2008 - 2025 Call today:
404-963-9442
Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins LLP
3355 Main StreetAtlanta, GA 30337 Visit website
Details
Jeffrey Tompkins is a go-to trial lawyer. He has successfully tried cases in state and federal courts throughout Georgia. Jeff is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only professional society that is recognized as the preeminent organization of trial lawyers in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico and whose membership may never exceed one percent of all lawyers in any U.S. state or Canadian province. Jeff is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and has been recognized as a Georgia “Super Lawyer” every year since 2008. Jeff has represented at trial some of the world’s best-known companies as well as everyday individuals in a wide range of legal disputes, including wrongful death, premises liability, medical malpractice, commercial litigation, breach of contract, employment, and general tort matters.
Jeff serves as a Master in the Logan E. Bleckley American Inn of Court. He is a recipient of both the A.T. Walden Outstanding Lawyer Award from the Gate City Bar Association in Atlanta and the Walden-Herndon Outstanding Lawyer Award, presented by the Judicial Section of the Gate City Bar Association. Jeff has served on Atlanta Judicial Commission for more than 20 years and is General Counsel for his church—the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta. He previously served on the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ Technology Committee and Special Committee to Study the Proposed Test of Legal Research Knowledge and Skills, the Atlanta Charter Review Commission, the Mayor’s Commission on the Future of Atlanta, the Executive Committee of the Gate City Bar Association, the Atlanta Bar Association Judicial Selection/Tenure Committee, and on the Editorial Board of the Georgia Bar Journal.
Jeff is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College. He received a Doctor of Law degree from Emory University, where, as a second-year law student, he was a member of the winning team and was named runner-up oralist at the inaugural Jerome Prince Invitational Moot Court Evidence Competition held in New York. During his third year of law school, Jeff was Director-in-Chief of the Emory Moot Court Society and was elected by the faculty to the National Order of Barristers. At graduation, Jeff received the prestigious James C. Pratt Memorial Award, presented annually to the most outstanding member of the Emory Moot Court Society.
PRACTICE AREAS
- Wrongful Death
- Catastrophic Injury
- Premises Liability
- Employment Law
- Commercial Litigation
- Medical Malpractice
EDUCATION & BAR ADMISSION
Morehouse College, B.A. with High Honors 1984
Phi Beta Kappa
Robert W. Brisbane Award
Emory University School of Law, Doctor of Law, 1987
Director-in Chief, Emory Moot Court Society
Order of Barristers
James C. Pratt Memorial Award Recipient
D. Robert Owen Award Recipient
BAR ADMISSIONS
1987, Georgia
Supreme Court of Georgia
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
Practice areas
Civil Litigation: Defense, General Litigation, Business Litigation, Employment Litigation: Defense, Personal Injury - General: PlaintiffFocus areas
Assault, Brain Injury, Litigation, Non-Compete Agreements, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Trade Secret, Wrongful Death
- 50% Civil Litigation: Defense
- 20% General Litigation
- 10% Business Litigation
- 10% Employment Litigation: Defense
- 10% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
First Admitted: 1987, Georgia
Professional Webpage: https://tkstlaw.com/jeffrey-e-tompkins/
- Georgia, 1987
- Supreme Court of Georgia, 1987
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 1987
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, 1987
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 1987
- Mayor’s Commission on the Future of Atlanta, 1987
- Atlanta Blue Ribbon Commission on Capital Projects, 1991
- Chairman, Atlanta Judicial Commission, 1997 - Present
- South Atlanta District of the Boy Scouts of America, 2003 - 2005
- Board of Directors of The Study Hall, 2009 - Present
- Board of Directors of The Study Hall, 1998 - 2002
- Editorial Board of the Georgia Bar Journal, 1996 - 1997
- Atlanta Bar Association, Judicial Selection/Tenure Committee, 2001 - 2005
- Gate City Bar Association, Executive Board, 1989 - 1992
- Olympic Games - Atlanta Committee (ACOG), Licensing Counsel
- As lead trial counsel, he obtained a defense verdict in favor of Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority following a jury trial in Blair King v. Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority (United States District Court of the Northern District of Georgia). The case involved claims of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and violation of the Family Medical Leave Act.
- In 2016, successfully defended a local police agency in a federal court trial involving allegations of excessive force. Despite the subject incident having been captured on video was able to show the jury that the force used was not excessive.
- In 2015, successfully defended a major Atlanta law firm in a pregnancy discrimination case.
- Lead counsel in the successful defense of Georgia-Pacific Corporation in Pickle Logging, Inc. v. Georgia-Pacific Corporation, 276 Ga. App. 398 (2005), a multi-million-dollar breach of contract action involving timber and logging operations in southwest Georgia.
- Trial counsel for the State of Georgia in State of Georgia v. John Ashcroft, 539 U.S. 461 (2003), tried before a panel of federal judges in the District of Columbia and successfully appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
- Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority in William Hicks and Marlow Roberson v. MARTA, a premises liability case alleging negligent security. Plaintiffs alleged to have suffered traumatic brain injuries after being severely beaten by a group of juveniles at a transit station.
- Trial counsel on the issue of damages for plaintiff The Coca-Cola Company in The Coca-Cola Company v. PepsiCo et al., 1:02-CV-2887 (U.S.D.C. N.D. Ga.), a patent infringement action that resulted in a multi-million-dollar jury verdict.
- Lead trial and appellate counsel for the Fulton-Dekalb Hospital Authority, Emory University, and several medical professionals in Rosie Miranda et al. v. Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority, Emory University at al., 284 Ga. App. 203 (2007), cert. denied 207 Ga. LEXIS 516 (2007), a wrongful death action wherein the plaintiffs sought more than $10 million.
- Reading Tutor, Perkinson Elementary School Reading Program
- Advisory Board of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation
- Board of Directors of Sadie G. Mays Health and Rehabilitation Center
- A.T. Walden Outstanding Lawyer Award, Gate City Bar Association (Atlanta), 2011, 2011
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, www.actl.com, 2024
- Recognized as a Georgia “Super Lawyer”, 2008 - Present
- Received a Rating of “AV”, Martindale-Hubbell
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America
- Walden-Herndon Award, Gate City Bar Association (Atlanta) Judicial Section, 2007
- Morehouse College, B.A. in Political Science, Honors: Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society, Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, Political Science Departmental Honors, 1984
- Opening and Closing Statements from the Defense’s Perspective, Gate City Bar Association CLE Seminar, San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 25, 2014
- Director-in-Chief, Emory Moot Court Society, Emory University School of Law
- Dean’s Student Advisory Group, Emory University School of Law, Member
- Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges
- Who’s Who Among Students in American Law Schools
- President, Black Law Students Association, Emory University School of Law
- D. Robert Owen Award, Emory University School of Law, Recipient, 1987
- James C. Pratt Memorial Award, Emory University School of Law, Recipient, 1987
- National Order of Barristers, Member
- Winning Team and named Runner-up Oralist, Jerome Prince Invitational Moot Court Evidence Competition, New York
These comments were made by fellow attorneys during the annual nomination process.
“Attorney Thompkins is a brilliant attorney. He has the highest ethics, and he is a phenomenal trial attorney.”
“One of the best.”
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2008 - 2025
