Jeffrey E. Tompkins

Bar / Professional Activity

• Georgia, 1987
• American Board of Trial Advocates
• 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

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

• 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 and 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.

Pro bono / Community Service

• 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

Educational Background

• 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

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• Opening and Closing Statements from the Defense’s Perspective, Gate City Bar Association CLE Seminar, San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 25, 2014

Other Outstanding Achievements

• 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

Honors

• A.T. Walden Outstanding Lawyer Award, Gate City Bar Association (Atlanta), 2011, 2011
• Atlanta Judicial Commission
• Master, Logan E. Bleckley American Inn of Court
• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, 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

“Attorney Thompkins is a brilliant attorney. He has the highest ethics, and he is a phenomenal trial attorney.”

“One of the best.”