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THOMAS KENNEDY SAMPSON & TOMPKINS LLP

Thomas G Sampson Sr

Thomas G. Sampson Sr.

Managing Partner

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2025 Best Lawyers
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When experience matters, and it always does, call on the attorneys at Thomas Kennedy to listen, understand, and craft a winning strategy for your case.

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BIOGRAPHY

Thomas (“Tom”) G. Sampson Sr. is the Managing Partner of Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins LLP and is the product of a family steeped in the law. His roots are in Durham, where his father, the late Daniel George Sampson, was a law professor and Dean at North Carolina Central University. Like his father, Sampson graduated from Morehouse College and sought a career in law. He has since practiced law for more than 50 years, building a national trial practice and reputation in the fields of personal injury, wrongful death, and medical malpractice litigation.

Sampson has represented the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia in major litigation and has prosecuted catastrophic injury cases resulting in several then record-setting, seven-figure verdicts in state and federal courts. Sampson has several recoveries over $10 million or more; and numerous million-dollar settlements.

Additionally, Sampson has successfully represented Fortune 500 corporations in major litigation.

Throughout his career, Sampson has often been tapped to serve government, the Bar, and the community. He was appointed by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin to a special panel to evaluate the Atlanta Municipal Court and the City Court of Atlanta. He is also a Special Assistant to the Attorney General for the State of Georgia, having been appointed by Attorney General Thurbert Baker. He was the first African American inducted into the Georgia Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and he has been listed in every edition of The Best Lawyers in America since 1993. Sampson has served as a Master in both the Bleckley and Logan Inns of the American Inns of Court. In 2007, Sampson was inducted as a Charter Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an honor reserved for less than one-half of one percent of lawyers in America.

Locally, Atlanta Magazine has consistently included Sampson in its list of the “Best Lawyers in Atlanta,” and he has been a Georgia “Super Lawyer” in every year of its existence, an honor reserved for the top 5 percent of the lawyers in the State. In 2006, Morehouse College honored Sampson with its Bennie Trailblazer Award, the highest level of recognition bestowed upon alumni by the College. In 2010, for his civic contributions, accomplishments, and leadership, the Atlanta Hawks honored Sampson as a Trailblazer during a special presentation at a Hawks game in Phillips Arena.

On February 26, 2022, Thomas G. Sampson, Sr. was inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), at its annual meeting in Coronado, California. Founded in 1950, the ACTL is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers, who have mastered the art of advocacy. Membership in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province.

PRACTICE AREAS

  • Personal & Catastrophic Injury
  • Premises Liability
  • Wrongful Death
  • Medical Malpractice

 

EDUCATION & BAR ADMISSION

Morehouse College, B.A., 1968; London School of Economics, Member, Society of International Business Fellows

University of North Carolina, J.D., 1971

Bar Admission 1971, Georgia; 1971, North Carolina

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION & AWARDS

  • Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
  • Listed in “Best Lawyers in America” for over 30 years
  • Lawyers of Distinction, Top 10% in the USA, 2017
  • Listed in the “Top 100 Lawyers” in Georgia by the American Trial Lawyers Association, 2007-2010
  • Listed AV Preeminent, Martindale Hubbell
  • Listed in Georgia Super Lawyers, 2005-2022
  • Living Legend, Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Morehouse College, 2023
  • Gate City Bar Association Hall of Fame, 2002
  • Bennie Trailblazer Award Recipient, Morehouse College, 2006
  • Hillside High School, Hall of Fame, 2009
  • Trailblazer Award, Atlanta Hawks, 2010
  • Hall of Fame Award, Atlanta Tribune, 2012
  • National Bar Association, Hall of Fame, 2014
  • State Bar of Georgia, Randolph Thrower Award, 2015
  • Daily Report, Lifetime Achievement Award, 2016
  • Tradition of Excellence Award, State Bar of Georgia, 2017
  • Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys Zenith Award of Excellence, 2017
  • America’s Most Honored Lawyers, The American Registry, 2020
  • Legal Legend Award, National Bar Association, 2020
  • Gertrude Rush Distinguished Service Award, NBA, 2021
  • Recognized for Excellence in Civil Litigation, Lawyers of Distinction, 2018
  • Georgia Best Lawyers, Georgia Best Lawyers Association, 2013
  • Top Trial Lawyers, American Trial Lawyers Association, 2007, 2007, 2011
  • Nation’s Top One Percent, National Association of Distinguished Counsel, 2015, 2016
  • Georgia’s Best Lawyers, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, New York Times and Wall Street Journal, 2012, 2014
  • Former Master, Logan E. Bleckley Inn of Court
  • Former Master, Joseph Henry Lumpkin Inn of Court
  • Charter Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
  • Fellow, Lawyers Foundation of Georgia
  • Men Who Soar Award, Men Looking Ahead
  • Law & Justice Award, Women Looking Ahead
  • Man of the Year, Women Looking Ahead

Other Associations

Atlanta Judicial Commission; Board of Councilors for the Carter Center; Boards of Directors of the Atlanta Urban League; Board of Directors, Senior Citizens Services of Metropolitan Atlanta; Charter Member & Former Vice Chairman, Neighborhood Justice Center; President, Gate City Bar Association; Member, Board of Governors, State Bar of Georgia; Special Assistant, Attorney General for the State of Georgia; President, Atlanta Legal Aid Society; Chairman, State Bar of Georgia Client Security Fund; Vice President, State Bar of Georgia Disciplinary Board; Vice President, Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers; Regional Director, National Bar Association; Member, Trial Law Institute; Member, Diversity Law Institute; Barrister, Order of Centurions; Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgia State University; Instructor, Atlanta College of Trial Advocacy.