James D. Thomas
Jim has over thirty years of
experience as a leader and mentor. Jim serves as a leadership and professional
development consultant and presenter. In this role, he regularly speaks,
consults, and coaches other professionals within and outside the legal field
for fee-based engagements. Jim is also an Adjunct Professor at the
Michael E. Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, teaching an
upper-level class entitled, “Lawyers as Leaders.”
Jim maintains a limited legal
practice with an emphasis on special appointments (e.g., special
master), arbitration matters, mediation, and private judging engagements. He is
licensed to practice law in Ohio and Florida.
Jim is a former United States
Magistrate Judge. Jim was a litigation partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour
and Pease LLP in Columbus, Ohio from 2014 to 2018 before setting out on his
own. Prior to joining Vorys, Jim was a litigation partner with Squire Sanders,
now Squire Patton Boggs, where he was the Practice Group Leader for the Global
Litigation Group responsible for over 250 professionals around the world and
the group’s overall leadership, management, and profitability.
Jim graduated from the University of Toledo College of Law in
1987, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. He earned his undergraduate degree from Adrian
College (MI) in 1984 and served as a Board Trustee from 2000 to 2018.
Jim lives in
German Village with his wife Michelle D. Thomas.