Louisville lawyer sworn in as head of major plaintiff lawyer group
A Louisville lawyer has been sworn in as president of a leading national trial lawyers’ group.
Tad Thomas, who was lead counsel for plaintiffs who sued the Boy Scouts of America and Metro Louisville over sexual abuse they said they suffered in the Louisville police Explorer Scout program, was sworn in this week at the American Association for Justice annual convention, which ths year is in Seatttle
The AAJ was known as the American Trial Lawyers Assocition until 2006, when it changed its name amid attacks by Republican and conservative on trial lawyers.
Founded in 1946, the organization “ promotes justice and fairness for injured persons, safeguards victims' rights—particularly the right to trial by jury — and strengthens the civil justice system through education and disclosure of information critical to public health and safety, it says on its website.
In recent years it has opposed tort reform, including caps on recoveries, as well as mandatory arbitration of claims contracts in which consumers must waive their right to sue.
It has fought against the United States Chamber of Commerce, which depicts as a special interest group.
Thomas is the founder and managing partner of Thomas Law Offices which has offices in Louisville, Chicago, Cincinnati and Columbia, Missouri. He is to practice in Kentucky, Illinois and New York.
Thomas has been a member of the trial lawyers' group longer than he has been practicing law, having joined as a law student to participate in its nationwide mock trial competition,
“My whole legal career has been shaped by this association,” he said in a news release. “It is my great honor to serve as the president of this organization which looks out for access to justice, defending the right to trial by jury for everyday Americans who are physically and financially harmed by big corporations.”
Thomas was an attorney for seven former scouts whom Metro Louisville last year agreed to pay $3.65 million settle suits in which they were sexually abused in the Explorer program.
Their suits were filed under their initials, to protect their privacy, and the settlements also kept their names confidential.
Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; awolfson@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @adwolfson.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville lawyer sworn in as head of major plaintiff lawyer group
