Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens praised Thomas G. Sampson Sr. as “a legal giant” and “civic trailblazer” in the wake of the prominent attorney’s death.
Sampson co-founded Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins LLP, the oldest Black-owned law firm in Georgia.
“For over five decades, Mr. Sampson stood as a pillar of excellence in the legal profession, a fierce advocate for justice and a tireless mentor to generations of Black attorneys,” Dickens said in a statement Thursday.
Sampson graduated from Morehouse College in 1968 and received his law degree at the University of North Carolina in 1971, according to a biography posted on his law firm’s website.
The attorney represented the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia in major litigation as well as prosecuting catastrophic injury cases resulting in several recoveries of $10 million or more, according to the biography.
The attorney also represented Fortune 500 corporations in major litigation, was the first African American inducted into the Georgia Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and was listed in every edition of The Best Lawyers in America since 1993, according to his firm.
“His leadership extended beyond the courtroom — uplifting our communities, advancing civil rights and opening doors that had long been closed to people of color,” Dickens said in his statement.
The mayor extended condolences to the family, including Sampson’s wife of 57 years, Jacquelyn; children Woody and Alia; and six grandchildren.
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