Memorial service for Thomas G. Sampson Sr. planned at Morehouse College

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Thomas G. Samson Jr. Photo courtesy City of Atlanta

ATLANTA -  A memorial service honoring trailblazing attorney Thomas G. Sampson Sr. will be this Saturday at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel on the campus of Morehouse College.

The backstory:

Sampson, who co-founded Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins LLP — Georgia’s oldest Black-owned law firm — died peacefully on July 3, surrounded by family. He was 80.

A respected figure in the courtroom and the community, Sampson helped shape Georgia’s legal landscape over a career spanning more than five decades. After graduating from Morehouse College and earning his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971, he returned to Atlanta to begin building what would become a nationally recognized litigation practice.

Throughout his career, Sampson was known as a mentor and advocate, particularly within the Black legal community. He became the first African American inducted into the Georgia chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2022 and was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He had been listed in The Best Lawyers in America every year since 1993 and received Morehouse College’s prestigious Bennie Trailblazer Award in 2006.

Sampson is survived by his wife of 57 years, Dr. Jacquelyn Sanders; his children, Woody Sampson and Dr. Alia Sampson Brown; six grandchildren; two sisters; a brother; and his niece, Georgia State Representative Inga Willis.

What they're saying:

"My dad was my hero as well as a hero to so many young people," said his son and law partner, Thomas G. "Woody" Sampson II. "I was proud to share him with so many."

"Tom was not just a great lawyer, but a great person," said longtime colleague and partner Jeffrey Tompkins. "He was a true gentleman in every sense of the word."

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens called Sampson "a legal giant, civic trailblazer and proud son of our city," adding, "Mr. Sampson did not just build a law firm—he built a legacy. He showed us what it looks like to lead with purpose, serve with integrity and make history while empowering others to do the same."

What's next:

The memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 19, at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel on the campus of Morehouse College.