George R. Thompson is an experienced and accomplished trial attorney who has devoted his career to advocating for individuals injured or killed due to others’ negligence.

Board-certified in Civil Trial Practice by the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 1991, Mr. Thompson’s expertise is widely recognized as he has maintained an “AV” rating in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers since 1997 (which identifies a lawyer and firm with very high to preeminent legal ability and is the highest reflection of expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence), and has been repeatedly honored as a “Super Lawyer” by U.S. News & World Report, including as recently as 2024. In 2009, Mr. Thompson was named an Invited Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Michigan Trial Lawyers group and participated in the Joint Committee on Medical-Legal Issues, a collaboration between the Michigan State Medical Society and the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. Thompson’s impact on the legal community extends beyond the courtroom. Mr. Thompson was a member of the State Bar Civil Procedure Committee for several years and chaired the Committee in 1995.  He has been a Hearing Panelist for the State Bar Attorney Discipline Board and an Arbitrator for cases in Michigan’s Western District of the U.S. District Court and also often served as a Mediator, Case Evaluator, or Arbitrator. He has taught at Western Michigan University and Northwestern Michigan College and lectured other lawyers on specific areas of litigation, civil procedure, and personal injury on more than twenty occasions, including lectures or mock trials given to or for the State Bar of Michigan, Michigan Trial Lawyers, Institute of Continuing Education, Upper Michigan Legal Institute, Michigan Association of Cardiologists, Michigan Lodging Association, and the Association of County Road Commissions.

In addition to representing injury victims and their families, Mr. Thompson has used his legal expertise to help the community and its most vulnerable members. He has been honored with the Traverse City Community Pro Bono Service Award and the Madeline Thomas Community Service Award. For over 25 years, Mr. Thompson and his team at Thompson O’Neil, PC, scheduled attorneys for the Third Level Free Legal Clinic and led an initiative to restore a cottage at the State Hospital Grounds in Traverse City, transforming it into Munson Manor, a temporary home for families of hospitalized patients. Mr. Thompson has served on various boards, including the Adult Mental Health Board, Grand Traverse-Leelanau Community Mental Health Board, Goodwill of Northern Michigan’s Board of Governors, and Safe Harbor of Grand Traverse’s Steering Committee and chaired the latter three boards and successfully incorporated and obtained 501(c)(3) status for Safe Harbor and the Bob Swanson Memorial Tennis Tournament.

Education:

• J.D., The University of Michigan Law School
  • Clerked for Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Donald E. Holbrook, Sr.
• Bachelor of Arts, Alma College, summa cum laude
  • Recipient of the Barlow Trophy

Lectures and Professional Presentations:

• Institute of Continuing Legal Education; in excess of 40 lectures state-wide (1985 – 2016): No-Fault, Dramshop, Medical Malpractice, Trial Practice, Cross-examination, Pre-Trial Procedure, Opening Statements, Settlement, Medical Issues in Personal Injury, Use of an Economist, Cross Examination of Hostile Witnesses
• Upper Michigan Legal Institute: Mediation, No-Fault, Medical Malpractice, Civil Procedure, Use of Demonstrative Exhibits
• Michigan Trial Lawyers Association Annual Meetings (1982-2004): Governmental Immunity, Dramshop issues, Proving Damages, and Medical Malpractice Reform
• Michigan Lodging Association: Dramshop Liability for Taverns
• Municipal Section, State Bar of Michigan: Section 1983 “Civil Rights” Liability
• Association of County Road Commissions Annual Meetings (1986-1994): Road Authority Liability and Mock Trials
• Michigan Association of Cardiologists: Mock Trial and  Medical Malpractice

Professional Organizations:

• Michigan Trial Lawyers Association: Executive Committee: 1984-1993;
• Children’s Hospitalization Family Services; President: 1983-1997; Committee member: 1985;
• Michigan State Medical Society and Michigan State Bar, Joint Committee on Medical-Legal Issues;
• Munson Manor Executive Board: Founding member: 1986-2001;
• Northern Michigan Chapter, American Civil Liberties Union: Executive Board Member: 1987-1992; ACLU Fund of Michigan Lawyer’s Committee Member: 1990-1993;
• Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan: Board of Directors: 1991-1996; Chairman: 1995-1996;  Funding Task Force: 2004-2005;
• Grand Traverse-Leelanau Community Mental Health, (subsequently Great Lakes CMH): Board Member, 1996-2003; Chairman: 2001-2003; and
• Safe Harbor of Grand Traverse, Inc.: Chairman of Steering Committee, 2017-Present; Board Member, 2016- Present.

Publications:

• Michigan Bar Journal: “Trespassing on the Recreational Users Act,” (Vol. 61, No. 9, 726, September 1982) with Michael Dettmer
• Michigan Bar Journal: “Revisiting the Recreational User Act,” (Vol. 67, No. 5, 348, May 1988)
• Michigan Bar Journal: “An Open Letter to the Committee on Standard Jury Instructions,” (February 1981) with Michael Dettmer
• MTLA Quarterly: “A Primer on Governmental Immunity,” (March 1992)

Bar & Court Admissions:

• State of Michigan
• United States Supreme Court

Mr. Thompson is the proud lifetime partner of Sally Thompson, a retired educator and the Coordinator of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library GTR, and the parent of three wonderful children and five grandchildren, to date.