Article By Lila Sol, Director, Volunteer Lawyers Program
Every month, Southern Arizona Legal Aid’s (SALA) Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP) recognizes a legal professional for their legal volunteerism. Thom K. Cope, Esq., is the July 2024 Outstanding Volunteer of the Month Award Recipient.
In addition to being an attorney for 52 years, Thom is an author, lecturer, a firm believer in “PMA” (positive mental attitude), and a proud owner of a family of bobble heads! And, he can now add VLP/SALA volunteer! Thom more than satisfies his pro bono requirements. He provides dedicated volunteer legal work for Step Up to Justice and now adds VLP/SALA to the organizations he gives his time. Thom’s proactive volunteerism assisted VLP/SALA to reintroduce the Employment Law Advice-only Clinic. He and his colleague (Barney M. Holtzman) at Mesch Clark Rothschild (MCR) agreed to cover the first four clinics and those clinics are off to a great start!
Thom is a first generation American. He arrived in Canada with his parents when he was three years old; they moved to the U.S. in 1960. At age 13, Thom religiously watched Perry Mason every week and decided that he would become a courtroom lawyer. After completing his undergraduate work at Syracuse University (with honors), Thom received his Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska. After law school, he clerked for the worker’s compensation court in Nebraska where he ultimately was offered a job in San Francisco with Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company as in-house counsel. When he arrived in 1973, they informed him he was their new employment attorney and the rest is history! Thom’s legal practice grew, right along with Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act and he’s been practicing employment law ever since.
Thom is barred in Nebraska, California and Arizona. Thom also practiced in New York. For the past eleven years, Thom has been a partner at MCR. He still maintains a busy practice of law, but believes in the commitment of time to his family and volunteering. Thom proudly displayed the “bobblehead” of his wife, Melba (part of a collection of family bobbleheads!), and excitedly shared that he is going to Hawaii with his family, including two grandchildren, in February. Speaking of Hawaii, Thom taught Hawaiian history at the University of Phoenix, along with the US Constitution and Business Law. Thom is also on the board of directors for Parkinson Wellness Recovery and has served regularly on various non-profit boards. His mantra is to practice and believe in “positive mental attitude” every day. Indeed, Thom’s PMA shines through!
Thom believes that the human element is always in play in the practice of law. Whether he is dealing with discrimination and terminations or representing the defendant or plaintiff – human relations is the most important part of his work. It is this understanding that makes Thom an excellent volunteer. SALA’s clients are often dealing with a variety of traumatic events in their lives, in addition to the employment law questions they may have. When Thom meets with SALA’s clients, he’s not only bringing his wealth of knowledge, he’s bringing that human element that is so critical for clients in determining the next steps in their cases.
