IN THE PROFESSION
case and would Judge Thrash be interested. Judge Thrash demurred, saying he did not know anything about Multidistrict Litigation. But Judge Tidwell replied:“ It doesn’ t matter— it’ s got to be handled by you or me.” And with that, Judge Thrash accepted the assignment.
Judge Thrash has handled some of the largest Multidistrict Litigation matters in the country and at the time he took senior status, Judge Thrash was tied for the most Multidistrict Litigation experience of any sitting Judge in the country.
Judge Thrash served as Chief Judge of the Northern District beginning in 2014 when he took over from his long-time friend, Judge Carnes, who had been promoted to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Thrash served as Chief Judge until 2021, the year he assumed Senior Status.
As Chief, he worked closely with Jim Hatten, the Clerk of Court, who told me that every time he needed to speak or to meet, Judge Thrash made himself available and that he took this role very seriously and made sure his duties as Chief Judge were carried out.
During that time, Judge Thrash kept the Court functioning during the COVID pandemic— one of the most difficult and challenging times in our country’ s history. That was perhaps the biggest success, among many, of his tenure as Chief Judge.
With one limited exception, the Northern District never had to close a courthouse, and the Atlanta courthouse was never closed.
Judge Thrash was committed to resume jury trials before his tenure as Chief Judge ended, and with only one week left in his term, that goal was accomplished.
I’ d like to say a word about Judge Thrash’ s relationships with his Law Clerks, many of whom are here tonight. Judge Thrash says that when you sign up to be one of his clerks, you sign up for a life sentence. You are a friend for life and are expected to stay in touch and remain a part of Judge Thrash’ s circle of trust.
There is a tradition in Judge Thrash’ s office of playing tennis with his two law clerks on Thursday evenings where they are joined by a fourth player for a round robin doubles match.
And I’ m told that during those matches, Judge Thrash is frequently the beneficiary of very generous rulings on his tennis shots. Any ball landing anywhere close to the back line is called in and rarely is there a double fault. Congressman Darden said that when he began playing in those matches, he saw was what was happening and would sometimes have to reverse those rulings.
But those law clerks knew Judge Thrash would reward them for their Thursday night tennis matches by taking them to lunch on Friday. Judge Thrash avoided restaurants that took reservations or had cloth napkins, preferring more comfortable eateries like Harold’ s Barbecue and Home Grown instead.
Logan E. Bleckley Award
The Logan E. Bleckley Award for Judicial Excellence is conferred each year by the Litigation Section on one of the judges in Atlanta in recognition of years of devoted public service as a member of the judiciary.
The award is named for Logan E. Bleckley, who was Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.
Justice Bleckley was born in Rabun County in 1827. His father was clerk of court in Rabun County and exposed his son to the law at an early age. With almost no formal education, Justice Bleckley decided at age 11 to study law and began reading statutes in his father’ s office. By 18, the self-educated Bleckley was admitted to the Georgia Bar.
He held a variety of legal positions including reporter for the Georgia Supreme Court. And in 1875, he accepted appointment as associate justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.
There, Justice Bleckley displayed a brilliant legal mind and an ability to explain complex legal doctrines in concise and vivid ways. His opinions were often humorous or contained a stanza of his poetry, and he gained a reputation as one of the finest jurists in the country.
In 1880, Justice Bleckley stepped down due to health concerns but in 1887, Governor John B. Gordon appointed Bleckley chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court where he served until 1894, when again poor health prompted his retirement.
Justice Bleckley was remembered upon his death for his great intellect and his search for the Truth in the law, a subject that he enunciated in an address to the Georgia Bar Association and which is inscribed in the Logan E. Bleckley Award:“ Law is the scripture of Justice, the gospel of Right, and Truth is the minister at its altars. Error is a pretender to holy orders, a wolf in sheep’ s clothing, always striving to usurp the sacred office, or to share in the exercise of its functions. To exclude Error from the sanctuary, and to admit and keep Truth within it, are objects of sedulous endeavor in every system of enlightened jurisprudence.” Senior Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr.
I turn now to tonight’ s honoree and draw from the remarks of his friends and colleagues who have told me Judge Thrash is a person of the highest integrity
12 MAY / JUNE 2025