CHICAGO, Aug. 6, 2024 – The American Bar Association mourns the passing of former president H. Thomas Wells Jr. – better known to friends and colleagues as Tommy – who died unexpectedly July 31 in Birmingham, Alabama, at age 74.
“Tommy Wells was a remarkable lawyer and a powerful leader of the ABA,” said ABA President Mary Smith. “He was a strong defender of the core principles of our association and the American legal system – equal access to justice, judicial independence and the need for diverse voices. He was a man of great compassion and a strong voice for the voiceless. He was truly an exceptional president. He will be greatly missed by all of us here at the ABA.”
Wells was ABA president from 2008 to 2009 – only the third Alabaman to serve in that role. He earlier served as chair of the ABA House of Delegates, the association’s policymaking body, and as chair of the ABA Litigation Section. After his presidential term, Wells was appointed as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which conducts nonpartisan peer evaluations of the professional qualifications of every federal judicial nominee.
In 2015, Wells chaired the ABA London Sessions Planning Committee, which helped coordinate the ABA’s visit to England to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.
In 2008, as president, Wells wrote a letter to The New York Times titled “Lawyers for the Poor,” which advocated for greater funding for public defenders. “Justice should not be determined by a person’s wealth or income level,” he wrote.
Also as president, Wells convened a summit and a series of hearings to promote diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and disability, culminating in a landmark report, “Diversity in the Legal Profession: Next Steps.” He also established a Presidential Commission on Fair and Impartial State Courts, whose honorary chair was then-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
The following year, Wells penned an op-ed for the San Jose Mercury News advocating for greater protections for vulnerable migrants against notario fraud.
Wells delighted in telling friends he was the first ABA president on Facebook, and throughout his presidential year he kept a running blog on the ABA website – a travelogue of his journeys around the country and the globe.
Up to his final days, he was a frequent contributor to X (formerly Twitter), cheering on his law firm, highlighting interesting pieces of legal and political news and sharing his daily Wordle triumphs. Three times in the past three months he solved Wordle in just two guesses.
Wells was one of the founders of Birmingham-based Maynard, Cooper & Gale, now Maynard Nexsen, a law firm with 25 offices and nearly 600 lawyers across the country. He earned a juris doctor degree from the University of Alabama, then served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force before returning to Birmingham to practice law. His trial practice concentrated on complex mass tort, environmental and product liability cases. He argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Alabama Supreme Court and many federal courts.
The ABA conveys its deepest sympathy to Wells’ family, friends and colleagues.
The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law. View our privacy statement online. Follow the latest ABA news at www.americanbar.org/news and on X (formerly Twitter) @ABANews.