Gregory I. Thomas , J.D.

Mr. Thomas, was born in Detroit, Michigan and has never left the area. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1977, with a degree in Business Administration, and soon learned that he had no interest in running a business. Upon the recommendation of a school counselor, he decided to apply for law school, not on the notion that he wanted to be a lawyer, but rather on the notion that a degree in law would open a lot of doors. Mr. Thomas graduated from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1980. By then, he had already worked as a law clerk at Sullivan, Ranger, Ward & Bone for two years, and he accepted an offer of employment from them as associate attorney. That firm had a strong presence in the defense of claims against design professionals, and Mr. Thomas soon had a docket that was almost entirely filled with defending architects and engineers. That has never stopped. The design professions intrigued him, not only because was he a tinkerer by nature, but because of the massive “can do” attitude that design professionals have. It makes for a fascinating career, because each case requires Mr. Thomas to learn something new about how and why design professionals do the things they do, and learn it well enough that he can then teach it to a judge and jury. In 1988, Mr. Thomas became a founding partner in Thomas, DeGrood & Witenoff, where he practiced for 32 years. In 2020, the week before the Covid shutdowns, he closed the practice and moved his work to Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, a large Pittsburgh-based law firm, locating in its newly opened Detroit office. He continues to work full time, thoroughly enjoying the close relationships he has developed with so many architects and engineers.