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THOMAS ADMITTED TO BAR OF ENGLAND AND WALES
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Washington, D.C., Oct 22, 2009 / -- DiversityBusiness.com/- Washington, D.C., October 1, 2009 – The law firm of Barton Baker Thomas &Tolle LLP of McLean, Virginia announced today that one of its partners, Ralph C. Thomas III, was recently admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of England and Wales and is now an English Solicitor, as well as an American Attorney at Law. After passing a three-part bar examination and meeting other requirements, Thomas was formally admitted to the Bar at a ceremony on September 21, 2009 at Chancery Hall in London, England, the site of the prestigious Law Society of England and Wales.
Thomas practices Government Contracts Law and focuses his practice on legal issues affecting small businesses in the federal procurement arena. He assists small, mid-sized, and large businesses in structuring teaming arrangements, such as joint ventures, prime and subcontractor agreements and formal mentor protégé relationships. He represents companies in bid protests before the General Accountability Office (GAO), size protests before the Small Business Administration (SBA), SBA certification and recertification appeals, federal procurement process issues, Inspector General (IG) investigations, and dispute resolution with federal agencies. Thomas regularly counsels major corporations on federal small business compliance issues.
Prior to re-entering private practice in 2005, Thomas served as the Associate Administrator for Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at NASA Headquarters during 1992-2005. Under his direction, NASA's contract and subcontract award dollars to small, disadvantaged, and women-owned businesses grew to record levels for all such groups. During such time he received more than 20 major awards from government and industry, including the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive, an honor only given 1 percent of the more than 6000 Federal government senior executives. He also received the “Special Honor Award” from the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises, an international organization based in India representing small businesses in 113 countries, and was named “Man of the Year” by Minority Enterprise Magazine and “Minority Business Enterprise Advocate of the Year” by Asian Entrepreneur Magazine.
“What I hope to do now that I am a member of the Bar in England and Wales is to expand my client base to include international companies,” Thomas said. “As an English Solicitor, it will be easier for me to work with firms located in countries that follow the British legal system, i.e., India, Canada, Hong Kong, where many of the emerging small high tech businesses are. My diverse international practice should give these firms a certain comfort level when I’m working for them,” he added.
Thomas is a graduate of Harvard Law School and an “Honors” graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.
About Thomas
Before joining Barton Baker Thomas & Tolle LLP, Thomas was Counsel to the Washington, D.C. office of a national law firm, where he practiced government contracts law with an emphasis on federal small business contracting. Prior to that, he was Associate Administrator for Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Washington, D.C. Reporting directly to the head of NASA, he was a member of NASA's senior management team, serving as the senior advocate for small business utilization. As such, Thomas was responsible for promoting, facilitating and implementing programs and initiatives designed to integrate small businesses into the competitive base of contractors from which NASA regularly purchases goods and services. He also served as Executive Secretary for the Agency's external advisory committee on small business matters. His program received more than 40 awards during his tenure from entities such as federal agencies, including NASA, small business organizations, industry, members of Congress, and international associations.
Previously, Thomas served as Executive Director of the National Association of Minority Contractors, where he advocated on behalf of minority-owned construction firms before lawmaking bodies, government entities and the media. He supervised and directed the administration of government-funded training program grants, and testified in Congress more than 20 times on issues relating to minority-owned construction firms. He was also an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Virginia, where he taught Government Contracts Law.
Prior to that, Thomas was a partner in a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, where he focused his practice on the legal representation of small, minority- and women-owned businesses in litigation and transactional work. In addition, he was a Clinical Law Instructor at George Washington University Law School. He began his legal career as an associate in a Washington, D.C.-based firm, where he concentrated on antitrust litigation.
Thomas is a member of the Federal Bar Association, where he is past chair of the Government Contracts Section and current chair of the Committee on Small Business and Socioeconomic Matters. He is also a past chair of the Federal Small Business Directors Interagency Council and is a member of the United Kingdom Procurement Lawyers Association.
He received his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in and earned a B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley, graduating with honors. Thomas was a staff sergeant in the United States Air Force and served a year in Vietnam.
Thomas is admitted to practice before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the United States Court of Military Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of England and Wales. He has written more than 70 published articles for magazines and journals and has testified in Congress on small business issues more than 30 times.
About Barton Baker Thomas & Tolle, LLP
Barton Baker Thomas & Tolle LLP is a small highly-focused law firm concentrating in the areas of Government contracts (all aspects including bid protests, disputes, claims, appeals and general assistance), high technology/computer law, corporate organization/re-organization, general business and transactional law, civil litigation, arbitration and practice before Federal administrative and regulatory agencies. Founded in 1984 by experienced attorneys from several large law firms, the members concentrate their practices in particular areas of expertise while at the same time providing personalized service to their clients. The firm's attorneys represent clients in complex bid protests before award and in Government contract disputes after award at Administrative Boards of Contract Appeals, the General Accounting Office and before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Members of the firm participate actively on a variety of Federal Bar Association and ABA committees as well as serving as outside directors and counsel for corporate clients, to assist in formulating strategies for all aspects of Federal procurement and business matters.
The firm's clients represent a diverse cross-section of American industry. Its Government Contracts clients include ship overhaul and new construction yards; automotive manufacturers; computer hardware manufacturers; contractors providing services for base maintenance; computer software development; database management; battle management; business and accounting consulting; logistics support; and flight training. In its business and corporate practice, Barton Baker Thomas & Tolle represents both privately-owned and publicly held corporations; limited and general partnerships; construction contractors and managers; subcontractors; and franchisees and licensees/licensors. Many of these clients are located outside the immediate Washington, D.C. area and depend upon the firm as their Washington representative in matters before the federal agencies, federal courts and the U.S. Congress.
BARTON BAKER THOMAS & TOLLE LLP
John Tolle
Tel: 703-448-1810 ex 17
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