Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas Allison.
Hi Thomas, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m running for judge of Los Angeles County because my story, my experience, and the community’s needs align. I was born Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles. My single mother raised my two younger brothers and me while my stepfather was in and out of the home. Throughout my life, I have relied heavily on my church community for mentorship, and early on I came to believe the law would be my way of positively impacting the community.
Despite growing up in poverty, I was always on the honor roll and a leader at school and in my church. I graduated high school as the Vice President of the school and a licensed and ordained deacon of my church. These early leadership roles and my mentors taught me the importance of wielding authority responsibly and fairly in the service of others.
After high school, I attended the University of La Verne, where I studied business administration and played football. I also participated on the debate team and became a National Finalist of the United States Universities National Debating Championship. Debating set the stage for attending law school. As a student at the University of La Verne College of Law, I volunteered for Inland Counties Legal Services in Rancho Cucamonga, assisting in family law and landlord-tenant issues.
After law school, I opened my own law firm and continued my studies in public administration. In my practice, I litigated in family law, criminal law, bankruptcy, civil litigation, and landlord-tenant issues. Eventually, I took and passed the bar exams of California, Nevada, and New York, on my first attempts. The state bar associations of Washington and Washington, D.C., also admitted me to practice law. I have litigated and consulted on business, family, and criminal law matters nationwide. I have conducted hundreds of court hearings, dozens of court trials, and several jury trials, including misdemeanors, felonies, and civil litigation.
While practicing law, I finished my master’s degree in public administration and began a doctoral program in public administration. I also began teaching at the university level. I founded and served as president of Social Justice Advocacy Project, Inc., a nonprofit that provided monthly legal clinics, hosted dozens of panels and community education programs, and was recognized by Assemblyperson Chris Holden as California District 41’s Nonprofit of the Year in 2020.
In 2016, my wife and I had our first child, and in 2019 we welcomed our second child. Also, in 2019, I joined the University of La Verne Legal Studies Department as an assistant professor. In 2020, La Verne’s City Council appointed me to serve on the City of La Verne’s Planning Commission. In 2021, the Los Angeles County Temporary Judge Program appointed me to serve as a Los Angeles County Volunteer Temporary Judge, where I have decided on traffic matters. In the Spring of 2022, I anticipate completing my doctorate in public administration.
It has been through a lot of hard work, commitment, and support from my family and community that I worked my way out of the precarious economic and social circumstances I grew up in to become an attorney with more than a decade of litigation and trial experience, a legal studies and law professor, and an operations director. My passions and sense of duty to my family and community has kept me motivated through all of it. I am truly passionate about the law—its sacred promise of fairness, justice, and freedom for all, while not always perfectly realized, is something we should always strive to uphold so that when the law speaks, it speaks with an authority in which we all can believe.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There’s an immense amount of work that goes into reversing generational trends and I’ve not always gotten work-life balance right. Being a minority man, working to end a cycle of poverty has meant I’ve had to work harder, not always have housing, and make sacrifices. It’s been a challenge to strike the appropriate work-life balance and decide what I sacrifice. There was a period in my life where my balance was so far off that I struggled with anxiety and depression. I now know the value in remembering the whole person.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I started my law firm right after graduating from law school and passing the bar with just the $1000 I had from my last check. Through a lot of hard work and determination, I grew that firm to include associate attorneys, support staff, and licenses to practice in multiple states.
Out of my commitment to always use my expertise to serve the community, I started a non-profit and closed my law firm every Friday in order to offer free legal services to community members that wouldn’t have access to it otherwise. Our non-profit has put on more than 80 legal clinics and over 100 community education programs, including a Truth and Reconciliation series that brought together eight local law endorsement agencies and community members to engage in dialogue on how we affirm positive collaboration.
Whether it was through my law firm, my non-profit, my role as a legal professor or additional community service positions, I have been committed to fostering communication, connection, and collaboration in order to lead us towards a more just society.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Listening to my kids laugh and play. Having conversations about big ideas. Teaching challenging courses, watching my students engage meaningfully and come to understand the material. Being involved in the community provides empowerment tools and encouragement to the people who are too often counted out. These are the fundamental elements of our humanity and it brings me joy to see their joy.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Thomasallisonforjudge.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ThomasAllisonforJudge/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ThomasAllisonforJudge/
Image Credits:
Phil Ebiner Adrian Greer Viza Records
