Gif Thornton joined Adams and Reese in 2005 by virtue of a merger with his Nashville firm Stokes Bartholomew. He is a Partner on the Government Relations team and serves as legislative counsel to a number of businesses, trade associations and governmental entities with interests before Tennessee state government. In addition, he represents clients before regulatory boards and administrative agencies of local, state and federal government. He has extensive experience in the areas of education, energy, health care, insurance, technology, transportation and utilities.
Gif’s recent honors include:
- Being named as the highest ranked lawyer/lobbyist on the Power 100 list of influential people in Tennessee, compiled annually by Business TN®.
- Selection by Business TN® as one of 2010's Best 150 Lawyers in Tennessee, a peer reviewed survey of the 18,000 active lawyers in the state.
- Being elected by his partners to serve as Chair of the Executive Committee at Adams and Reese in 2012.
Gif is a former member of the Davidson County Election Commission and has served as counsel to a number of statewide Republican campaigns. He is a member of the Leadership Nashville Alumni Association and serves on the Board of the Metropolitan Development Housing Agency.
He is a Fellow of the Tennessee and Nashville Bar Foundations. He has chaired the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Tennessee Bar Association and has served as an elected member in its House of Delegates as well as the board of the Nashville Bar Association. He is former Board President of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and currently serves on the Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Commission.
He has served on the Boards of Trust of Vanderbilt University and Brentwood Academy and is currently on the board of the Hermitage. He has chaired the board of Daystar Counseling Ministries and is on the board of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He is an elder at Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville.
Gif counts his professional mentor and partner Bill Bruce among the people he most admires for setting the standard for excellence in client service through hard work, a keen mind and unquestioned personal character.
Gif and his wife Anna have four children. When not at work or at home, Gif enjoys running and has completed a number of marathons, including those in Boston, New York, Chicago and Washington DC.
Prior to law school, Gif worked in the Foreign Service as Special Assistant to the Ambassador at the American Embassy in Paris, France.
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