About

Juan R. Thomas, the 75th President of the National Bar Association (NBA), is Of Counsel to Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A., and the founder and principal of the Thomas Law Group. Mr. Thomas' practice includes the following specialties: real estate/estate planning, labor and employment, and family law. In addition, Mr. Thomas provides counseling and training to firm clients in areas involving personnel, collective bargaining, and business development matters.The National Black Lawyers: Top 100 includes Mr. Thomas on its list of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers, an honor given to only a select group of lawyers for their superior skills and qualifications in the field. Membership in this exclusive organization is by invitation only, and is limited to the top 100 attorneys in each state or region who have demonstrated excellence and have achieved outstanding results in their careers. Mr. Thomas’ selection was based upon his performance as an exceptional lawyer in the practice area of matrimonial and family law in the state of Illinois.Mr. Thomas’ passion is community and public service. While in law school, he successfully ran for the West Aurora School Board, commuting 120 miles each way every weekend during the campaign.  At the age of twenty-five (25), Mr. Thomas became the youngest person ever elected to the West Aurora School Board and became the first African-American ever re-elected to the Board in 1999.  While on the school board, Mr. Thomas served as Chairman of the Board’s Personnel Committee.  Mr. Thomas continues to serve his hometown of Aurora as a member of the A+ Foundation Board of Directors for West Aurora School District #129 which supports and promotes educational, cultural, and charitable programs for the students and alumni.  Mr. Thomas has also demonstrated his commitment to education and the community by serving as an adjunct professor at North Park University, Aurora University, and Robert Morris College teaching courses in conflict resolution, negotiation strategies, and business law in addition to volunteering as a public speaker with Chicago Public Schools through their Communities in Schools Program.Mr. Thomas was inducted as the 75th President of the National Bar Association (NBA) on August 3, 2017 during the Association’s 92nd Annual Convention in Toronto, Canada. Mr. Thomas previously served the NBA as Vice President and its National Secretary.  He also served as Chair of the NBA Law & Religion Section, Chairman of the NBA Political Action Committee, Vice-Chair of the NBA Legislative Division, and co-chaired the NBA Day on the Hill Program where lawyers meet with Members of Congress to advocate for the organization’s national legislative agenda.  During the 2003-04 bar year, Mr. Thomas served as Chairman of the Young Lawyers Division of the NBA. That year, the division received the NBA’s Outstanding Division of the Year Award.Mr. Thomas currently serves on the Board of Directors of Mutual Ground Inc., an organization committed to providing services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and their families. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the University of Illinois College of Law Alumni Association and the Leadership Greater Chicago Fellows Association. Mr. Thomas has previously served on the boards of the Community Renewal Society, the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, and the University of Illinois College of Education Board of Visitors. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Quad County African-American Chamber of Commerce serving west suburban Chicago from 2006-08 and served as the Chairman of the Board of the City of Aurora African-American Heritage Advisory Board in 2007-08.Mr. Thomas has been featured in Who’s Who in Black Chicago, Ebony Magazine, and the Chicago Sun Times as a leader to watch in the 21st century.  In 2011 and again in 2015, he was given the honor of being named, Citizen of the Year by his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, Mu Xi Chapter for his service and dedication to the community.  He has received the NAACP, DuPage County Branch’s President’s Award both in 2013 and 2014, as well as, a 2014 recipient of the NAACP, DuPage County Branch’s Claude Audley Award of Leadership Excellence, for his leadership and service to the community.  Mr. Thomas has received five Presidential Service Awards from the National Bar Association in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013, and in 2016 for his contributions to the field of law.  In 2011, he was invited to become a Fellow of the American Bar Foundationbecause of his outstanding achievements in the legal profession. Mr. Thomas is a 2004 Fellow of the Harvard Divinity School Summer Leadership Institute, and a 2002 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow.Mr. Thomas is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He received his Juris Doctor and Master in Educational Policy degrees from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. In addition to his professional and civic involvement, Mr. Thomas is an ordained Baptist minister and is completing a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies at the University of Chicago School of Divinity in Hyde Park. Mr. Thomas and his wife, Angela, are proud members of St. John AME Church in Aurora where he serves as the Minister for the Men's Ministry.

Practices Areas

Divorce and separation

Employment and labor

Family

Civil Rights

Language

English

Contact

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