Tom Pope III
About
A Skilled Attorney You Can Trust
When you’ve been seriously injured because of someone else’s negligence, you don’t need a lawyer who advertises on a billboard — you need a trial lawyer who will actually go to court and fight for you. That’s the standard Tom Pope has built his career on.
A Fourth-Generation Commitment to the Courtroom
Tom is a fourth-generation Pope, born and raised in Canton, Georgia. His father, Judge Marion T. Pope, Jr., practiced as a trial lawyer before being elected to the Superior Court of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit and later appointed by Governor George Busbee to the Georgia Court of Appeals, where he served until retiring at 75. Tom and his brother, Jonathan Pope, grew up watching their father preside over trials — an early education in what it means to take a case seriously. Years later, before their father’s retirement, Tom and Jon had the honor of trying cases alongside him.
Tom’s mother, Judy Anita Few, was a high school teacher who raised Tom, Jon, and their sister Jennifer with a strong work ethic and Southern Baptist values. As teenagers, both brothers were expected to work — Tom bailed hay in the summers while Jon laid asphalt for C.W. Mathews — lessons in hard work that still shape how the firm operates today.
Before law school, Tom worked in politics for U.S. Congressman Ed Jenkins and Georgia Lieutenant Governor Pierre Howard, and spent three years as a probation officer in Gwinnett County. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and his law degree from Mercer University School of Law, where he clerked for Justice George Carley of the Georgia Supreme Court. He was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1998.
From Insurance Defense to Fighting for the Injured
Tom began his legal career defending large insurance companies against personal injury claims, training with two respected defense firms, Seacrest Karesh Tate & Bicknese and Bovis Kyle & Birch. That experience taught him exactly how insurance companies build their defenses — and in 2003, he put that knowledge to work for injured people instead, shifting his practice entirely to plaintiff’s personal injury law.
Today, Tom and his brother Jon represent clients throughout North Georgia and the Southeast who have been seriously injured in car accidents, tractor-trailer collisions, slip and falls, dog bites, and cases involving medical malpractice and nursing home negligence.
Proven Results at Trial
Tom has tried more than 40 personal injury cases to verdict, with results ranging from $175,000 to $3,500,000, and has resolved thousands of additional cases through settlement without the need for trial, with settlement results as high as $10 million. Hasty Pope LLP has consistently been recognized by The Verdict magazine among the top verdicts and settlements in the State of Georgia, with results reported between $1 million and $10 million.
Case Metrix has recognized Tom as holding the Georgia state record for the largest “soft tissue,” non-operative injury verdict. In Jolene McGee v. Estate of Melvin Bentley (Gwinnett County State Court), Tom represented a client injured when the defendant driver failed to yield and turned directly in front of her vehicle, causing a T-bone collision that resulted in facet joint injuries to her neck and back requiring radiofrequency ablation therapy. Facing over $300,000 in medical expenses, State Farm offered just $22,000 and hired experts to challenge both the injury and the billing. After a four-day trial, the jury returned a verdict of $3.5 million. With pre- and post-judgment interest — and a successful bad faith claim against the insurer — State Farm ultimately paid $4.7 million.
Recognition and Involvement
Tom has been named a Georgia Super Lawyer for nearly fifteen consecutive years and, along with Jon, is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He is an active member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, the Southern Trial Lawyers Association, the Atlanta Bar Association, Gridiron, and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, and is regularly invited to speak at seminars for both physicians and trial lawyers.
Rooted in Community
Tom and Jon have made giving back to North Georgia a priority. Hasty Pope LLP regularly partners with local high schools, the Sheriff’s Department, and local police, fire, and EMS agencies to provide equipment that keeps first responders and the community safe, and the firm has served as the main stage sponsor of Canton First Fridays since 2020. In honor of their mother, Tom and Jon also established the Judy Pope Scholarship at Reinhardt University in Waleska, Georgia, supporting young students who aspire to become teachers.
Family and Life Outside the Courtroom
Tom lives with his wife, Meredith, and their two children, Olivia and Thomas. He’s an avid golfer and, thanks to his mother’s early gift of music, still enjoys playing the piano in his free time.
A Different Kind of Law Firm
Hasty Pope LLP doesn’t advertise on billboards or in gimmicky commercials. Tom and Jon believe the people who come to them — often facing the most difficult moment of their lives — deserve better than that. They deserve serious lawyers with real experience, real results, and a real commitment to treating every client like family.
In order to speak with Tom Pope about your personal injury claim, contact Hasty Pope, LLP today by calling (770) 741-1951.