George R. Thompson

George R. Thompson is an experienced and accomplished trial attorney who has devoted his career to advocating for individuals injured or killed due to others’ negligence.

Board-certified in Civil Trial Practice by the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 1991, Mr. Thompson has maintained an “AV” rating in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers since 1997 — the highest reflection of legal ability, experience, integrity, and overall professional excellence — and has been repeatedly honored as a “Super Lawyer” by U.S. News & World Report, most recently in 2024. In 2009, he was named an Invited Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Michigan Trial Lawyers group and participated in the Joint Committee on Medical-Legal Issues, a collaboration between the Michigan State Medical Society and the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. Thompson’s impact on the legal community extends beyond the courtroom. He served for several years on the State Bar Civil Procedure Committee and chaired it in 1995. He has been a Hearing Panelist for the State Bar Attorney Discipline Board and an Arbitrator for cases in Michigan’s Western District of the U.S. District Court, and he has often served as a Mediator, Case Evaluator, or Arbitrator. He has taught at Western Michigan University and Northwestern Michigan College and lectured other lawyers on litigation, civil procedure, and personal injury on more than twenty occasions.

In addition to representing injury victims and their families, Mr. Thompson has used his legal expertise to serve the community and its most vulnerable members. He has been honored with the Traverse City Community Pro Bono Service Award and the Madeline Thomas Community Service Award. For over 25 years, he and his team at Thompson O’Neil, PC scheduled attorneys for the Third Level Free Legal Clinic and led an initiative to restore a cottage at the State Hospital Grounds in Traverse City — transforming it into Munson Manor, a temporary home for families of hospitalized patients. He has chaired the Grand Traverse-Leelanau Community Mental Health Board, Goodwill of Northern Michigan’s Board of Governors, and Safe Harbor of Grand Traverse’s Steering Committee, and obtained 501(c)(3) status for Safe Harbor and the Bob Swanson Memorial Tennis Tournament.