Edward J. Thomas

Mr. Thomas is a Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers—an invitation only professional organization whose membership is limited to family law lawyers who, in the judgment of their peers, are the top 100 family law trial lawyers in the United States.  Only nine lawyers in California have ever been given that honor.  He is the only lawyer in the history of Kern County who has ever been invited or selected to be a Fellow of either the AAML or the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (“IAML”).

As an AAML Fellow, Mr. Thomas has served as Chapter President, as Program Chairman, as Dean of its Eighth Annual Institute of Trial Advocacy, and as a member of both the national organization’s and the chapter’s Board of Governors.  In 2010, he was Counsel to the national President of the AAML.  Mr. Thomas is also a past President of the United States Chapter of the IAML, which is the largest chapter of a worldwide organization whose membership consists of the top international family law experts from 28 different countries.  Having made family law presentations to lawyers and other family law experts on four continents, Mr. Thomas is a frequent lecturer at state, national and international conferences.

For over thirty years, Martindale-Hubbell, a national rating service for lawyers, has given Mr. Thomas its highest rating of “AV” based on his legal ability and his strict adherence to ethical standards.  He is the only family law lawyer in Kern County that Martindale-Hubbell lists in its Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers or that the Los Angeles Times annually designates as one of Southern California’s “Super Lawyers” in the area of family law.  Based on a vote of his peers, the Bakersfield Californian named him “Bakersfield’s Best Family Law Attorney.”

In 1980, when the California State Bar instituted its Specialization Program, Mr. Thomas became one of California’s first Certified Family Law Specialists.  An active member of the Family Law Section of the Kern County Bar Association, Mr. Thomas has held virtually every office in that organization, including that of President.  More recently, he was a member of the Family Law Executive Committee of the California State Bar.  In addition to both the Kern County and California Bar Associations, Mr. Thomas is a member of the American Bar Association and the Association of California Family Law Specialists.