Thomas concentrates his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), corporate finance and private equity. He has represented private equity funds, strategic buyers and sellers, family offices and entrepreneurs in connection with over 200 middle-market M&A or investment transactions with enterprise values between $5 million and $1 billion. These transactions have encompassed a broad range of industries, including: technology and software; manufacturing; food, beverage and hospitality; energy and oilfield services; and business services. Since 2020, Thomas has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Corporate / M&A (Austin). Thomas has also been recognized on numerous occasions by Best Lawyers in America® as Austin’s Lawyer of the Year for Mergers and Acquisitions and Austin’s Lawyer of the Year for Corporate Law. Thomas has also been listed in Super Lawyers® (a Thompson Reuters service) for over two decades.
Prior to co-founding Queen Saenz + Schutz in 2017, Thomas was a partner with Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody, where he served as practice group leader for the firm’s corporate practice. Following law school, Thomas clerked for the Hon. Robert G. Doumar (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia) before working as a corporate attorney for the international law firm of Hunton & Williams.
Thomas is a member of both the Texas and Virginia bars, and previously served as the Chair of the M&A Committee of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. At the national level, Thomas is an active member of the American Bar Association’s M&A Committee, having served as a member of the ABA’s “Deal Points” task force for more than two decades.
When he is not working on a deal, Thomas enjoys spending time with his wife, Sarah, and their two daughters. Thomas is also active in the Austin community, with particular focus on educational issues, including a ten-year term on the Board of Directors of KIPP Austin Public Schools and service on the Board of Directors of Austin Achieve Public Schools and the Board of Trustees of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.
Thomas received his law degree from the University of Richmond—where he was editor-in-chief of the University of Richmond Law Review and presented with the Charles T. Norman Award for Most Outstanding Overall Graduate—and a B.A. in History, with honors, from James Madison University.
