NCLW Leaders in the Law: Thomas L. Mitchell, Managing Partner Moore & Van Allen 

Thomas L. Mitchell, Managing Partner Moore & Van Allen 

Charlotte 

A teacher and coach at heart, Tom Mitchell spent four years teaching high school English and coaching football and basketball before going to law school. It is a passion he has never given up. 

“I am fortunate these days to find the time to serve as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Country Day varsity boys’ basketball team,” he says.  

This spring, the team is coming off a winning season. 

Mitchell, managing partner at Moore & Van Allen in Charlotte, received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois and his law degree from Washington & Lee University, graduating cum laude.  

He primarily focuses on financial institutions and debt financing. 

Growing up: I grew up in western Illinois and have very fond memories of my childhood. I was one of six children, and we had many other children in our neighborhood which made it very easy to organize a game of tackle football or baseball at the local park. In the summer, we would leave the house in the morning and spend all day at the ball field competing against the other neighborhood kids. We’d would only go home for lunch, dinner, and a shower at the end of the day.   

Practice area:  Prior to serving as my firm’s managing partner, I practiced for 25 years as a finance attorney representing financial institutions in debt financing of many types, including syndicated credit facilities, with a focus on leveraged acquisition finance.

First job: I had a paper route in the seventh grade. I learned a lot about responsibility, especially at a time before the internet and instant news, and my customers relied on me to deliver their newspapers every day on a timely basis. I also got an education on what it was like to run a business. There were no payment processing systems in place in the 1970s, and I had to go door-to-door every week to collect the subscription cost for the paper directly from my customers.

Advice for aspiring attorneys:  Gain work experience in a variety of legal settings if possible, so you are getting exposed to different opportunities in the law, and keep an open mind to various areas of study. Sometimes law students focus on one area of the law too early in their education or career.

Work-life balance:  Lawyers must ensure they schedule time for vacation and for themselves and their families. Burnout and stress are real problems in our profession, so it is important to set boundaries early on.

Childhood goal: I wanted to be a professional baseball player. My friends and I played sandlot baseball and listened to the Chicago Cubs on WGN radio every day in the summer, hoping one day we’d play in the big leagues. Reality eventually set in, and I decided I should more time into my education.

Favorite vacation spot: The coast of Maine in the summer.