Attorney Thomas Horne is searching for the words that describe his reasons for practicing law. He wants to avoid sounding trite, but also explain the thing that motivates him each day. Horne is the managing partner at Luther Anderson, an insurance defense firm. A litigator, he represents defendants in lawsuits for the companies that hire him.
Horne also takes on as many pro bono cases as time allows, and gives a number of local non-profit organizations legal advice and other support. Both in and out of the office, Horne concentrates not on personal gain, but on serving others. And he’s trying to explain why. He finally settles on a Bible verse, Micah 6:8, which reads, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly before thy God?” Horne calls the Old Testament passage his motto in life.
“My Christian faith drives my work with pro bono clients and non-profit initiatives. Several organizations in the local community are trying to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy, and helping them is my passion,” Horne says. Horne devotes a good portion of his free time to Bethlehem Center, Hope for Chattanooga, Asset-Driven Development of Chattanooga, and OPEN in East Lake, which is striving to repurpose the vacant East Lake Elementary School. He has served, or is serving, on the board of each organization except Hope for Chattanooga.
Also close to Horne’s heart is his work with pro bono clients. The cases, which range from contract issues to tenant-landlord disputes, are simple in nature, but of monumental importance to his clients. “I see the opportunity to represent folks who are lost in the system and can’t afford a lawyer not only as an obligation, but also as a joy,” he says.
Horne even sees his insurance defense work at Luther Anderson as his “calling.” In each case he handles, he strives to ease the stress his clients feel as a result of being sued, to protect their rights, and to bring about a reasonable and just result. As an example, he cites a recent case in which the man suing his client wanted every asset the woman owned. “She didn’t have enough insurance to cover the loss, and she was absolutely beside herself. But we were able to get a good result for her. She was relieved,” he says.
Horne says people who have suffered an injury have a right to bring a claim and receive compensation, but it’s his responsibility to defend the people they sue. “Being on the defense side of the equation suits my personality. Maybe my language is antiquated, but I see what I do as a calling,” he says. A Southern California native, Horne originally set out to be a professional musician. Upon graduating from Occidental College in Los Angeles, he performed and then taught music for a short time, and then entered the music retail industry. In 1984, his work took him to Nashville, where a budding passion for First Amendment issues led him to law school.
While Horne was still taking classes, he came to realize working to protect freedom of speech, religion and other rights would pay about as well as being a professional musician, so he changed direction. Instead of basing his career on Bill of Rights issues, he’d serve people, businesses and non-profit organizations through the practice of law.
Horne’s first job as an attorney, however, was with a firm that represented plaintiffs. Instead of defending clients, he was representing people who’d suffered injuries. Although the work did not suit his personality, Horne worked in this capacity for eight years. When Luther Anderson gave him an opportunity to switch sides, he took it. Horne moved to Chattanooga in 1997 and started developing a workers’ compensation practice. He immediately felt more comfortable in his skin than he had during eight years as a plaintiff’s attorney. In 2000, Luther Anderson made him a partner, and in 2009, the firm named him managing partner.
“I’m a hands-off manager. I tend to believe the people here will do the work they’re supposed to do without much supervision,” he says. With his practice and his community work, Horne has a lot on his plate. He arrives at his office early, stays until around 6 p.m., occasionally works on a Saturday, and many evenings can be found taking part in committee meetings at non-profits. Despite being busy, he’s able to squeeze enough time out of his schedule to sing in the Chattanooga Symphony Chorus with his wife, Melody, a music teacher at Silverdale Baptist Academy.
Horne and his wife have two children: Nathan, 25; and Hope, 21. He and Melody are members of New City Fellowship, a Presbyterian church in Chattanooga. Horne is an anomaly in the practice of law. Many attorneys begin their careers on a wave of idealism, but eventually settle into the daily grind of doing their job. Through the years, the romanticism they once felt either fades to a pinpoint of light or disappears altogether. Yet 22 years of working as a lawyer hasn’t diminished the sense of purpose Horne feels as he gets out of bed each morning. In each case he handles, he sees an opportunity to serve, and strives “to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly” before his God.