Logan Threadgill, a devoted soccer player and enthusiast, finds his match in law. After eight years at Chambliss, Threadgill advanced in January from associate to shareholder.
The youngest of five, Threadgill grew up playing outdoor sports with his older siblings, “whether it was soccer, football or basketball. I ended up falling in love with soccer.”
Threadgill played soccer throughout high school and – along with an academic scholarship – earned an athletic scholarship to Wofford College, where he continued his path in soccer.
Inspired by his father, a lawyer, and his brother, who works at the U.S. Capitol, Threadgill double-majored in government and business economics at Wofford. But he says they were mild interests, as his primary focus lay in soccer. When Threadgill graduated, he didn’t know his next move. “In a perfect world, I was just so infatuated with the sport that I would’ve gone and played professionally, but it just wasn’t in the cards.”
Immediately after college, Threadgill interned for U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan in Washington D.C. When his internship ended, he returned to Tennessee and worked for A3, a sports agency that represents NBA and NFL athletes. Upon reflection, Threadgill says he realized: “Whether it was working on the Hill or for A3, my mentors and the leaders that I was surrounded by all had the common theme of being lawyers.” So, after a year of exploration, Threadgill entered law school.
But Threadgill finds that his specializations are not the law portrayed on television. Focused on construction and business litigation, Threadgill often represents business owners and contractors, handling claims and disputes and rarely goes into court. More often, he says, he presents to an arbitrator. “Really, the way that we communicate with clients is through writing. I write all the time.” Threadgill credits much of his writing ability to his government and economics majors.
A common arbitrator in Threadgill’s work is Tim Gibbons, who he considers one of his mentors. “He’s really the one who got me involved in the construction space. Tim basically pulled me out of training from day one, like, ‘I need you to help on this case.’ It just so happens that his practice was construction.” Threadgill says that Gibbons is “a treasure trove of knowledge” and, very early on, threw him into the deep end of the construction practice.
Now, Threadgill jumps at the chance to visit construction sites and conduct site inspections. “I don’t have to wear fancy clothes, and I get to examine something and listen to people who know what the heck they’re talking about.” He enjoys the variety of every visit – especially Volkswagen, which Threadgill calls a particularly fun client. When he is called to the plant, Threadgill loves to talk to engineers and watch them build different models.
At 36 years old, Threadgill finds himself at the center of a large age range. He says that the oldest shareholder at Chambliss is in their early 70s, and the youngest is in their mid-20s. Threadgill partially attributes this to lawyers’ low turnover rate. Despite the job’s demanding and challenging nature, Threadgill says, working in law is extremely rewarding. “You’re diving into a whole new world with each case. It’s challenging, and it’s fun.”
“But you have to turn it off when you go home, and you’re not sitting there thinking about work all the time. It’s important to have balance in your life to be able to keep being a successful lawyer.”
As a husband and father of two baby girls, Threadgill says balance is critical, adding he immediately shifts gears to focus on his family once he is home from work. “I try to make sure I’m home for bath time and to help with dinner and get the girls ready for bed. Which is really fun and sweet and also important.”
When Threadgill is with his daughters, Hope and Ella, he is usually watching “Winnie the Pooh,” reading to them, playing in the park, or changing diapers. This week, he says, Hope’s favorite books are “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site” and anything with Daniel Tiger.
Threadgill also loves to read in his free time, but his interests are less fantastical. He says he enjoys reading about ancient Greek philosophy, investing and news. “The Wall Street Journal,” “The Economist” and “The Hamilton County Herald” are his favorite newspapers to read “before Hope tears them up.”
“I enjoy getting the Herald and catching up with other people in the community. It’s fun to stay connected, since Chattanooga’s still fairly small. I mean, there’s been Herald articles on other lawyers at Chambliss, and I find out things about them I didn’t know, so that’s pretty cool.”
The camaraderie at Chambliss – “I can just go down the hallway and pick someone’s brain” – is invaluable to Threadgill. He says he feels more at home in tight communities. Having attended a smaller high school and undergraduate college, he says, “Being in those intimate environments is more conducive to my personality and not getting lost in a crowd.”
A new shareholder, Threadgill certainly hasn’t gotten lost in the Chambliss crowd.
In his free time, Logan Threadgill plays soccer on a local team, Whiskey Chicken. The team of lawyers, contractors, engineers and “a full gamut of people” get together to play and compete in the league on Sundays at Highland Park. “We’re like the old guys in the league,” Threadgill laughs. He says the average age of Whiskey Chicken players is mid-40s, whereas other teams average in their mid-20s. Having won a few games as the older team, Threadgill says, “I think it’s frustrating for 25-year-olds to realize they just lost to a bunch of 40-year-olds. It’s kind of funny.”
When he’s not playing soccer, Threadgill is watching it. He says he primarily watches the English Premier League and that his favorite team is Manchester United. Having grown up when soccer wasn’t as accessible on American television, Threadgill says he and his siblings would watch tapes of Manchester United games. “So I became obsessed with that team.”
Despite his love for the team, Threadgill has no Manchester United paraphernalia in his office. But he still has wall-to-wall soccer adornments: There is a team-signed soccer ball and NCAA tournament trophy from college, a team picture and scarf from his time on the CFC, a glass soccer ball from his assistant and a framed comic advertisement for Tang with Pelé on the cover. He also has a family photograph with his wife and daughters and a black-and-white picture of Half Dome commemorating his brother’s summit.
Threadgill advocates for Glass House Collective, a nonprofit on whose board he served for several years, and for the election of Alex McVeigh, a friend of his, onto the Hamilton County Circuit Court.
Threadgill says he prioritizes balance and maintaining a healthy lifestyle – mentally, physically and spiritually. By working out, listening to self-improvement podcasts, diving further into faith and making time for himself, Threadgill finds his balance.
“Every day, you’re learning, and you try to be better at what you’re doing, whether it’s soccer or practicing law or being a husband or a father.
“I’m gonna make some mistakes along the way. I did yesterday, I will today and I will tomorrow. But I can be better than I was the day before.”