Thomas A. Balmer

Thomas "Tom" A. Balmer (born January 31, 1952) is a former justice and chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. A native of Washington, he was appointed to the court in 2001 as a justice, later serving as chief justice from 2012 to 2018. He retired on December 31, 2022. Early life Balmer was born on January 31, 1952, in Longview, Washington. He graduated from the now-closed Jackson High School in Portland, Oregon. Balmer graduated from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio in 1974, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree with High Honors. Balmer graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1977. Legal career Balmer began his legal career with the Boston law firm of Choate, Hall & Stewart in 1977. He served in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1979 to 1980. He returned to private practice, joining the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wald, Harkrader & Ross in 1980. Returning to Oregon in 1982, Balmer worked at Lindsay, Hart, Neil & Weigler, becoming a partner in 1986. Balmer taught at Lewis & Clark Law School from 1983 to 1984, and again from 1990 to 1992 as an adjunct professor. He also was an adjunct professor of antitrust law at Willamette University College of Law in 2018–19. From 1986 to 1987 he was the chairperson of the Oregon State Bar antitrust law section, and in 1992 to 1993 he was chairperson of the Multnomah County Legal Aid Service’s Board of Directors.