Meet
Jill Thomas

Jill Thomas is a former federal prosecutor in Sacramento, California with a wealth of criminal trial experience. She has litigated over 100 trials and has over 26 years of JAG military service. She also serves as a VCG faculty member. 

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While in the Air Force, Jill prosecuted the most complex and challenging cases worldwide. After she separated from active duty, she joined the Department of Justice as a federal prosecutor and spent 12+ years investigating and prosecuting cases involving gangs & cartels (drug trafficking and firearms), child exploitation (sex trafficking, sextortion, sex tourism, and child pornography), terrorism (domestic and international), corruption, fraud, and money laundering. With that vast criminal litigation experience, Jill was competitively selected to become a reserve Military Judge where she served for five years on the bench. She now serves as the Air Force’s Director of Trials overseeing the Air Force’s flagship trial advocacy training for new JAGS. 

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Jill brings the strategic advantage of a 360-degree view of the justice system, having served as a defense counsel, a prosecutor, and a judge. Finely attuned to the dynamic trial process, she is considered by colleagues to be an unflappable, calm-in-a-storm litigator. One supervisor commented on Jill’s performance as a trial lawyer, “[Counsel] don’t come any better!” and “a World Class litigator.” 

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In her spare time, Jill enthusiastically enjoys pickleball, ping pong, golfing, March Madness, hiking, reading, traveling, and learning languages.