Thomas E. Hatfield - Waycross, GA

The Honorable Thomas E. "Tommy" Hatfield is a native of Waycross and Ware County. After graduating from Waycross High School in 1990, he attended the University of Georgia in Athens as an undergraduate, initially on scholarship to the UGA School of Music, where he spent two years as a music education major, before changing direction and earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology from UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences in 1994. While at UGA, Tommy was inducted as a member of Alpha Epsilon Delta (Georgia Alpha Chapter - Premedical Honor Society), and he served a term as President of the UGA Tau Delta Chapter of Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society. Tommy was also a proud member of the University of Georgia Redcoat Marching and Symphonic Bands (alto saxophone) during his tenure in Athens, and it was through his participation in the Redcoat Band that Tommy was introduced to his college sweetheart and eventual wife, Deanna (Black) Hatfield of Gainesville, Georgia.

Tommy's education and career goals took another significant shift after his college graduation when he decided to attend law school at The University of Tulsa School of Law in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While in Tulsa, Tommy became interested in becoming a trial attorney and earned a spot as a 1L student on TU's Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) Mock Trial Team. He was also inducted as a member of Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity, Rogers Inn. He earned his Juris Doctor from Tulsa in 1997 before returning home to become a member of the State Bar of Georgia and enter the practice of law with his brother, Mark.

During the first twenty-three years of his legal practice, Tommy concentrated in the areas of Plaintiff's personal injury, criminal defense, and divorce and domestic relations law. He has been a tenacious litigator and proven himself willing to fight the long, hard fights which are often necessary to prevail in the trial arena. He is licensed to practice in all trial courts in Georgia, the Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Georgia Supreme Court. He is also experienced in the handling of civil and criminal matters in federal court, and he is a member of the Bars of the United States District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of Georgia.

In 2020, Tommy offered himself as a candidate to become Judge of the State Court of Ware County. With much gratitude to the voters of his native Ware County, Tommy won a convincing election, and on December 30, 2020, Tommy was sworn in as the first newly elected State Court Judge in Ware County in 25 years. His first term of office began on January 1, 2021. The State Court of Ware County has general trial jurisdiction over civil matters (except for those specifically reserved by law to the Superior Court) and misdemeanor criminal cases. However, because the Ware County State Court Judge's position is a part-time judgeship, Tommy is happy to be able to continue his private practice of law and his representation of clients with Hatfield & Hatfield, P.C. Tommy and Deanna have two daughters, Kate and Charlotte. The family are members of First Presbyterian Church of Waycross, where Tommy serves as an Elder. Tommy remains an avid musician and enjoys finding musical projects in Waycross in his spare time. He also enjoys golf and RV camping.