Mariner Talks: Voices that Shape the Coast

The Honorable Timothy Walmsley has been on the Superior Court bench since 2012 and has built a reputation for being thoughtful, fair, and deeply committed to his community. Before becoming a judge, he worked extensively in commercial and real estate litigation and served as a part-time magistrate in Chatham County. His broad experience – from private practice to presiding over complex and high-profile cases – gives him a grounded, real-world perspective that resonates with both attorneys and citizens alike.

Hon. Walmsley received his J.D., with honors, along with a Certificate in Environmental Law from the Tulane University School of Law in 1996. He received a B.S. in Environmental Studies in 1991 from Allegheny College. Prior to law school, he worked as an environmental consultant with ICF Kaiser Engineers in Washington, D.C., where he conducted extensive site work and investigation on a variety of environmental issues.

Hon. Walmsley was appointed to the Superior Court of the Eastern Judicial Circuit (Chatham County) in February 2012 by Governor Nathan Deal, and has been elected to four additional terms. Prior to joining the Superior Court, he was a Partner at Hunter, Maclean, Exley, & Dunn, P.C., where he specialized in commercial and real estate litigation. He also served as counsel to the Chatham County Board of Tax Assessors, and as a Judge in the Magistrate Court of Chatham County.

During his career, Hon. Walmsley has been associated with numerous professional organizations and has been actively involved in the community. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hancock Day School, the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Savannah, and serves as a community coach for the Benedictine Military School Sporting Clays Team.

Hon. Walmsley was named one of The Savannah Business Report and Journal’s “40 Under 40” notable Savannahians, and was also named a “Rising Star” of the Georgia Bar by Law & Politics and The Atlanta Magazine on three occasions. He is a graduate of Leadership Savannah, and is actively involved in both the Georgia Bar Association and the Council of Superior Court Judges. In 2022, he received both the Tradition of Excellence Award, given by the State Bar of Georgia’s General Practice and Trial Section, and the Power of the Pen Award in Justice for work performed in the state. In 2024, he was awarded The Gold Citation by his alma mater, Allegheny College, in recognition of his professional and volunteer activities.

In addition to his work in the court, he is a regular guest speaker and lecturer, having addressed numerous civic groups, high schools, colleges and law schools on a variety of law and related topics.

In May 2020, Hon. Walmsley was appointed to preside over the trial of three men accused of murdering Ahmad Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, after all Superior Court judges in Glynn County recused. The trial garnered national attention and resulted in the conviction of all three defendants.

Hon. Walmsley was born in Durban, South Africa. He attended primary school in Pittsford, New York, and is a 1987 graduate of Pittsford Mendon High School. He has resided in Savannah for almost 30 years with his wife, the former Alison Rae Rodgers of Lafayette, Louisiana, with whom he has two children, Adler and Gavin.

Mr. Larry D. Thompson has spent his career at the highest levels of law and public service. He served as the U.S. Deputy Attorney General – the second-highest position in the Department of Justice – where he helped lead national security efforts and federal prosecutions. Before that, he was the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, tackling major corruption and drug trafficking cases. Outside government, he also held senior roles at PepsiCo, including Executive Vice President and General Counsel. His longstanding reputation for integrity and fairness has earned him national recognition.

Thompson serves as Counsel to the Atlanta law firm of Finch McCranie, LLP. He retired in December 2014 as Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for PepsiCo, Inc. Mr. Thompson assumed the position with PepsiCo in July 2012, with responsibility for the company’s worldwide legal function, as well as its government affairs and public policy organizations. He also oversaw the company’s global compliance function, and served as President of the PepsiCo Foundation.

Mr. Thompson previously served as PepsiCo’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary from 2004-2011. He served as a Senior Fellow with The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and his government career includes serving in the U.S. Department of Justice as the former U.S. Deputy Attorney General under George W. Bush (2001-2003). In 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft named Mr. Thompson to lead the National Security Coordination Council. Also, in 2002, President Bush named Mr. Thompson to head the Corporate Fraud Task Force. Mr. Thompson led the establishment of the Department of Justice’s Attorney Outreach Program which resulted in the recruitment of attorneys from a wide range of ethnic, economic, geographic, and racial backgrounds.

Previously, Mr. Thompson was a partner in the Atlanta, Georgia, law firm of King & Spalding. From 1982-1986, he served as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. In that role, he directed the Southern Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and served on the Attorney General’s Economic Crime Council. In July 1995, Mr. Thompson was appointed Independent Counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development Investigation by the Special Panel of U.S. Circuit Court Judges appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court. In April 2000, he was selected by Congress to chair the Judicial Review Commission on Foreign Asset Control. Mr. Thompson joined the Atlanta, Georgia law firm of Finch McCranie, LLP as Counsel in July 2015.

In addition to serving as the Lead Director of The Southern Company, Mr. Thompson served on the Compensation Committee of the Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company), and currently serves on the Board of Franklin Templeton Mutual Series Funds and the George W. Bush Foundation Board. He is an elected Fellow of the American Board of Governance Counsel, and the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, and has served as a Trustee on the Chautauqua Institute Board since 2014. Mr. Thompson was elected to the Council of the American Law Institute and serves on the Georgia Historical Society Board of Curators. He is an elected member of the American College of Governance Counsel. He is the recipient of the Edmund Jennings Randolph Award for outstanding contributions to the accomplishment of the Department of Justice’s mission, Outstanding Litigator Award by the Federal Bar Association, and the A.T. Walden Award for outstanding accomplishments to the legal profession by the Gate City Bar Association, Atlanta, Georgia. In 2017, Mr. Thompson was honored with the first-ever William T. Coleman, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award by the African-American Managing Partners Network. Mr. Thompson was elected as a Trustee to the University of Georgia Foundation in June 2016. He has served on the University of Georgia School of Law’s faculty as the holder of the John A. Sibley Chair of Corporate and Business Law. In 2016, he was named Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ethics Research Center (ERC), the research arm of the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI). In 2014, Ethisphere magazine recognized Mr. Thompson by noting that as “the outgoing General Counsel of one of the world’s most well-recognized corporations [Thompson] has set the bar high for GC’s everywhere. [His] background in both public and private sectors earned him the trust and respect of his peers worldwide as he demonstrated how ethics and integrity are essential components of business success.” In 2025, Mr. Thompson was elected as the College of Coastal Georgia’s new Brown Family Executive-in-Residence in the School of Business and Public Management.

In 2017, Mr. Thompson was appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice as the Independent Corporate Compliance Monitor and Auditor for Volkswagen AG.

Larry holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Culver-Stockton College, a Master’s degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan, an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pace University in New York, and an Honorary Doctorate from St. Louis University. Larry’s first book, Quiet Counsel, was released in November 2024.

J. Alexander Atwood brings a rare and compelling blend of legal, public service, and academic experience to the discussion. In addition to his past services as Chief Magistrate Judge of Glynn County, he is currently an Assistant Professor at the College of Coastal Georgia, where he teaches and mentors the next generation of leaders. His background includes service as a Special Agent and Supervisory Special Agent in multiple federal agencies, more than three decades of military service as a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Colonel, and time representing his community in the Georgia House of Representatives. This breadth of experience uniquely positions him to moderate a thoughtful and substantive conversation with two leaders whose careers have shaped the legal landscape at the highest levels.

On January 1, 2022, Alex Atwood joined the faculty of the School of Business and Public Management at the College of Coastal Georgia. Prior to assuming this position, Professor Atwood served as Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Administrative Services, overseeing all state-wide contracting, risk management, fleet management, human resources administration, and surplus property for the state of Georgia. In this position, Professor Atwood also served on numerous state boards and authorities, and represented the state of Georgia as a member of the National Association of State Chief Administrators.

Professor Atwood holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University, a Master of Arts in International Business Relations from Webster College, a Juris Doctor (J.D.) in Law (Cum Laude) from Atlanta’s John Marshall School of Law and a Master of Law (LL.M.) from Georgia State University’s School of Law (Summa Cum Laude). Professor Atwood is a member of the legal honor fraternity Sigma Delta Kappa, was a recipient of the Corpus Juris Secumdum Award for academic excellence, is a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society, and is a Fellow of the Lawyers Foundation of Georgia. Professor Atwood is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Professor Atwood has served as a member of the United States Attorneys Committee for Project Safe Neighborhood, an Adjunct Instructor at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary, a member of the Legal Advisors Section to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a legal advisor to the Georgia Sheriff’s Association, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Georgia Council of Magistrate Court Judges.

Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, Professor Atwood enjoyed many operational and command roles including service as the Chief of Legal Training for the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Special Agent and Supervisory Special Agent for several federal executive branch agencies, Chief Operating Officer of Alpha Protective Services, Inc. (a 700-member security corporation which provided security services for the federal government and the National Football League), as the Chief Judge of the Magistrate Court of Glynn County, and as the founding partner of Atwood Choate, PC. Professor Atwood also served for 34 years in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in ground, aviation, and Intelligence positions, entering service as a Private and retiring at the rank of full Colonel.

Professor Atwood also served as a State Representative in the Georgia House of Representatives, where among many committee assignments, he served as Appropriations Committee Chairman for Public Safety, Vice-Chair of the Juvenile Justice Committee, Secretary of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, Majority Caucus Deputy Whip, Member of the Judiciary Committee (non-civil), Insurance Committee, Audits & Information Committee, and as a member of the Jekyll Island Legislative Oversight Committee.