Senior Counsel for Government Contracts in the law firm of Whiteford Taylor & Preston (Whiteford Law) in Washington, D.C., USA, Mr. Thomas has substantial business, corporate and public contract law experience with small and middle market companies across a wide range of industries. He has represented clients before Federal district and appellate courts, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims as well as before Federal agencies, such as the Small Business Administration, the General Accountability Office (GAO), Civilian & Armed Services Boards of Contract Appeals. He has also represented Government Contractors before arbitration tribunals and is the author of more than 80 articles on business and government contract law matters. He was elected 2024-25 Chair of the Federal Bar Association’s (FBA) Government Contracts Section, where he received the “Outstanding Leader Award” at the FBA’s 2025 Annual Meeting and Convention. In addition, his Section received a “Section Recognition Award.” During that same year, Ralph was named “2025 Lawyer of the Year” in the Government Contracts category by the District of Columbia Bar.
In the world of academia, Ralph has taught Government Contracts Law at the University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Profession Studies and was an Adjunct Professor of Law and Course Director for five years at Concord School of Law, an on-line law school, now a part of Purdue University Global, where he taught a law course on Government Contracts Law in the school’s LL.M Program. He was also a Clinical Law Instructor at George Washington University Law School. During his practice, he has drafted and negotiated any number of Joint Venture, Subcontract, and Teaming Agreements on behalf of Government Contractors and has conducted numerous workshops and seminars on such topics. He is also a Vice-Chair of the Small Business and Other Socioeconomics Programs Committee of Public Contracts Law Section of American Bar Association. Government Contracts Law Section.
The recipient of numerous awards, particularly when he served in the Government, Mr. Thomas was awarded the Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive (an award limited each year to about one percent of the 6000 Federal Senior Executives – President George W. Bush) and the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive (an award limited to 5 percent of all Senior Executives – President Bill Clinton). Mr. Thomas has testified in Congress more than 30 times on small business and Government contracting issues and has been a speaker at small business conferences all across the country and in 2023 was an invited panelist at a contracting summit held at the White House. Internationally, he has addressed conferences in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South America. Since 2009, he has been a Solicitor admitted to the Senior Courts of England and Wales. He is also member of the U.K. Procurement Lawyers Association and is a member of the London Court of International Arbitration. His military service includes four years in the U.S. Air Force, where he achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant.
Ralph is a graduate of Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he received a Juris Doctor degree. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the University of California at Berkeley. Moreover, Ralph is a past recipient of the Special Honor Award for his achievements in the small and mid-sized business arena from the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises at its Annual International Conference in Mumbai, India.