Bob Thomas was a partner when he retired at Bradley. His practice was concentrated in governmental relations, and he had close ties to former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen. Bob also had a good working relationship with Gov. Bill Haslam and his wife, Crissy, due to his service as a board member of the Tennessee Residence Foundation, as chairman of the Tennessee State Museum Foundation, and as a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Bob was very active in civic and political affairs, having served as state finance chairman for Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen's 1994 gubernatorial campaign. He was a member of the Finance Council of the Tennessee Democratic Party and was a member of the National Finance Committee for President Bill Clinton. He was also active in the campaigns of former Mayor Bill Boner, former Mayor Richard Fulton, former Vice President Albert Gore and former Mayor Bill Purcell. He was a former chairman of the Metropolitan Nashville Davidson County Board of Health, the Board of Directors of the St. Thomas Foundation, the Tennessee Democratic Party, and was state finance chairman for Sen. Jim Sasser (1987-1993). Bob served as chairman of the Tennessee State Museum Foundation Board, as a member of the Tennessee Residence Foundation, which is charged with raising and spending funds to maintain the Tennessee governor's residence, and as a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, which governs six state universities, 13 community colleges, and 26 technology centers all serving over 200,000 students and with an annual budget of over $2 billion. Bob is a former member of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority and the Nashville Convention Center Commission.
Bob was a member of the Nashville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations.