MONTPELIER — Gov. Peter Shumlin this week said he will appoint attorney Tom Carlson of the Burlington and Middlebury law firm Langrock, Sperry, and Wool LLP, to the Vermont trial bench. Carlson fills the seat left open by the retirement of Judge Linda Levitt. 
Tom Carlson has worked at Langrock since 1984, where his practice has ranged from family law and general litigation to business matters of all kinds, and to mediation. A Middlebury College graduate, he also earned a degree from the George Washington University National Law Center. He has trained as a mediator at both Harvard Law School and the Center for Dispute Resolution in Washington, D.C.
Carlson has worked as co-chair of the Access to Justice Coalition through the Vermont Bar Foundation, a coalition devoted to sponsoring and promoting civil legal services for low-income Vermont families. He is a prior chair of the St. George selectboard, moderator of the St. George town meeting, and prior chair of the Vermont Youth Orchestra board, and has also served on boards of Mercy Connections and the Vermont Young Writers Project.
Prior to joining Langrock, Sperry, and Wool, Carlson clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Albert Coffrin in Burlington, following work as an investigator for the then-firm of Sessions, Keiner, and Dumont, as well as paralegal work for Vermont Legal Aid at the then Waterbury State Hospital.
“Tom brings a long track-record of a diverse practice and profound legal and emotional intelligence. His thoughtful presence, coupled with his deep sense of fairness, gifted writing, and proven record of service to the bar and his community will serve the Vermont judiciary well,” Shumlin said.
“I am hugely grateful for the opportunity to join both a tradition and a current roster of careful, dedicated and thoughtful judges who serve all the people of this great state. I am also deeply grateful to mentors, too many to mention, that showed the way to this next chapter. Now it’s time to get to work,” said Carlson.
Carlson and his wife live in Hinesburg and are the parents of two sons.