CHARLESTON – A respected Charleston attorney and civic leader has passed away.
Tom Potter died March 31. Colleagues called him a “titan” in the West Virginia legal community.
Potter spent most of his legal career with Jackson Kelly. He joined the firm in 1968 after a stint in the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate and a few years at Woodroe Kizer & Steed. He retired from Jackson Kelly in 1999 and was Of Counsel until his death.
Attorneys who worked with him remember Potter as a “big picture guy who got stuff done” “without drama.”
“Tom Potter was a titan in the firm," Jackson Kelly Managing Member Robert Tweel said. “It is because of leaders like Tom Potter that Jackson Kelly became the strong, dynamic firm it is today.”
Ellen Cappellanti was the firm’s previous managing member. She credits Potter for helping guide her career.
“He was a great mentor,” she said. “Very practical and accomplished lawyer who did not get distracted by things that do not matter. …
“He was really good at navigating hard situations and simplifying things down.”
Potter’s practice focused on business law. He handled issues related to contracts, natural resources, corporate, real estate and property law, eminent domain, transportation, zoning and leases. He ran his practice group and spent the last five years of his career as chairman of the firm’s executive committee.
Potter also was involved in dozens of community and state organizations, and he served eight years in the state Legislature and was chairman of the Republican State Executive Committee.
Among the awards Potter received were the West Virginia Bar Association's Award of Merit, the YMCA’s Spirit of the Valley Award for leadership and volunteer work in the Kanawha Valley and the Order of Vandalia, which is West Virginia University’s highest award. He also was inducted into Marshall University’s Business Hall of Fame, and he was given the Alumni Recognition Award by WVU’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
Charles Loeb worked closely with Tom for years. "
“Tom was the consummate business lawyer who had a unique ability to get complicated business deals done, even when the prospect of doing so might seem impossible to others at the outset,” said Charles Loeb, who worked with Potter for years. “Fortunately for Charleston he shared these skills and gave greatly of his time to make our community a better place to live by leading a number of community organizations such as Charleston Renaissance and BIDCO.
“Without Tom's leadership, vision and persistence the Capitol Market would have never been possible, let alone completed. ‘No’ or ‘it can't be done’ were not part of Tom's vocabulary in the creation of the Market and the many other projects he was involved with over the years."
He was the past president of the West Virginia Bar Association, a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, a Life Fellow of the West Virginia Bar Foundation and member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, as well as other professional affiliations.
Potter served as chairman of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, Charleston Renaissance Corporation, the Business and Industrial Development Corporation (BIDCO), the National Institution for Chemical Studies, Capitol Market, Advantage Valley and the YMCA. He also was a member of the West Virginia Library Commission, the Board of the University System of West Virginia, the WVU Board of Governors and the Board of the Snowshoe Institute.
He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the West Virginia University Foundation, Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia, Charleston Alliance and past member and chairman of the Advisory Board of the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center at WVU as well as a member and past president of the Charleston Rotary.
In addition, Potter served for more than 15 years as a member of the Board of Directors at the Charleston Area Medical Center and Chairman of the Audit Committee as well as a member of the Executive Committee. He was a member of the National Advisory Council of the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center at West Virginia University.
He also was a board member at the R.H. Kyle Furniture Company and a board member of West Virginia Kids Count. He served as a member and past chairman of the board of the Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center Inc. or MATRIC.
Potter also was the recipient of the Hazo Carter Presidential Award from West Virginia State University and the James R. Thomas II Outstanding Volunteer Award from the Charleston Renaissance Corporation and the Paul Narres Fellow of the Charleston Rotary.
A memorial service to honor Potter’s life is scheduled for May 6 at First Presbyterian Church in Charleston with Rev. Dr. William C. Myers officiating.
Potter is survived by his wife Jean B. Potter, six children, several grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.