BIOGRAPHY
I’ve been practicing law since 1983, when I graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Law and passed the Tennessee bar exam. After practicing in Nashville for four years – first with a litigation firm and then with the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office – I moved to Santa Barbara in the fall of 1987, passed the February 1988 California bar exam, and put in my time as an associate in a couple of firms. From 1995 to 2003, I was a partner in a Santa Barbara litigation firm. Since 2003 I have practiced on my own.
Since 1995 my practice has been limited to appellate and law-and-motion work. I’ve briefed and argued more than 100 cases in state and federal appellate courts, including briefing two cases – and arguing one of them – in the California Supreme Court, as well as briefing a handful of cases in the Tennessee Supreme Court. I’ve briefed and argued countless law-and-motion matters in state and federal trial courts. I have also served as the research attorney for the discovery referee in a complex insurance-coverage / construction-defect lawsuit in Santa Barbara Superior Court.Outside of my law practice, I volunteer with the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter, which takes in, cares for, and finds homes for stray animals. I work with dogs. The shelter is a “no kill” facility – every dog, cat, etc. gets placed in a home or with a rescue organization no matter how long it takes. I also volunteer with the Santa Barbara Public Library’s adult literacy program. I was a member of the City of Santa Barbara Library Board from 2015 to 2022, and was the Board chair in 2022. I play guitar in the band Feckless Country; my wife is the bassist.B.A., summa cum laude, Vanderbilt University, 1980
J.D., Vanderbilt University School of Law, 1983
Licensed to practice in Tennessee since 1983 (Board of Professional Responsibility No. 010644) and in California since 1988 (State Bar No. 134840)
Frank Hallam Day
WILL TOMLINSON, ATTORNEY
Santa Barbara, California
Critical matters. Critical thinking.
