Craig Thompson represents clients in both federal and state courts in the areas of commercial litigation, product liability, premises liability and personal injury. As Chair of Venable’s Diversity Committee for five years, he led the firm’s inclusion and diversity initiatives.

Mr. Thompson is an experienced and assertive trial lawyer and legal counselor with over 15 years of experience handling civil cases before federal and state courts throughout Maryland. His analytical orientation and knowledge of technology, legal and business administration enable him to resolve numerous cases by assessing liability and developing risk management strategies.

His professional motto -- "add value and provide solutions" -- has guided him throughout his career. Mr. Thompson is AV Rated by Martindale Hubbell. An AV® Peer Review Rating Certification is a significant rating accomplishment, which ranks a lawyer at the highest level of professional excellence. He is listed as a recommended attorney in the 2012 edition of Legal 500 for Product Liability and Mass Tort Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices. The Legal 500 Series is the definitive guide to the legal market in over 70 countries, and provides in-depth independent editorial, recommendations of law firms and lawyers. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Product Liability Litigation. Best Lawyers is regarded by both the profession and the public as the most credible and definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States. Selection for Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprised of more than 4 million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country.

Mr. Thompson was appointed to the faculty of the 2013 International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy, held at Stanford University Law School. The IADC Trial Academy is one of the oldest and most respected programs for developing defense trial advocacy skills. The faculty consists of leading defense trial lawyers selected on a national basis from different regions of the country.

Representative Clients
Mr. Thompson’s clients range from Fortune 500 corporations to mezzanine-level companies. He has also built a thriving practice representing pharmacies in claims of alleged drug misfills. More specific examples of his work include:

Argued the issue before a state court judge that secured summary judgment in favor of an industry association and three of the leading manufacturers of a product in suit challenging a Baltimore City ban on individual sales of the product.
Second chair of a trial team that secured a defense verdict for a leading pharmaceutical company in a bellwether products liability case that was used to help determine how numerous other claims would be tried.
Lead counsel and first chair in a successful jury trial on behalf of a leading American grocery store chain facing suit for an alleged pharmacy error.
Member of the trial team for pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim in litigation involving its drug, Mirapex.
Member of the trial team that negotiated a multi-billion dollar settlement for the State of Maryland, the largest in Maryland history.
Member of the team that defended a major pharmaceutical company in national litigation over one of its products, identifying and developing expert witnesses.
With Venable’s Jim Archibald, handled a multi-defendant personal injury claim on behalf of a major paint manufacturer.
Represented an international retailer in its defense against a commercial racial profiling claim.
Serves in advisory roles for prominent state, local and national politicians.

Activities
Mr. Thompson serves as an adjunct professor and lecturer for an upper-level, pre-law course at the University of Maryland, College Park, and is an elected member of the University’s board of trustees.

He has lectured at Georgetown University School of Law, Howard University School of Law, Penn State Dickinson School of Law, Penn State University, Washington and Lee School of Law and the College of William and Mary School of Law. He also was a featured keynote speaker at the Sylvania Woods Conference, American University Washington College of Law, 2005

In 2004 Mr. Thompson was appointed by the Superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education to a special three-person panel charged with probing the financial, administrative and managerial practices of the Baltimore City Public School System.

He has served on the board of directors of both the Hospice of Baltimore and the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum.

Mr. Thompson writes a monthly column for The Daily Record. He is also the author of a series of children’s books on African-American history.