Venable Partner Craig Thompson Elected President of International Association of Defense Counsel
The International Association of Defense Counsel announced that Craig A. Thompson, a partner at Venable LLP, has been elected president of the IADC for the 2018-2019 term.
Thompson was officially installed at the IADC’s Annual Meeting in July in Lisbon, Portugal.
A member of the Products Liability and Mass Torts practice at Venable, Thompson has more than two decades of experience handling civil cases in federal and state courts, the firm said in a release. He represents clients in the areas of commercial litigation, product liability, premises liability, and personal injury. Thompson also is active in leading law firm inclusion and diversity initiatives, and served for five years as chair of Venable’s Diversity Committee.
In 2013, Thompson was a faculty member for the IADC’s Annual Trial Academy, which is one of the oldest and most respected programs for developing defense trial advocacy skills. In addition, he has lectured or taught at numerous law schools and currently is a featured columnist for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association publication.
Thomson has been recommended or highly ranked by top legal industry and attorney referral guides including Martindale Hubbell, Chambers USA, Best Lawyers and Legal 500. He received his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland.
Also at its Annual Meeting, the Chicago-based IADC elected Amy Sherry Fischer, a shareholder at Foliart Huff Ottaway & Bottom in Oklahoma City, Okla., as president-elect. The IADC’s immediate past president is Andrew Kopon Jr., a founding member of Kopon Airdo, LLC in Chicago.
The IADC’s other newly elected board members for the current term are:
– Frank A. Lattal, senior vice president, Claims, for Chubb Group in Hamilton, Bermuda, as the IADC’s vice president of insurance.
– Mark R. Beebe, partner at Adams and Reese LLP in New Orleans.
– Stephanie M. Rippee, member at Watkins & Eager PLLC in Jackson, Miss.
– Thomas Rouhette, partner at Hogan Lovells LLP in Paris, France.
