Craig A. Thompson

Representative Matters

• Served as lead trial counsel on behalf of the state of Maryland in ground-breaking litigation concerning higher education funding and programs
• Served as lead counsel and first-chair counsel in a jury trial on behalf of a leading American grocery store chain facing allegations of pharmacy error; obtained a defense verdict
• Obtained defense verdicts in various states for an international pharmaceutical company in major products liability trials involving a drug used to treat diabetes
• After arguments before a state court judge, secured summary judgment in favor of an industry association and three of the leading product manufacturers in a lawsuit challenging a Baltimore City ban on their consumer products
• Served as second chair on a trial team that secured a defense verdict for a leading pharmaceutical company, in a bellwether products liability case that helped determine how numerous other claims would be tried
• Served as a member of the trial team for pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, in litigation involving its drug Mirapex
• Participated as a member of the team that defended a major pharmaceutical company in national litigation concerning one of its products; identified and developed expert witnesses
• Managed and defended against a multi-defendant personal injury claim on behalf of a major paint manufacturer
• Defended an international retailer against a commercial racial profiling claim

Pro Hac Vice Admissions

• California
• Illinois
• Massachusetts
• Missouri
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia

Education

• J.D. University of Maryland School of Law 1995
• • Listed in Who’s Who Among American Law Students
  • Alumni Association Award (presented to a member of the graduating class who exhibits outstanding service to the law school through qualities of character and leadership)
  • "Proud and Positive" Award
  • President, BLSA
  • President, Law School Debate Society
• B.A. University of Maryland 1992
• • Dual Degree
  • Listed in Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities
  • Dean’s List
  • Outstanding Attorney – Eastern Regional Intercollegiate Mock Trial Tournament
  • Byrd/Elkins Outstanding Male Senior Finalist
  • OMSE Award for Academic Excellence

Bar Admissions

• Maryland
• District of Columbia

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court of the District of Maryland
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Professional Memberships and Activities

• Chairman, Maryland Stadium Authority Board of Directors
• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
• Member, American Board of Trial Advocates 
• Dean, Corporate Counsel College, International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), 2023
• President, IADC, 2018 – 2019
  • Keynote speaker, IADC Trial Academy, 2019, 2022 – 2025
  • Faculty member, IADC Trial Academy, 2013
• Member, Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC)
• Member, Defense Research Institute
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
• Permanent member, Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference
• Member, Board of Visitors for the National Judicial College
• Member, Maryland Defense Counsel
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, Maryland State Bar Association
• Member, Bar Association of Baltimore City
• Member, Education and Youth Development Transition Committee, 2016 (appointed by Baltimore City’s mayor-elect)
• Former chair, Venable's Diversity Committee (led the firm’s inclusion and diversity initiatives for five years)
• Featured columnist, Diversity and the Bar, Minority Corporate Counsel Association
• Past columnist, The Daily Record
• Member, Auditing Panel, Baltimore City Public School System Office of Legislative Audits, Maryland General Assembly, 2004
• Past adjunct professor, University of Maryland, College Park
• Past lecturer, Georgetown University Law Center
• Past lecturer, Howard University School of Law
• Past lecturer, Penn State Dickinson School of Law, Penn State University
• Past lecturer, Washington and Lee School of Law
• Past lecturer, College of William & Mary School of Law
• Past keynote speaker, Sylvania Woods Conference, American University Washington College of Law

According to Chambers USA, Craig is described as "a very talented trial lawyer."

• The Best Lawyers in America
  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants, 2026
  • Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, 2013 – 2026
• Chambers USA
  • Products Liability & Mass Torts, Nationwide, 2016 – 2025
  • Litigation: General Commercial, Maryland, 2023 – 2025
• Benchmark Litigation
  • Local Litigation Star, 2020 – 2025
  • Top 100 Trial Lawyer, 2018 – 2022
  • National Practice Area Star, 2021 – 2022
• The National Black Lawyers Top 100
• Martindale-Hubbell, AV^® Peer Review Rated
• Legal 500
  • Dispute Resolution - Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Actions - Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, 2022 – 2025
  • Product Liability and Mass Tort Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, 2012, 2014 – 2015, 2019, 2021
• Super Lawyers
  • Maryland, 2010 – 2018, 2021 – 2023
  • Personal Injury Defense: Products, Baltimore, 2013
• Lawdragon, 500 Leading Litigators in America, 2022
• Lawyers of Color, Law Firm Leaders, 2022
• LMG Life Sciences, Life Sciences Star, 2019 – 2020
• Who’s Who Legal
  • Life Sciences, 2012 – 2017, 2020
  • Product Liability Defense, 2012 – 2017, 2020 
  • Thought Leader, Life Sciences: Product Liability, Product Liability Defense, Litigation, 2018
  • Litigation, 2017
• University of Maryland
  • Hiram Whittle Legacy Award, 2018
  • Outstanding Young Alumnus, 2001
• Who’s Who in Black Baltimore, 2010
• The Daily Record
  • Influential Marylanders, 2009, 2023
  • Leadership in Law, 2005
• Black CEO Summit, Business Advocate of the Year, 2007
• University of Maryland School of Law Black Law Student Association (BLSA), Alumnus of the Year, 2006
• Baltimore Business Journal, 40 Under 40, 1999, 2001
• University of Maryland School of Law, Practitioner of the Year, 2000
• Monumental City Bar Association, Emerging Leader, 2000
• Greater Baltimore Committee, Graduate, Leadership Program, 1996
• City of Baltimore, Craig Anthony Thompson Day, May 23, 1992 (decreed by then Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke)

Volunteerism

• Chair, Moore for Maryland gubernatorial campaign
• Past chair, Board of Trustees, University of Maryland, College Park Foundation
• Past board member, Hospice of Baltimore
• Past board member, National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

Personal Activities

• Authored a series of children's books on African American history