Profiles in Leadership: Baltimore's Craig A. Thompson to head

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Oct 20, 2008 by Steve Lash

Craig A. Thompson's business card could fill a poster board.

The Venable LLP partner not only litigates but also has his own motivational-speaking business, hosts a radio talk show and has written children's books extolling black history. He also serves on governing panels at a Baltimore secondary school and the University of Maryland.

The husband and father of two preschool daughters said the secret of his success in such diverse fields lies not so much in a knack for multi-tasking as in his uncanny ability to work long hours and then, well, keep working.

"I don't sleep too much," Thompson said.

This month, after less than three years at Venable, the 39-year- old night owl was named chairman of its firmwide diversity committee. The panel oversees the 600-member law firm's efforts to recruit, retain, mentor and promote women and minority lawyers and support staff.

Thompson, a Daily Record 2005 Leadership in Law honoree, said he views his chairmanship as an extension of his outside work as a speaker, author and board member.

For example, Thompson -- who owns a sole proprietorship, Thompson Communications LLC -- often speaks to minority high-school and university students on issues of leadership, networking and the need to focus on their futures. He has also advised the National School Boards Association on mentoring youngsters and closing the achievement gap afflicting many minority students.

In addition, Thompson serves on the board of trustees of the SEED School of Maryland, a public boarding and college-preparatory school that opened in August in Southwest Baltimore and will serve students from underserved communities in grades six to 12.

He also chairs the marketing committee for the University of Maryland at College Park, his undergraduate alma mater; he received his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1995.

"I have a number of passions," Thompson said, making particular reference to the law and helping mold the next generation. "I work hard to do as much as I can in both areas."

Thompson said he hopes his motivational talks and work at SEED and the university will help the students succeed in school, providing Venable with a future talent pool of young attorneys.

"It's not about taking time away from the firm," Thompson said of his side business of motivational speaking. "It's a supplement to my legal practice, not separate from."

For the Baltimore native, motivating and educating begins at his Howard County home.

Thompson, who is black, said that soon after his elder daughter, Delaney, was born in 2004, he looked for a children's book to read to her but did not find many with characters that resembled his child.

So he decided to write his own, an ABC book with each letter depicting a significant event in black history, beginning with "A" for Africa.

"I was in my home office, two or three o'clock in the morning, writing and then I'd get up and go to work," Thompson said. Staying awake in those days was especially easy, with an infant in the house, he added.

"We weren't getting much sleep anyway," Thompson said of himself and his wife, Deborah.

The result was "The ABCs of Black History," published by Beckham Publications. He dedicated the book, which is in its third printing, to Delaney.

In the past month, Thompson has completed a sequel, "The ABCs of Black History: Inventors and Inventions," which notes that the inventors of (among other things) the hamster wheel, ironing board and golf tee were black.

The book is expected to be released in December and will be dedicated to his younger daughter, Dana, who was born in 2006.

As with the first book, Thompson said he put in overnight hours researching and writing the sequel. "My wife didn't even know I was writing this one," he said. "She thought I was just falling asleep downstairs."

By day, Thompson is a litigator focusing on products liability and pharmaceutical defense at Venable, which he joined in February 2006 after a decade on the plaintiff side at the Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos. But every Monday night from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. he hosts a call-in current events radio show in Baltimore called "The Front Page" on WEAA 88.9 FM, as he has done for the past 13 years.

"It's sort of my one chance to get away" from being a lawyer, Thompson said.

Despite his many outside interests, Thompson said he continues to maintain a brisk law practice, helped in large part by remembering that his "primary responsibility" is to his clients and by burning the midnight oil.

"It will catch up with me," Thompson said of his lack of sleep. "Until that day, I'll keep my foot on the accelerator."