Larry D. Thompson, Bush Administration Deputy Attorney General, Joins Brookings as a Senior Fellow

Larry Thompson, who served as deputy attorney general for the past two years, is joining the Brookings Institution on Wednesday, October 1, as a senior fellow in the Economic Studies and Governance Studies programs.

While at Brookings, Thompson will focus on corporate and white collar crime, anti-terrorism, drug enforcement, and violent crime, particularly as it relates to low income and minority communities.

“I am delighted that Larry is joining us,” said Strobe Talbott, president of the Brookings Institution. “He has done exceptional work in both the private and public sectors, and his talents and expertise will benefit Brookings in countless ways.”

Thompson, appointed by President Bush, was confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in May 2001. As deputy attorney general, he spearheaded the administration’s Corporate Fraud Task Force, created in July 2002 as part of an effort to prevent corporate scandals and restore investor confidence in the marketplace. Immediately after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Thompson served as chairman of the president’s National Security Coordination Council, which was charged with assessing vulnerabilities in the nation’s private, governmental, and industrial sectors.

Before going to the Justice Department, Thompson was a partner at the Atlanta law firm King and Spalding, where he specialized in civil and criminal litigation. In 1982, he was appointed by President Reagan to serve as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. During his four years as U.S. attorney, Thompson directed the Southeastern Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and served on the attorney general’s Economic Crime Council.

Thompson returned to King and Spalding as a partner in 1986. In July 1995, he was appointed independent counsel for an investigation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Five years later, he was chosen to chair the Judicial Review Commission on Foreign Asset Control. The five-member, bipartisan congressional commission reviewed judicial, regulatory, and administrative agencies that have the authority to impose sanctions under two laws: the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Thompson has been a fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and was given the Outstanding Litigator Award by the Federal Bar Association. He graduated cum laude from Culver-Stockton College in 1967, then earned a master’s degree in 1969 from Michigan State University and a law degree in 1974 from the University of Michigan law school.