Minnesota Lawyer
“There were definite challenges to doing both, but I had the full support of my family and my firm,” said Thompson. “It was a lot of work, but it was also rewarding personally and professionally.”
In her role as president, Thompson led an initiative to get extra funding for legal service providers by taking advantage of a change in Minnesota’s rules on lawyer registration.
“It’s meant to provide more transparency in the process, and to encourage to answer in the affirmative when asked whether they’re interested in personally contributing financially to legal service providers,” she said. “I asked the bar association to increase the amount of money they gave to legal service providers in conjunction with an initiative to get our members to give.”
Thompson also recruited past and upcoming MSBA presidents to give, encouraging members to do likewise.
“We ended up giving an additional $100,000 toward that funding effort,” she said.
Thompson also worked with MSBA members and affinity bar associations to draft and file a petition to the Minnesota Supreme Court asking that a task force be appointed to study attorney licensure in Minnesota. She also worked with the Board of Law Examiners to make sure diverse voices were heard in that body’s study of the issue.
She also helped draft and file a petition to make it easier for lawyers to request and obtain personal leaves of absence at the birth or adoption of a child or when dealing with illness or caring for an ill family member.
“I would love to see the MSBA keep moving forward with those kinds of projects,” she said.
Read more about Minnesota Lawyer’s superb class of Attorneys of the Year for 2022 here.
