Craig Thompson

Craig A. Thompson represents clients in the areas of commercial litigation, product liability, premises liability, and personal injury. Craig is an assertive trial lawyer and legal counselor with significant experience handling civil cases before federal and state courts throughout the country.

His knowledge of technology, legal, and business administration enables him to resolve numerous cases by assessing liability and developing risk management strategies.

His professional motto — “add value and provide solutions” — has guided him in the service of clients ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to mezzanine-level companies. He also has a thriving practice representing pharmacies against claims of alleged drug misfills.

Experience :

• 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
• 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 individual sales of the particular product
• 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 was used to help determine how numerous other claims would be tried
• Participated as a member of the trial team that negotiated a multi-billion-dollar settlement for the state of Maryland, the largest in Maryland history
• 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.

Education :

• J.D.University of Maryland School of Law1995
• B.A.University of Maryland1992

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 :

• Former chair, Venable’s Diversity Committee — led the firm’s inclusion and diversity initiatives for five years
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, Maryland State Bar Association
• Member, Bar Association of Baltimore City
• Member, Defense Research Institute
• Member, American Board of Trial Advocates
• Past lecturer, Penn State Dickinson School of Law, Penn State University
• Past lecturer, Washington and Lee School of Law
• Past keynote speaker, Sylvania Woods Conference, American University Washington College of Law.

Community :

• Member, board of trustees, University of Maryland, College Park Foundation
• Member, board of trustees, University of Maryland Children’s Hospital
• Member, board of trustees, University of Maryland, College Park
• Past board member, National Great Blacks in Wax Museum