Paul M. Thompson is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and serves as the co-partner-in-charge of the Firm's Washington, D.C., office. Paul focuses his practice on white-collar criminal defense, congressional investigations and appellate matters. Paul was recently recognized by the National Law Journal in its 2010 Appellate Hot List. In 2010, he was also named as a “Future Star” by Benchmark Litigation.
Representative Experience
White-Collar Criminal Defense: Paul has represented numerous clients that are the subject of criminal investigations or civil enforcement proceedings. Paul is a former federal prosecutor. He has represented clients at trial and defended clients subject to investigation by the Department of Justice and various federal and state agencies. He has helped clients establish internal compliance programs, has managed and organized crisis management teams in cases with serious civil or criminal implications, and has led internal investigations for his corporate clients.
Congressional Investigations: Paul has represented numerous clients in high-profile congressional investigations. He is a former counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee and has represented clients before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He has helped clients defend themselves during congressional inquiries, respond to subpoena requests from Congress, and prepare for and testify at congressional hearings.
Appellate Experience: An appellate practitioner with extensive experience, Paul has served as counsel in more than 80 cases in the United States Courts of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He has handled cases at the certiorari and merits stages before the United States Supreme Court, has appeared on behalf of clients in the First, Second, Third, Fifth and Sixth Circuits, and has assisted clients with cases in nearly every Federal Court of Appeals in the country.
Other Experience: Between 2005 and 2006, Paul served as counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee. During that time, he worked on the Senate confirmation hearings for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, the reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act, the debate on the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and consideration of legislation on the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program. From 2002-2005, Paul served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Appellate Section of the United States Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Paul has also served as a law clerk to the Honorable D. Brooks Smith, former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and current Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Paul has published articles in the National Law Journal, Roll Call, Executive Counsel, the Yale Law Journal Pocket Part, and the Vanderbilt Law Review.
He is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. He is also admitted before the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, and D.C. Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Education
- Harvard Law School, J.D. (magna cum laude), 1998
- Harvard College, A.B. (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa), 1991
