BALTIMORE – Deborah St. Lawrence Thompson, a partner in Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP’s Baltimore office, has been named to the board of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), the preeminent organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests, for a three-year term. Membership is by invitation only.

The IADC provides professional development to its membership and plays a leadership role in legal reform. Its board “oversees activities that benefit the organization’s members and their clients, as well as the civil justice system, the legal profession and society in general,” according to the organization.

Thompson joins fellow newcomers to the board: Henry T. Morrissette, a member of Hand Arendall Harrison Sale in Mobile, Ala., Charles E. Reynolds, II, a partner of Tyson & Mendes LLP in Tampa, Fla. and Heather Devine, Chief Legal Officer at Traffix in Ontario, Canada. These appointments were announced on July 14 during the IADC’s annual meeting in Waimea, Hawaii.

Thompson has more than 25 years of experience representing private and public sector employer clients in both traditional labor and employment matters. She provides guidance and counsel during union organizing, as well as collective bargaining, grievance and arbitration proceedings. She advises and defends clients with regard to claims of state and federal discrimination, ADA and FMLA compliance, and wrongful termination. She also serves as general counsel to several clients providing advice on various issues such as creating a diverse and inclusive workforce, preparing employee handbooks  and best practices for avoiding litigation.

She has litigated in the areas of products liability defense, mass tort, and employment law defense in jurisdictions around the country. As a first and second chair, she has represented small and large companies in cases to verdict.

Prior to private practice, Thompson served as the Chief Solicitor of Labor and Employment for a local government entity, creating policies and defending employment and labor matters for multiple agencies and departments. She also served as senior litigator for one of the largest historically Black universities in the United States.

Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins is an Am Law 100 firm of more than 1,000 attorneys, policy advisors and professionals with 33 offices in 17 states and Washington, D.C. For more information, go to www.nelsonmullins.com.