ADRIAN D. THOMPSON serves as co-partner-in-charge of the Taft Cleveland office, a group of 60 local attorneys, and is a member of the firm's executive and participation committees. In addition, he has served as Taft's Chief Diversity Officer since 2015. He directs the firm's strategy regarding diversity and inclusion initiatives across Taft's offices and in the communities that Taft serves.
Adrian earned his J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1986. He is an active member of Taft's Public Law, Education - Litigation, Employment Law, School Public Finance, and Labor and Employment Litigation practice groups. He focuses his practice on private sector clients' issues, including equal employment opportunity litigation, wage-hour problems, employment of the disabled, federal housing, and other labor matters. He also represents school districts in contract negotiations, grievance arbitration, litigation, education of the disabled, and employment discrimination matters. He is honored as a 2022 “Notable in Law” by Crain’s Cleveland Business, recognized as a 2022 “Trailblazer” honoree by the Norman S. Minor Bar Association, and named as one of the “500 Most Influential Leaders in Cleveland” by Cleveland Magazine (2021-2022). He is also honored as a Leading Lawyer for Education Law and an Ohio Super Lawyer for Labor Law.
Adrian is 2022-2023 president of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and is president emeritus of the board of directors of the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. He is also a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio's Task Force on Commercial Dockets and serves on the Advisory Group for the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio.
In addition, he serves as a member of the Greater Cleveland Partnership's Downtown, Waterfronts & Amenities, and Advancing Middle Market Progress Steering Committees.
