Ebony Monet Thompson (born c. 1978) is an African-American lawyer and former United States reserve marine from Maryland. In 2024, Thompson became the first woman and first

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

city solicitor in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

's 294-year history.

Biography

Thompson is a native of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. She received a bachelor's degree in economics from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

prior to attending law school at the

University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt consists of four colleges in applied arts and sciences, Robert G. Merrick School of Bu ...

. In 2013, at the age of 34, Thompson graduated with a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

University of Baltimore School of Law The University of Baltimore School of Law, or the UB School of Law, is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools i ...

. After law school, Thompson worked as a litigator at

Venable LLP Venable LLP is an American law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is the largest law firm in the state of Maryland. Founded in 1900 by Richard Venable in Baltimore, Venable operates 13 offices across the United States and employs about 85 ...

, where her great-uncle is a partner. In 2022, Thompson became Baltimore deputy city solicitor. That year, Mayor Brandon Scott named Thompson to replace retiring solicitor James L. Shea. In January 2023, she became acting city solicitor, after questions arose about Thompson's qualification required for the role in the city charter. According to the charter, Baltimore city solicitors were required to have ten years of tenure at the

Maryland Bar The Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of ...

, which Thompson was one year shy of. Thompson accepted the role in an acting capacity until she could claim the full decade of service requirement. In June, the city council raised Thompson's salary by 30%. Later that year, Thompson and the City of Baltimore filed a lawsuit against the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

after the federal agency did not respond to the city's

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act (United States) of 1966 * F ...

requests concerning firearm data. On January 29, 2024, Thompson was sworn in as Baltimore's city solicitor. Thompson's appointment was unanimously confirmed by

Baltimore City Council The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore. It has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at-large; all serve four-year terms. The council holds regular meetings on alternate Monday ev ...

. She became the first woman, and first openly gay city solicitor in Baltimore's 294-year history. Since becoming acting city solicitor, Thompson has been responsible for bringing lawsuits against

Allergan Allergan plc is an American, Irish-domiciled pharmaceutical company that acquires, develops, manufactures and markets brand name drugs and medical devices in the areas of medical aesthetics, eye care, central nervous system, and gastroenterology. ...

, CVS,

Cardinal Health Cardinal Health, Inc. is an American multinational health care services company, and the 14th highest revenue generating company in the United States. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, the company specializes in the distribution of pharmaceuticals ...

Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...

and

Teva Pharmaceuticals Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (also known as Teva Pharmaceuticals) is an Israeli multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical company. Teva specializes primarily in generic drugs, but other business interests include branded-drug ...

for their role in perpetuating Baltimore's opioid crisis. As of 2025, Baltimore has received more than $600 million in restitution as a result of lawsuits Thompson brought against drug manufacturers and distributors, said to be the largest in the city's history. In her role as Baltimore city solicitor, Thompson has additionally spearheaded efforts to track vacant properties in the city using

blockchain technology The blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (''blocks'') that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data (g ...

Personal life and honors

Thompson is a single mother of three daughters whom she conceived via IVF. In addition to her legal work, she served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and practices

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

. In 2024, she received the Beacon of Justice Award in recognition for her significant impact on Maryland's

LGBTQ+ community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individua ...

. In January 2025, Thompson was appointed grand marshal of Baltimore's Martin Luther King Jr. parade, under the theme, "Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Ebony Living people American LGBTQ lawyers Lawyers from Baltimore 21st-century African-American lawyers African-American women lawyers