Senior Judge Emerson R. Thompson Jr. of the Fifth District Court of Appeal took office July 1 as first vice president of The Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable organization that works on behalf of Florida’s legal profession to expand access to justice.
Thompson has served on the Foundation board since 1995, and previously served from 1991 to 1993. He has served on several Foundation committees, including the investment, Legal Assistance for the Poor/Law Student Assistance Grant Program, Medal of Honor Award and Improvements in the Administration of Justice Grant Program committees. He also is a Fellow of The Florida Bar Foundation.
Prior to his retirement in 2008, Thompson served in all divisions of Florida courts. He was appointed to the Fifth District Court of Appeal in 1993 and served as Chief Judge from 2000 to 2003. Before his appointment to the appellate bench, he was a trial judge in the Ninth Judicial Circuit and was elected Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit by his colleagues, serving in that capacity from 1989 to 1991. In 1994, he was one of three finalists whose name was submitted to Gov. Lawton Chiles for appointment to the Florida Supreme Court.
Thompson received his juris doctorate from the Florida State University College of Law and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida. He is a founder and former president of The First Central Florida American Inns of Court. He is an active lecturer and former adjunct professor at Valencia College in Orlando. He also is an alumnus and former faculty member of the National Judicial College.
