Judge Willie Thompson blazed a trail in NYC
Despite the fact that Judge William “Willie” Thompson retired from the bench in 2001, he remained a major presence in the New York City legal community up to the day he died.
His impact in his early years was felt by the paths that he blazed, but those later years will be remembered for the dozens of lawyers and judges whose careers he helped along the way.
“Every judge of color that sat in Civil, Supreme or the Appellate Division came in contact in one way or another with Willie,” said Justice Sylvia Ash. “He felt like it was his obligation to mentor us because there were so very few mentors at the time.”