NYS Women’s Bar Association to install Brooklyn’s Joy Thompson as president-elect

May 31, 2019 Rob Abruzzese

Joy Thompson has quickly risen up the ranks as a bar leader in Brooklyn and now the state of New York. Eagle file photo by Rob Abruzzese

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When Joy Thompson was named vice president of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY) a year ago, it put her on a short list eventually to become the association’s president.

Not being one who seeks out a lot of attention, Thompson downplayed the idea of eventually becoming president. However, WBASNY announced on Thursday that Thompson will be installed as the group’s president-elect during a ceremony to be held during its annual convention taking place this weekend in Savannah, Georgia.

This puts Thompson in line to become the association’s president a year from now.

“It’s a big commitment and a lot of hours to volunteer,” Thompson told the Brooklyn Eagle when she became vice president. “But I have to say, and this is the truth — these women are quite inspiring. The depth of talent and experience, they’re pioneers — they’re women who practice law and are at the top of their field. To hear their stories, to see their passion, it makes it worthwhile for me.”

Thompson works as the deputy commissioner of the Public Administrator for New York County, a city agency that administers the estates of Manhattan residents who die without a will and without any heirs. She got involved with WBASNY after she joined the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association in 2009 at the urging of then-President Hon. Joanne Quinones.

Over the years, Thompson has slowly taken on a larger role within both the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association and WBASNY and is active in committees with both associations. She’s also active in the Brooklyn Bar Association and the Nathan R. Sobel Inns of Court. Her burgeoning leadership is a result of the fact that she feels passionate about causes that go unnoticed and voices that go unheard, she said.

“If you look at the history of what WBASNY has been able to accomplish, it is a champion for issues are overlooked,” she told the Eagle. “Sometimes, laws are passed that affect women disproportionately, negatively or differently. We can affect laws and the administration of justice of issues that are not always on the radar of the traditional people in leadership positions.”

Thompson’s work in Brooklyn has not gone unnoticed by other bar association leaders.

“Joy Thompson is not only a devoted public servant helping people in their time of grief, but someone who reaches out to help not only the many members of the Brooklyn legal community, but the entire Brooklyn community,” said David Chidekel, president of the Brooklyn Bar Association.

“Joy is a rare individual who practices her belief of respecting everyone and treating them with dignity and acceptance,” he added, calling her “the founder and dynamo behind the Brooklyn Bar Association’s Diversity Committee and catalyst for the BBA successful community service program.”