John D. Thompson has practiced employment law in Minneapolis for over 35 years. After graduating from Georgetown University Law Center in 1986, John practiced at Dorsey & Whitney for two years, in-house at 3M Company for 5 years, Rider Bennett for 12 years, Oberman Thompson for 16 years, and now by himself at the Law Offices of John D. Thompson, LLC beginning in 2022.
John represents executives and managers in a wide variety of personal employment matters, often at critical transition stages of their career. John helps executives and managers evaluate new employment opportunities, employment offers, equity and compensation packages and contracts, as well as provides advice on how best to depart from their current employer and comply with non-compete and other obligations. John also regularly helps clients in danger of losing their job or after termination by developing an exit strategy, evaluating any legal claims they might have, negotiating favorable severance packages, and advising on legal obligations they have to their employer, including non-compete, confidentiality and loyalty obligations. John has a wealth of experience helping executives maximize their long-term equity, compensation, career, and life goals. His diverse and lengthy experience puts him in a unique position to help achieve these goals without unnecessary resort to adverse publicity, lawsuits or other often counterproductive and unsophisticated approaches.
John has been a prolific author and speaker on Minnesota employment law topics for over 30 years. He authored nine editions of “Minnesota Employment-at-Will Law,” an extremely valuable book for employment lawyers, and taught employment law at Hamline University School of Law on several occasions. The Best Lawyers in America™ and Minnesota Super Lawyers™ consistently recognize John for his work. Over his career, John has tried numerous employment lawsuits to a verdict when no alternative existed – involving claims related to non-competition agreements; age, disability, race, and sex discrimination; sexual harassment; breach of contract; equity compensation and pay matters; and negligent retention (involving workplace homicide).
Beginning at 3M in the late 1980s, John developed a nationally recognized expertise in workplace violence and related security consulting. He was General Counsel for Business Security Advisory Group, a group of former Fortune 500 Chief Security Officers providing security consulting services. He now serves as a Subject Matter Expert Faculty for the Security Executive Council, a Washington D.C.-based security organization.
John has lived in the Twin Cities all his life except while attending school. He graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University in 1981 with majors in Theology and Philosophy. After a year of graduate studies at the University of Chicago Divinity School, he went to Georgetown University Law Center, where he obtained his J.D. magna cum laude and Order of the Coif in 1986. John loves family, traveling, gardening, nature, and music.