Thompson Hine Elects Litigator as First Black Managing Partner

Thompson Hine has named trial partner Anthony White as the firm’s next managing partner, making him one of only a handful of Black lawyers to lead a top 200 law firm.

White on May 1 will succeed Deborah Read, who has been the firm’s leader since 2012. He will invest in the firm’s efficiency-focused service delivery and look to bring the firm into new markets while adding lateral partners to eight existing offices, he said.

“We have got to grow both geographically and also in our headcount,” White said in an interview. “It’s a matter of finding the right markets for us to grow.” The firm in 2019 opened a Chicago office with one partner and has since grown to 22 lawyers, a model White pointed to as something to replicate.

Thompson Hine, founded in Cleveland, brought in roughly $253 million in revenue in 2022, according to the American Lawyer, making it the 141st largest firm by that measure. It has roughly 400 lawyers.

Anthony White

Read in her decade-plus leading the firm was known for developing a new legal service delivery system branded SmartPaTH. She will continue to work on that program as well as resume her tax practice as a partner, the firm said in a statement.

Since joining Thompson Hine 20 years ago, White has held several leadership roles, including serving for a decade as the firm’s national hiring partner, heading its Columbus office, and being a member of its executive committee for more than 13 years.

While splitting his time between the Cleveland and Columbus offices, White has built a national trial practice that focuses on railroad and logistics companies. He will devote most of his time to leading the firm, he said.

A former captain of The Ohio State University men’s basketball team, White also maintains a presence in the college game as a TV commentator for a handful of Dayton Flyers basketball games each year.

An active Ohio State alumnus, White was appointed to a leadership position on the Big Ten Conference Anti-Hate and Anti-Racism Coalition, a group charged with with analyzing and resolving diversity, equity, and inclusion issues throughout the conference.

White said Thompson Hine is a firm that “believes truly and deeply” in equity and inclusion, and his elevation to managing partner was one sign the firm takes that commitment seriously. Black lawyers have made paltry gains at law firms over the past decade, accounting for just 2.47% of partners in 2023, according to the National Association for Law Placement.

“There are not many firms out there who are advancing African Americans into leadership positions within their firm or with their clients,” he said. “That’s something the industry still has to grapple with: How are we going to do that and how are we going to be more effective in equity and inclusion?”

Law firms should approach equity and inclusion, White said, as an effort to help their employees by reducing biases and removing barriers to advancement for everyone.

“It’s not about some artificial process you’re trying to force onto your organization,” he said. “It’s about your people. And here at Thompson Hine, our people are our most important strength. So we focus on them in a lot of ways, and equity and inclusion is just one of those ways.”