Conversations with HJM: The Honorable Thomas R. Tompsett Jr.
“As a judge, you have to be fair and impartial—that’s the whole key. Fairness is nebulous. It’s a hard thing to really define…I always go back to trying to meet everybody where they are. I try to hear them fully…let them express, in whatever terms they can—whether they’re represented or they’re before the court without counsel—the opportunity to be heard. That’s what the court is trying to do. And then I really just try to uniformly apply the law based on what’s before me, and not who’s before me.”
Raised in the working-class community of Sparrows Point in Baltimore County, Judge Thomas “Tommy” Tompsett Jr. didn’t initially envision a career in law. His path was shaped by the values of hard work, humility, and public service—principles instilled by his parents, neither of whom attended college but who sacrificed to provide him with educational opportunities they never had themselves. Judge Tompsett credits Archbishop Curley High School with laying the foundation for the career that would eventually lead led him to the bench.
After earning his undergraduate degree in English with a concentration in writing, Judge Tompsett worked at a local country club, where conversations with young attorneys sparked an interest in the legal profession. Growing up in a police and military family had already instilled in him a respect for structure and the rule of law, but it was during those years that he realized he wanted to “do something more meaningful” with his skills, he says.
That realization led Judge Tompsett to the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, where he spent a decade prosecuting criminal cases and trying jury trials. There, he developed a thoughtful and balanced philosophy of justice, one rooted in understanding the unique circumstances of every case and every individual who came before the court. As he explains, justice is “very measured and very balanced…individual specific…case specific.”
After years in the courtroom, Judge Tompsett became increasingly interested not only in how laws are enforced, but also in how they are shaped. That curiosity drew him to Harris Jones & Malone (HJM), where he worked closely with Sean Malone and Lisa Harris Jones. It was at HJM where he refined the analytical discipline that continues to guide him today. As Tompsett explains, “It’s not just the surface-level stuff that most people argue. That firm didn’t stop at the tertiary level—they just kept digging down until they found a solution that not only others could live with, but that truly benefited the client.”
Following his time as a prosecutor, the Maryland Multi-Housing Association, and most recently, HJM, Judge Tompsett felt a renewed calling to public service that ultimately led to his appointment to the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. Today, he brings together the lessons of every chapter of his career—the discipline of a prosecutor, the strategic thinking of a policy advocate, and a deep commitment to fairness, preparation, and listening that continues to guide his work on the bench.
In this edition of Conversations with HJM, Judge Tompsett reflects on the experiences that shaped him, the principles that guide his work, and the enduring impact of his time at HJM.
You grew up in the Sparrows Point area and attended Archbishop Curley High School. How did that upbringing and early education shape the person and professional you’ve become?
“I grew up in a very working-class, blue-collar area. I had two parents who did not go to college. My dad was a butcher. My mom was a secretary with the State of Maryland for about 40 years. It was they who realized that education—or the lack of education—impeded their life, and so they put all their extra money into my education. That’s how I ended up at Curley. Out of all the schools I went to, I probably have the most allegiance to Curley because they just kind of took the skills I had and some of the abilities I had and focused them in the right direction. They put me on a path that ultimately led to this job. I would have never known that back then, but I realize today how important that foundation was. The teachers there really understood how to handle young men and where they were in their lives. They were able to cultivate a positive appreciation for learning and respect for one another and for other people’s opinions. I’m grateful for all the knowledge they provided, which helped me build my foundation; without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
When did you first become interested in law, and what drew you toward it?
“I worked at a country club all through high school and college. My undergraduate degree is in English with a writing concentration—I didn’t quite know what I was going to do with that, and I didn’t want to teach. While working at the country club, I started meeting a bunch of people from different backgrounds and learning what they did. I realized first that I wanted to be on the other side of the counter. I didn’t want to be on the working side. I wanted to be a member. Then I started to pay attention to how people got there, especially some of the younger members. I befriended a bunch of lawyers, and based on my conversations with them and the strengths I had from my undergraduate degree, the idea of law school started to form. I grew up in a very police- and military-oriented family, so that structure and appreciation for the law were already there. But it was really the end of high school through college that I started to realize I needed to do something more meaningful with my degree. That’s where law school came in.”
What did you learn from clerking before becoming an Assistant State’s Attorney?
“Clerking—you’re doing all the random things to get the lawyers ready for what they have to do in court or the motions they have to write. It gave me a good background on how to assess a case. Everything has a value. There’s a value to every case, and getting a sense of how to assess that value and then respond to it appropriately—sometimes things don’t need as much attention as others, and some things require a lot more work and more detailed findings. The clerkship helped me really understand the value of a case and how to balance that value with the interests of all participants, whether it’s the victims, the witnesses, or even the criminal defendants. It taught me how to balance all those things and arrive at a very just resolution. It also helped me with the procedural parts of court that are really nebulous when you learn about them in law school. Until you do it, it doesn’t make much sense. But in practice, it plays out a little differently than you’d expect. Being a clerk helped me understand procedure, which is really important when you’re a lawyer—because you have to know that as much as you have to know the facts of your case sometimes.”
How did working as an Assistant State’s Attorney shape your view of justice?
“State’s attorneys have a lot of power—they have the whole force of the government behind their efforts. And I think justice isn’t always just coming down with all the force that you have. There is a tempered response to everything that occurs. There’s a reality that not every case ends with someone going to jail for the rest of their life—they’re going to be back in society. So there has to be a general understanding that you need to understand where these folks are when they come into contact with the system, where they’re going to go based on the results of your case, and then figure out, if they are going to come back out and be a member of society, how we can put up safeguards that not only help them but protect everyone else. Justice really is very measured and very balanced. It’s individual-specific. It’s case-specific. It’s not just the top count and the highest penalty in every case—that’s not how justice should work. It’s really looking at everything in the totality, taking everybody’s perspectives into account, as well as what’s going on in this person’s life that even led them here in the first place, and then finding a balanced solution that addresses the wrong, prevents the wrong, communicates to others that they shouldn’t do these things, and is hopefully rehabilitative to the person who will eventually more than likely be back out in our community. That measured approach is what justice needs.”
How did your transition from prosecution to the Maryland Multi-Housing Association come about?
“I had been in the State’s Attorney’s Office for a decade at that point. I was trying a lot of criminal jury trials. I always had an interest in the mechanics of the law—there were times in front of a jury where I’d think, why can’t I explain this to everyday people? There’s something just fundamentally wrong with the law. There was no real path for advancement at the time either; we had many talented attorneys, and there was no clear next step. So, I started looking around. I had the opportunity to interview with MMHA about legislation affecting rental property owners and managers, which piqued my interest. Jury trials are about persuading twelve people to see things your way. Lobbying has a similar effect when you’re testifying before committees or meeting individually with legislators—you’re trying to persuade them that the position your client holds is important. It was a logical shift, and my background was very helpful in making it. But it was really that interest in how the law was made, and why it’s made so poorly, that led me in that direction. And after doing the job, I really understand why the laws are made so poorly.”
How did HJM shape your approach to legislative and policy work?
“HJM is just another place I hold dearly in my heart. Lisa and Sean are probably the two hardest-working people I’ve ever met in my life. Lisa especially—I don’t know if she stops working when she’s not awake. It was that constant attention to detail that she kept reinforcing: there’s always something more there, you just have to look for it. You have to figure out how to explain and convey it to others, and you always have to give your client this information in full. The client is always included along the way because it’s their issue, it’s their case. Working there just really refined how I look at every issue, even now. It’s not just the surface-level stuff that most people argue. That firm didn’t stop at the tertiary level—they kept digging until they found a solution that not only others could live with but also truly benefited the client. The experience I gained at HJM was invaluable, and I still use it every day.”
Is there a particular accomplishment or piece of work from your time at HJM that you’re especially proud of or still remember?
“We worked on so many issues. Each client had their own victories to celebrate for different reasons. One of the clients I enjoyed the most was in the mental health space. Mental health is finally getting more attention in today’s world than it probably did in the past, and people struggling with mental health issues—whether through insurance or just the resources available—don’t necessarily get the care they need. I found a lot of the work we did in that space personally fulfilling. I also always loved representing businesses, especially businesses in Baltimore City. I grew up watching all those jobs leave—the steel mill, General Motors, Westinghouse Electric—and when that evaporated, you saw a real change in Baltimore and the surrounding community. We had an industrial group that was working with manufacturing businesses and port-related activities, and I always loved working on their issues. It was about giving people who otherwise wouldn’t have opportunities the chance to have really good-paying jobs right here in Baltimore, trying to get bureaucracy out of the way and allow that sector to grow. Each client honestly had such interesting and unique issues that I would have never even imagined before I met them.”
What motivated you to pursue a judicial appointment?
“Going back to that question about justice—public service, it’s trying to serve the public in a way that ensures public safety. As a prosecutor, and later handling some defense and civil matters while I was at HJM, I sometimes went to court and watched from a completely different perspective. And sometimes the outcomes people were getting in court made me think we could do better as a government. It was that call to public service that drew me back to wanting to be a judge. I thought I’d gained such useful skills—not only trial skills as a lawyer, but the things I learned at HJM, the transactional skills with people, and everything else—and I thought it was just a good fit to provide a better court experience for people in this state, a court experience they deserve. People really want to be heard. They want to know that somebody is looking at the issues they bring to the court, that they’re getting the true attention they need, that the file’s been read, that all the pleadings have been read, and all the exhibits have been looked at. My career has just allowed me to better appreciate how much deeper you need to go than just the initial pleading or a small hearing. It was that call back to public service that really drew me to this job.”
What principles guide you as a judge?
“As a judge, you have to be fair and impartial—that’s the whole key. Fairness is nebulous. It’s a hard thing to really define. We all know what it is, but it’s hard to define. I always go back to trying to meet everybody where they are. I try to hear them fully. I try to let them express, in whatever terms they can—whether they’re represented or they’re before the court without counsel—the opportunity to be heard. That’s what the court is trying to do. And then I really just try to uniformly apply the law based on what’s before me, and not who’s before me.”
What advice do you have for students who are interested in law or public service?
“If you’re interested in law, you’re doing the right thing by getting a summer internship with a firm. With a judicial internship, you’re seeing the litigation side. With a firm internship, you’re seeing different things—transactional work, policy work. Each type of internship is extremely helpful, but always take the opportunity to go to court, observe court proceedings, and see the mechanics of the law in action. It’s hard to figure out what area of law to go into, but I think that’s something that can wait until you’re in law school—it’ll start to discern itself as you go through. Just interact with the system and find different ways to interact with it, not only the judicial system, but the legislative branch or the executive branch, if you can. All those internship opportunities are helpful.”
By: Caitlin Ralph and Max Fruman
