Patricia H. Thompson is the recipient of the Fidelity Law Association’s 2024 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Award.
 
Patricia is a natural choice because she was at the forefront of increasing the involvement of women and other diverse professionals in the fidelity and surety industries. At a time when there were few women and other diverse professionals involved in our industry, Patricia made a concerted effort to ensure that new, different faces felt welcome and got involved. If you ask any diverse member of the Fidelity & Surety Law Committee (FSLC) or FLA who started attending conferences in the 1990s or aughts, they likely will have a story about the role Patricia played in that person becoming involved, notwithstanding a membership that was far more non-diverse than it is today. The prominent role that women and other diverse professionals now play in fidelity (and surety) industry groups is due, in large part, to Patricia's ceaseless efforts. She was and still is a model for welcoming newcomers and promoting inclusion in our industry. 

Patricia was the Chair of the FSLC in 1998-99 and received the Martin J. Andrew Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fidelity and Surety Law in 2012. She is an attorney whose law practice spanned over 46 years and was a partner of the law firm Carlton Fields until her retirement in 2016. She is currently a full-time arbitrator and mediator at JAMS.