Thompson, Ralph W. III

Current Employment Position(s)

Owner and Managing Attorney

Lawyer Overview

Mr. Thompson served as Monterey County Deputy District Attorney from 1968 to 1971. In 1971 he co-founded Thomas, Panetta & Thompson. He was the managing partner of that firm and its successors through 1996. (Partner Donald A. Thomas was appointed to the bench in 1972. Partner Leon E. Panetta was elected to Congress in 1976 and served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and United States Secretary of Defense.) Mr. Thompson founded The Thompson Law Office in 1997. Mr. Thompson also offers private arbitration and mediation services. He and his firm are committed to professional excellence, the highest ethical standards, civility in their business and professional relationships, and service to the community. Mr. Thompson is AV Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.

Areas of Practice

• Trust and Estate Litigation
• Elder Law
• Business and Real Estate Litigation
• Insurance Bad Faith and Coverage Issues
• Wills, Trusts and Probate
• Serious Injury and Wrongful Death Claims
• Professional Negligence

Representative Cases

• Geertz v. Ausonio, 4 Cal. App. 4th 1363 (Court of Appeal, 6th District 1992)

West Practice Categories

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bad Faith Insurance, Elder Law, Insurance, Litigation & Appeals, Personal Injury, Probate & Estate Administration, Products Liability, Professional Malpractice, Trusts

Bar Admissions

• California, 1968
• U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1968
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, 1972
• U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 1981

Professional Associations and Memberships

• California State Bar Association, 1968 - Present (Member, Chair Litigation/Jury Instructions Section (1984-1986))
• American Bar Association
• Monterey County Bar Association, 1968 - Present (Member, Past President (1995))
• Monterey County Superior Court (Judicial Arbitrator and Mediator)
• Monterey County Trial Lawyers Association (President (1984-1985))
• Consumer Attorneys of California, 1974 - 2000 (Member, Member Board of Governors (1984-1990))
• Legal Services for Seniors (Past President (1993-1995) and Member, Council of Advisors)
• Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, 1998 - Present (Member, Board of Directors (Board Chair, 2000))

Honors and Awards

• Chief Justice Gibson Award for Outstanding Community Service (2003) awarded by the Monterey County Bar Association
• Loma Linda University (La Sierra), Alumnus of the Year Award (1985)
• The Robert C. Littlefield Award for Community Service (2007) awarded by the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

Classes and Seminars

• Instructor in Law, Criminal Law and Criminal Evidence, Monterey Peninsula College, 1969 - 1977
• Adjunct Professor, Administration of Justice, Constitutional Law, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and Political Science, undergraduate and graduate levels, Golden Gate University, 1971 - 1986
• Professor, Legal and Public Policy Programs, Civil Litigation, Civil Procedure, and Tort and Personal Injury Practice, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1997 - 2001
• Speaker/Panelist, National Convention Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation, 1987
• Speaker/Panelist, California Trial Lawyers Association Advocacy College, 1989
• Speaker/Panelist, California Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention, 1990
• Speaker/Panelist, Mediation and Arbitration, California Judges Association 10th Annual Retired Judges Conference, 1998
• [State of California Standard Teaching Credential (Life), 1969]

Past Employment Positions

• U.S. Treasury Department, Assistant Trust Examiner, 1967 - 1968
• Monterey County District Attorney's Office, Deputy District Attorney, 1968 - 1971

Education

• California Western School of Law, San Diego, California, June, 1967
  Juris Doctorate
• Loma Linda University, Riverside, California, June, 1964
  Bachelor of Arts
  Major: History
  Minor: Political Science
  Minor: French

Ancillary Businesses

• The Thompson Mediation & Arbitration Center

Address

580 Calle Principal
First Floor
Monterey, CA 93940-2812

Phones

831-646-1224

Faxes

831-646-1225

Emails

rwt@lawmonterey.com

Websites

http://www.lawmonterey.com