When Deputy City Solicitor Ebony Thompson replaces City Solicitor Jim Shea after his retirement in January, she will initially serve in an acting capacity “in order to prevent any distractions” over qualifications for the role set by city charter, she told The Baltimore Banner.

The distinction will not limit Thompson’s ability to serve as Baltimore’s top lawyer.

While Shea made his retirement plans public earlier this month, he began developing his succession plan shortly after becoming the city’s top lawyer in January 2021. He told Mayor Brandon Scott he would hold the position for no more than two years.

Soon after entering City Hall, Shea privately tapped Thompson as his successor. The two attorneys worked together at Venable LLP, a national law firm that’s more than 120 years old. Shea led the firm as chairman for more than two decades before he left to lead the city law department; Thompson followed him, becoming his deputy early last year.

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She was admitted to the state bar in December 2013, after graduating from the University of Baltimore School of Law and holding several legal internships. When Shea retires, Thompson will be about 11 months shy of a decade of bar membership. City charter specifies the solicitor “shall be a member of the Maryland Bar, who has practiced the profession of law for not less than ten years.”

Thompson said she, Shea and the mayor discussed the charter requirement at length before publicly naming her to the role, and that all three believed and still believe she meets the charter’s criteria.

“However, my obligation as a lawyer is to serve my client,” she said. She told Scott she would like to serve as acting solicitor until December 2023 to prevent any distractions from “the robust agenda that Mayor Scott has and that I have for this law department.”

In Shea’s view, the charter establishes two distinct requirements: “One is that the solicitor be a member of the Maryland bar, and then a second provision requires at least 10 years of legal experience.”

He said Thompson is eminently qualified in the standards set forth in the charter, pointing to internships she held “representing real clients on real issues” during law school before she was barred, including at Venable and the Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos.

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Thompson, a Baltimore native and graduate of Baltimore City College high school, earned her bachelor’s degree from Brown University and her Master of Business Administration from American InterContinental University before heading to UB to study law. Before starting law school, she worked in New York as a private client group associate with UBS Global Asset Management.

In less than a year at City Hall, Thompson has risen to become one of Scott’s most visible aides, serving as his interim chief of staff for three months during a vacancy and leading the legal charge of implementing the administration’s newly unveiled squeegee action plan, which includes enforcing laws about panhandling in certain areas of the city.

City Council members have historically overwhelmingly approved mayoral appointments. If they approve Thompson, she will make history as the first Black woman to serve as city solicitor, as well as the first openly gay city solicitor.

Stephen Salsbury, who currently serves as the department’s chief of staff, will become deputy solicitor, Shea said.

In a statement, Scott described Thompson as a true daughter of Baltimore who is more than qualified to fill the role.

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“Since the day she joined the Law Department, she has demonstrated her deep commitment to making Baltimore a better, stronger and more equitable city for all of our residents,” the Democrat said.

emily.sullivan@thebaltimorebanner.com