Samuel C. Thompson, Jr.
Tax lawyer Samuel Coleman Thompson, Jr. was born on October 25, 1943 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Thompson and his family can trace their lineage to the 1600s. After Thompson and his family moved to the industrial town of Steelton, Pennsylvania in 1948, he graduated from Steelton High School in 1961. Thompson then received his B.S. degree from West Chester University in Pennsylvania and his M.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School and Graduate School of Economics in 1969.
Between Thompson’s first and second years of law school at the University of Pennsylvania, he was drafted into the Vietnam War, where he served for three years. During Thompson’s tenure, he rose to the rank of Captain, serving as Commanding Officer of Headquarters Company and received the Navy Commendation Medal. After returning to the United States, Thompson received his J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and began working as a legal writing instructor.
Between 1971 and 1972, Thompson worked briefly for Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York. Shortly thereafter, he earned his L.L.M. degree in taxation from New York University while working as an assistant and associate professor of law at Northwestern University. In 1976, Thompson published his first book, Pension Reform: How to Comply with ERISA, and served as an attorney advisor in the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel and International Tax Counsel for the U.S. Treasury Department.
In 1977, Thompson joined the faculty at the University of Virginia School of Law until 1981. He then served as the partner-in-charge of the tax department at the law firm of Schiff Hardin & Waite in Chicago, Illinois until 1990, when he joined the UCLA Law School faculty. There, Thompson taught courses on mergers and acquisitions and corporate taxation.
In 1994, Thompson left UCLA’s Law School to become the Dean of the University of Miami School of Law. During his tenure, Thompson created the Center for the Study of Mergers and Acquisitions and transferred it to the UCLA School of Law when he moved back to California in 2003. There, Thompson established the school’s first two endowed chairs, the Center for Ethics & Public Service and the Children and Youth Law Clinic.
Thompson published numerous books throughout his professional career including Federal Income Taxation of Domestic and Foreign Business Transactions, An Examination of the Effect of Recent Legislation on Commodity Tax Straddles and Investment Tax Credit: Alternative to the President’s Flawed Dividend Plan, Financed by ETI Repeal (Extraterritorial Income Exclusion).
Thompson was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 17, 2007.
A2007.145
Male
4/17/2007
Thompson
C.
Hygienic School
Steelton-Highspire High School
University of Pennsylvania
West Chester University
Millersville University
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Samuel
Harrisburg
THO14
Fall, Spring
Pennsylvania
St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Let's Roll.

Pennsylvania
10/25/1943
State College
United States
Swordfish
Academic administrator, tax lawyer, and law professor Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. (1943 - ) served as the partner-in-charge of the tax department at the law firm of Schiff Hardin & Waite in Chicago, Illinois. He taught law classes at the University of Virginia, UCLA and served as dean of the University of Miami School of Law.
Devereux Foundation
School District of Philadelphia
Philadelphia Department of Human Services
Davis, Polk & Wardwell, LLP
Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.). School of Law
University of Virginia
University of California, Los Angeles
United Sates Department of The Treasury
University of Miami
South Africa. Ministry of Finance
Yellow
Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Samuel C. Thompson, Jr.'s interview
Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. lists his favorites
Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. shares his parents' dates and places of birth
Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his mother's family background
Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his father's family background
Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes how his parents met
Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. lists his siblings
Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his earliest childhood memory
Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his parents' occupations
Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his experiences at the Hygienic School in Steelton, Pennsylvania
Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his experiences at Steelton-Highspire High School in Steelton, Pennsylvania
Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his undergraduate college experiences
Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. recalls his decision to attend the University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes the University of Pennsylvania Law School
Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. remembers his peers at the University of Pennsylvania Law School
Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his service in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War
Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. recalls the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. talks about his senior thesis at the Wharton School
Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes how he came to teach at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. talks about his interest in mergers and acquisitions
Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. remembers teaching at the Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois
Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his roles in education and government
Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. reflects upon his experiences of discrimination
Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. talks about his fellow African American law school deans
Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his role at Schiff Hardin and Waite
Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his political involvement
Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. lists his publications
Tape: 3 Story: 10 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes the Center for the Study of Mergers and Acquisitions
Tape: 3 Story: 11 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his role at the South African National Treasury
Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. recalls his civil rights activities the South
Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. recalls organizing the NAACP chapter at West Chester State College
Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. reflects upon his accomplishments
Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. remembers Wayne McCoy
Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. reflects upon his legacy
Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. talks about his family
Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his tenure as dean of the University of Miami School of Law, pt. 1
Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his tenure as dean of the University of Miami School of Law, pt. 2
Tape: 4 Story: 9 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. describes his career at the South African National Treasury
Tape: 4 Story: 10 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. recalls his departure from the University of Miami School of Law
Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. reflects upon affirmative action, pt. 1
Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. reflects upon affirmative action, pt. 2
Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. remembers writing for the National Black Law Journal
Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Samuel C. Thompson, Jr. narrates his photographs
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11$1