Anne Tompkins ’84

August 8, 2024
Categories: 2019 Alumni Awards

Distinguished Alumna Award

With over 20 years of experience in government and private practice, Anne M. Tompkins has been advocating for clients, trying more than 30 cases to verdict.

Tompkins earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from UNC Charlotte in 1984, her master’s degree in public administration from UNC Chapel Hill and her law degree from the UNC School of Law.

Currently, she is a partner in Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Group and a member of the firm’s Management Committee.

Tompkins was the United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina from April 2010 to March 2015, leading numerous high-profile, complex criminal and civil investigations during her tenure. This includes the public corruption case involving Patrick Cannon, the former mayor of Charlotte; the national security case against former general and CIA Director David Petraeus; numerous securities and financial fraud cases; as well as significant matters in the mortgage-backed securities business. Her dedication to justice earned her the title of the 2014 Charlottean of the Year by Charlotte Magazine.

She also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Western District of North Carolina, during which time she was detailed for eight months to the Regime Crimes Liaison Office in Baghdad, Iraq, where she assisted the Iraqi Special Tribunal investigation into international humanitarian crimes committed by members of the regime of Saddam Hussein.

Tompkins served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, was appointed co-chair of the Civil Rights Subcommittee and was an active member of the Health Care Fraud and White Collar Crime Subcommittees.

Tompkins and her partner, J’Nell Bryson, established the Anne M. Tompkins Endowed Scholarship for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2017, in an effort to support first-generation college students pursuing a degree in liberal arts and sciences. They hope that this scholarship helps students achieve both personal and professional fulfillment.

As an adjunct professor at UNC Charlotte, Anne shares her passion for justice with students through her course entitled “Justice, Law, and Order – Beyond the Headlines.”