Joshua Thompson directs the legal operations at Pacific Legal Foundation, where he works on hiring, developing talent, setting and tracking litigation goals, managing attorneys, and doing all he can to make PLF's litigation operate smoothly.
Joshua joined PLF as an attorney in 2007. His litigation practice has covered all PLF subject areas with a particular focus on equality and opportunity. Joshua argued PLF’s 13th victory before the United States Supreme Court, Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, where the court ruled that a California regulation that allowed union organizers onto private property violated the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. Other litigation highlights of his include ending a decades-long racial quota in Hartford, Connecticut, lifting a ban on boys’ dancing in Minnesota, and vindicating an entrepreneur’s right to start a moving business in Kentucky.
Joshua’s writings have been published by the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. And his research has been published in journals such as Texas Review of Law & Politics, Alabama Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Law Review, Journal of Civil Rights & Economic Development, and Northern Illinois University Law Review. He has appeared on national television and radio, including PBS Newshour, NPR’s All things Considered, Stossel, and Univision.
Joshua earned his BA with distinction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a triple major in political science, international relations, and German. He earned his JD cum laude from Michigan State College of Law where he was on the law review and trial practice institute. Joshua lives in Sacramento, California with his wife and three children. He loves playing chess and rooting for Wisconsin sports teams.
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Private Power and Eminent Domain
2021 National Lawyers Convention
The Mayflower Hotel1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Cedar Point Nursery v. Gould
Fresno Lawyers Chapter
First Floor Conference Room265 E River Park Circle
Fresno, CA 93720
Public Interest Roundtable with IJ, PLF, and NCLA
Columbia Student Chapter
Zoom Webinar -- Columbia Law SchoolZoom
New York, NY 10027
Litigation Update: Hartford Connecticut Magnet School Discrimination
Civil Rights Practice Group Teleforum
TeleforumPrivate Power and Eminent Domain
2021 National Lawyers Convention
The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in...
Private Power and Eminent Domain
2021 National Lawyers Convention
The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in...
Litigation Update: Hartford Connecticut Magnet School Discrimination
Civil Rights Practice Group Teleforum
Black and Hispanic children in Hartford, Connecticut are lined up in waiting lists hundreds deep...
Does Title II of the Civil Rights Act prohibit racially disparate impacts?
Our civil rights laws are designed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of certain traits....
Hardie v. NCAA: Can the NCAA Bar Convicted Felons from Coaching in NCAA-Certified Recruiting Tournaments? - Podcast
Civil Rights Practice Group Podcast
Hardie v. NCAA is a recently argued case from the Ninth Circuit. It involves a...