With a career-long record of successes as a litigator and handler of complex cases, Archer's Bill Thompson has long been one of New Jersey's most respected and accomplished divorce lawyers. Thompson today is chair of the firm's family law department, itself one of the most influential in the state.

Thompson brings his own unique style to the profession: A family lawyer who is also a family man, he is widely regarded for his integrity and for his community leadership. As an attorney he assumes a large caseload that's the envy of his peers, but it also requires organization and efficiency unique to only the best lawyers. And he's known as something of a quiet warrior, for maintaining discretion and shielding his clients from public scrutiny.

The son of an electrician and the grandson of a coal miner, Thompson grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he was a popular high-school athlete. He was one of the first in his family to attend college. At Juniata College, near Harrisburg, he ran track, and set his sights early on prestigious Penn Law School. Before his final year at Penn, Haddonfield-based Archer offered the young law student a clerkship; Thompson has worked nowhere else, a rarity in today's profession.

Over the years, Thompson earned his place as an exceptionally well prepared and effective litigator. That became the basis for his steady move into matrimonial law, and it's been his focus for almost a decade. In fact, his diligence in his specialty has earned him his current role as chair of the firm's Family Law practice. He continues his courtroom work on many complex and contested cases.

Thompson is a supporter of many community causes. He and his family live in Medford, N.J.