In Memoriam: Thomasenia P. Duncan

Thomasenia “Tommie” P. Duncan of the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has died at age 60. She was elected to ALI in 2016 and participated in the Members Consultative Group for Principles of the Law, Data Privacy.

Below is an excerpt from her obituary:

Tommie's vibrant personality and authentic curiosity resulted in long-lasting friendships from childhood. She attended Roland Park Country Day School, where her passion for social justice and advocacy was nurtured. As a high school student, she interned at the State of Maryland Public Defenders Office in Baltimore City.

Tommie attended Brown University (Class of 1986) where she excelled academically and enriched campus life through her leadership in cultural arts programming. Her confidence, wry sense of humor and genuine spirit endeared her to a wide array of classmates, many of whom remain close friends.

Following college, Tommie pursued her commitment to advocacy and earned her J.D. at the University of Pennsylvania Law School (Class of 1989), where she was a member of the Penn Law Review. She completed her third year of law studies as a visiting student at Yale University Law School.

While Tommie started as a successful litigator at Covington & Burling, LLP, she couldn't deny her calling to public and community service. Thus began a journey, more like a mission than a career, that leveraged her nimble intellect to become a remarkable woman of public service.

Staying rooted in her dedication to change the conditions that perpetuate voicelessness, Tommie invested her time and talents in a wide range of organizations.

She served as General Counsel to the Federal Election Commission, America's Promise – The Alliance for Youth, and the Corporation for National and Community Service. She also served as Senior Legal Advisor to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; Acting Deputy Solicitor and Special Assistant to the Solicitor of the U.S. Department of Labor in the Clinton Administration; and, in her most recent position, Panel Executive for the United States Judicial Panel on Multi-district Litigation. She was an elected member of the American Law Institute.