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Thompson, 43, was killed when a Dodge Ram with an unlicensed driver at the wheel crossed the double-yellow line on a highway on Bear Spring Mountain in Walton, N.Y. Saturday afternoon and slammed head-on into his SUV, Delaware County authorities said.
Thompson's wife, attorney Wendy Hoeben, was released after being treated, but their 6-year-old son was taken to Westchester Medical Center with injuries that authorities said weren't life-threatening.
Born in Independence, MO, Thompson was a highly respected partner in the corporate department of Cravath Swaine & Moore, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, among other matters.
"Andrew was as kind-hearted and decent a man as he was a brilliant and accomplished lawyer," Cravath Swaine & Moore posted on its web site Tuesday.
"To his clients, he was a trusted advisor," the firm wrote. "To his colleagues, he was a role model and a mentor."
Thompson joined Cravath in 1999 and was elected a partner in 2006.
He received his law degree in 1999 from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and senior Articles Editor of the Columbia Business Law Review.
Thompson received his Bachelor of Arts -- Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa -- from Brown University in 1996.
His clients with Cravath came from various industries -- among them, energy and utilities, technology and defense, Law360 reported.
Asked how he would advise aspiring dealmakers, Thompson told Law360 the key is to "focus on getting as much deal experience as you can early on" and make connections "in the trenches" that can help down the line.
"If you are taking the time to understand as much as you can about the deals you are working on (including the business and financial aspects)," he said, "that is the best way to increase your knowledge base and judgment.
"It is necessary to invest effort over time to maintain and strengthen those connections, but the potential payoff makes it worthwhile."
Working one-on-one was, indeed, a strength.
"Whether negotiating a high-stakes M&A transaction or teaching an associate about the practice of law," Cravath Swaine & Moore wrote Tuesday, "Andrew always acted with good humor and equanimity.
"Andrew exemplified the very best of our Firm and we miss him greatly. Our deepest sympathies go to his wife, two children and his entire family, as well as everyone else who was fortunate enough to know Andrew."
For more on the crash, go to: https://tinyurl.com/thompsoncrash
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