Brent Thompson, Esq.

Brent Thompson has been selected to serve as the nonprofit’s new Executive Director effective February 28, 2022. Thompson succeeds Executive Director, Anthony J. (Tony) Karrat, who retired on January 31, 2022, after dedicating more than four decades of extraordinary service to the organization.

As Executive Director, Thompson will continue Legal Aid’s mission of providing high-quality free civil legal advice, representation, and education to vulnerable residents of Broward and Collier counties.  Prior to this role, Thompson served as the Executive Director of East River Legal Services, a non-profit that offers free legal services to more than 46,000 people living in poverty in Eastern South Dakota.

As Executive Director of East River Legal Services, Thompson enhanced program capacity resulting in a 300% increase in clients served per year. He also developed a new fundraising strategy, increased programming revenue, and successfully lobbied the South Dakota Legislature resulting in state funding for legal aid, a first in South Dakota’s history. Before joining East River Legal Services, Thompson served as a staff attorney for Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid for more than 11 years managing a high-volume caseload and co-chaired the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault Interdisciplinary Project Team. Thompson has argued before the Minnesota Court of Appeals and participated in establishing the Stearns County Domestic Violence Court. He graduated from the University of North Dakota School of Law.