William Thaddeus Coleman III (born 1947) is an American lawyer who served as General Counsel of the Army during the Clinton administration.
Biography Coleman was born in Boston on April 20, 1947, the son of William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. and his wife Lovida.William T. Coleman with Donald T. Bliss, Counsel for the Situation: Shaping the Law to Realize America's Promise (Brookings Institution, 2010), p. 75 He was educated at Williams College (B.A., 1970), and Yale Law School (J.D., 1973).Profile from Lawyers.com During his first year at law school, he was befriended by fellow law student Bill Clinton and the two were roommates during their second year of law school.Robert E. Levin, Bill Clinton: The Inside Story (S.P.I. Books, 1992), p. 88 After completing law school, he served as a clerk for federal District Judge Edward T. Gignoux.
Coleman was admitted to the bar of Georgia in 1974. In the 1990s, when Bill Clinton became President of the United States, he appointed Coleman General Counsel of the Army.Tamara Loomis, "Did Affirmative Action Really Hinder Clarence Thomas?", Law.com, June 2, 2008 Coleman was the subject of a minor scandal in 1997 when he was accused of sexual harassment.Associated Press, "Latest scandals involve an Army lawyer, admiral", May 31, 1997 An investigation into the allegations by the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense later concluded that, while Coleman had told some off-color jokes, he had not committed sexual harassment.Times Wires Reports, "Army's Top Lawyer Cleared of Charges", March 28, 1998
Coleman married his wife, Allegra Saenz Coleman, in 2003, and together the couple have two children: William Thaddeus Coleman IV and Amadeus Alexander-Browne Coleman.Profile of Allegra Saenz Coleman as Contributing Writer of Impact Times magazine He also has four stepchildren.
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