William Thaddeus Coleman III

Coleman was born in Boston on April 20, 1947, the son of William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. and his wife Lovida.[1] He was educated at Williams College (B.A., 1970), and Yale Law School (J.D., 1973).[2][3] 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.[4] After completing law school, he served as a clerk for federal District Judge Edward T. Gignoux.[3]

Coleman was admitted to the bar of Georgia in 1974, and has practiced law since then, most recently in Philadelphia.[2] In the 1990s, when Bill Clinton became President of the United States, he appointed Coleman General Counsel of the Army.[5] Coleman was the subject of a minor scandal in 1997 when he was accused of sexual harassment.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] He also has four stepchildren.[3]