Theodore Von Wells Jr. was born in Washington, D.C., in 1950 and grew up in a small rowhouse. His mother, Phyllis, worked in the Navy's mailroom. He attended Calvin Coolidge High School before enrolling at the College of the Holy Cross, where he became a Black Student Union leader and participated in a student walkout over racial conditions.
Wells graduated from Holy Cross in 1972. He then studied simultaneously at Harvard's law and business schools, earning his J.D. and M.B.A. in 1976. After clerking for Third Circuit judge John Gibbons, he joined Lowenstein Sandler in New Jersey.
At Lowenstein, Matthew Boylan became an important mentor. In a published interview, Wells recalled that Boylan put him in court early, examining witnesses and arguing motions. Wells described his initial ambition as learning to become a jury-trial lawyer.
He became a partner at Lowenstein in 1982 and represented public officials including former cabinet secretaries Raymond Donovan and Mike Espy. In 2000, he joined Paul, Weiss as a partner and litigation co-chair. The firm continues to list him in those roles, with work spanning white-collar defense, investigations and complex civil disputes.
His investigative work included the NFL's inquiry into workplace conduct at the Miami Dolphins.
Wells has also served in civil-rights and educational institutions. He is chairman emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund's board, which honored him with its Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. He joined the Harvard Corporation in 2013 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020.
