What did he accomplish?
...and two term Senator.
During which most of his energies went towards pushing for McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform. The only reason his name wasn't on the legislation is because three names would be a mouthful. He now says that the thing for which he dedicated his senatorial career was a mistake. That is the closest any politician has come to admit that their political career was a mistake.
well here is one such accomplishment:
Corruption case against Tennessee Governor
In 1977, Thompson represented Marie Ragghianti who was a former Tennessee Parole Board chair. Ragghianti had refused to release felons who had bribed aides to Democratic Governor Ray Blanton in order to obtain clemency.[19] With Thompson’s assistance, Ragghianti filed a wrongful termination suit against the office of Governor Blanton.
Thompson previously considered legal action on behalf of other state employees who were allegedly dismissed for political reasons. In the Ragghianti case, Thompson helped to expose the cash-for-clemency scheme which eventually led to the removal of Blanton from the Governor’s office.[13] In July 1978, a jury awarded Ragghianti $38,000 in back pay, and ordered her reinstatement.[19] Ragghianti’s case would garner national attention, leading to the publication of a book titled, Marie, and a film of the same name.
another would be the watergate hearings:
Thompson was appointed minority counsel for the hearings surrounding the Watergate scandal.[15] According to Fox News, Thompson was responsible for Sen. Baker asking one of the questions that is said to have led directly to the downfall of President Richard Nixon—”What did the President know, and when did he know it?”[16] Also, Thompson himself asked former White House aide Alexander Butterfield at the public committee hearing about listening devices in the White House, although he already knew the answer to that question because Butterfield had earlier been interviewed by Senate investigators in closed session.[15][13]
Nixon was reportedly angry that Thompson had been selected as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate committee; Nixon believed the young Thompson was not skilled enough to interrogate unfriendly witnesses, and was apt to be outfoxed by committee Democrats.[17] According to historian Stanley Kutler, Fred Thompson and Howard Baker “carried water for the White House, but I have to give them credit — they were watching out for their interests, too....They weren’t going to mindlessly go down the tubes” for Nixon.[17]
In response to renewed interest in this matter, Thompson says “I’m glad all of this has finally caused someone to read my Watergate book, even though it’s taken them over thirty years.”[18]
and here is some general info while he was an attorney:
Thompson was admitted to the State Bar of Tennessee in 1967 and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1969 to 1972.[10] He was the campaign manager for Republican U.S. Senator Howard Baker’s successful re-election campaign in 1972, which led to a close personal friendship with Baker. He later served as co-chief counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee in its investigation of the Watergate scandal, (1973–1974), and afterwards wrote a book about it.[11] Among the cases Thompson has handled in his private law practice are personal injury claims and the defense of individuals accused of white collar crimes.[12]
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Thompson worked primarily as an attorney, with law offices in Nashville and Washington, DC. His work included serving as special counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1980 and the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1982, and a wide variety of other legal work.[9] Some of his clients have been foreign corporations, such as a German mining group and Japan’s Toyota Motors Corporation.[13] Thompson has also served on various corporate boards; for example, in the 1990s, he did legal work for the engineering firm Stone & Webster, while serving on its board of directors.[14]
as for Senator:
While in the Senate, Thompson served as the chairman of the Committee on Governmental Affairs from 1997 to 2001. The committee investigated alleged Chinese attempts to influence American politics prior to the 1996 elections. During 1997, Thompson was “largely stymied” during his U.S. Senate investigations of both Clinton-Gore and GOP campaign fund-raising activities, with witnesses declining to testify, claiming the right not to incriminate themselves, or simply leaving the United States’ jurisdiction.[34] Thompson’s final report on the matter also pointed to another problem: “Our work was affected tremendously by the fact that Congress is a much more partisan institution than it used to be.”[35]