Tom is a litigator and a trial attorney. He regularly handles multi-million exposures in all types of commercial and civil litigation in state and federal courts across the country. He represents individuals and companies in a broad range of matters including business litigation, construction, insurance coverage, products liability and professional liability.
Prior to joining Litchfield Cavo LLP in 1999, Tom served as claims counsel for CNA Insurance Company where he provided strategic legal oversight on claims with exposure more than $5 million, legal precedent and media interest. These exposures arose out of claims involving professional and malpractice claims including directors and officers liability, employment law, environmental mass torts, managed care, reinsurance, advertising injury, cyber claims, personal lines and extra-contractual liability risks.
Tom’s military service includes serving in the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) 1982-1985.
Practices
- Obtained summary judgment on behalf of condominium association and property management clients against Plaintiff who claimed they suffered an eye injury due to unsafe water chemical levels in our clients’ pool; after establishing that our clients fulfilled the duty of reasonable care and refuting claims of proximate cause, the court granted our motion.
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center, LLM, International and Comparative Law, 1993
- Thomas M. Cooley Law School, JD, 1992, cum laude
- University of Iowa, BS, 1989
Admissions
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Maryland
- United States District Courts: Northern District of Illinois, Central District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois, Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa, District of Maryland
- United States Court of Appeal: Fifth Circuit, Seventh Circuit
Associations
- Willow Creek Community Church Legal Ministry, Leadership Team
- Lifelink Charities, Former Board Director
Languages
- English
Professional Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Torts and Insurance Section, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, Former Vice-Chair
- Defense Research Institute (DRI)
- Korean American Bar Association
- National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Related News
Presentations/Publications
- Tom presents on various topics including e-commerce exposures, cyberspace jurisdiction, wrongful termination, successor liability and ethics.
- Tom regularly presents on insurance coverage topics including allocation, claims handling, and reading and understanding policies.
Recognition
- Elected to the 2019 Lawyers of Color inaugural Nation’s Best List
- Selected as an Illinois Leading Lawyer annually since 2016 by peers in the practice areas of Insurance, Insurance Coverage and Reinsurance Law, and Personal Injury Defense Law, a designation received by fewer than five percent of all lawyers licensed in Illinois