Tom has more than 30 years’ experience as a trial lawyer with Clark Hill. In addition to his trial practice, Tom also has vast experience in arbitration, facilitation, mediation and other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution. In appropriate circumstances, Tom encourages clients to consider ADR and other practical and creative solutions to avoid the expense and uncertainties of traditional litigation.
Tom represents clients in a broad variety of complex business and commercial related disputes. Tom’s clients include Fortune 500 companies, medium and small business, entrepreneurs, family businesses and individuals. Tom has experience with a broad range of industries including automotive, both OEM and suppliers, financial services including banking and structured settlements, insurance, steel, commercial real estate and property management, health care including home health care, non-profits, logistics and trucking, among various other industries. Tom has also served as national litigation counsel to companies in the computer services industry where he managed a host of business, commercial and employment related cases throughout the US and abroad.
Tom’s areas of emphasis and experience include claims involving:
- complex business and commercial litigation
- business torts including fraud, misrepresentation, theft and breach of fiduciary duty
- securities fraud
- employee theft and conversion
- supplier and UCC disputes
- shareholder disputes including shareholder oppression
- LLC member disputes
- sales commission disputes
- breach of warranty claims
- insurance coverage
- non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret litigation
- product liability defense including medical devices, automobile components, industrial trucks, and forklifts
- class action and mass tort claims
- structured settlement transfers and related litigation
Tom also represents clients in litigation involving wills, trusts, and probate estates. Tom’s experience with will and trust contests and related litigation involving claims of undue influence, lack of testamentary capacity, fraud, and duress has allowed Tom the opportunity to represent banks and other institutional fiduciaries, individual fiduciaries, families, and other trustees and personal representatives, in fraud, negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Tom has litigated trust cases involving some of the largest private estates in Michigan in addition to guardianship and conservatorship proceedings and claims of financial abuse of elderly persons. Tom is an expert on the topic of undue influence, having written and lectured on the topic nationally.
Tom proudly serves as a member of the Clark Hill Executive Committee, and he formerly served as Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation practice.
Tom’s areas of emphasis and experience include:
- will contests
- will construction and interpretation
- probate litigation
- trust contests
- trust reformation, construction and interpretation
- undue influence, lack of testamentary capacity and diminished mental capacity
- breach of fiduciary duty claims
- fiduciary litigation, including challenges to remove and surcharge fiduciaries
- fiduciary and attorney fee disputes
- prudent investor rule
- guardianship and conservatorship litigation
- financial abuse of the elderly
- spousal rights and elective share proceedings
- determination of, and challenges to, heirship
- actions to recover assets
