Peter Tomlinson is Co-Chair of Patterson Belknap and a Partner in the firm’s Litigation department, concentrating his practice in complex financial litigation. He is also Co-Chair of the Firm’s Structured Finance Litigation Practice Group. He represents Ambac Assurance Corporation in several high-stakes litigations involving residential mortgage-backed securities transactions, including Ambac v. Countrywide, Ambac v. Nomura, and Ambac v. U.S. Bank. He has negotiated settlements of disputes involving residential mortgage-backed securities leading to recoveries of billions of dollars. As a result of this significant settlement, Mr. Tomlinson was named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer. He also advises institutional investors in connection with structured finance transactions, including advising on their rights under the transaction documents, representing directing certificate holders in connection with litigation, and negotiating settlements on behalf of certificate holders. He has handled cases in various state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. He also represents law firms in high-stakes cases alleging malpractice, conflict of interest, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud.
A go-to litigator on various complex commercial matters, Mr. Tomlinson has handled cases in various state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. He was most recently featured in The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” column for securing a significant victory on behalf of the Baldwin County Bridge Company LLC, when a judge granted injunctive relieve against the Director of the Alabama Department of Transportation. Mr. Tomlinson represented BCBC, which owns and operates a toll bridge in Baldwin Country, Alabama, in its pursuit of a court order to preliminary enjoin bad faith conduct on part of the ALDOT director.
Chambers USA recognizes Mr. Tomlinson as a leading practitioner in Litigation: Securities Institutional Plaintiff. In the guide, clients note that he “has broad subject matter expertise and litigation skills, he’s commercial and creative and he also has strong relationships with clients and counsel on both sides.” The guide also maintains that he is “an experienced, savvy and creative litigator.” Peers have described Mr. Tomlinson as a “terrific lawyer.”
Mr. Tomlinson received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and his J.D. from Emory University School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. He served as a Law Clerk to both the Hon. Raymond J. Dearie, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and the Hon. Will Garwood, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He joined Patterson Belknap in 1996. He serves on the Firm’s Management Committee, and has served as Co-Chair of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee.
Updated Aug 2023
