Tom is experienced in advising individuals, private and public companies as well as professional organizations in a broad range of commercial civil litigation and regulatory proceedings often involving complex business disputes including allegations of breach of contract, fraud, defamation, anti-competitive conduct, violations of securities laws and duties owed by shareholders and partners.
He often advises clients in contests for corporate or partnership control, including in oppression actions and derivative claims. He is experienced in advising clients in investigations by regulators and enforcement agencies, such as the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Competition Bureau and the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and he has appeared before arbitration tribunals such as the American Arbitration Association, Judicial Arbiter Group and the International Chamber of Commerce.
He is admitted to practise in British Columbia and in New York.
Tom formerly served as adjunct professor of law at the University of British Columbia and Co-chair of the Civil Litigation Section of the Canadian Bar Association British Columbia Branch.
Year joined firm: 2022
Recent matter/case highlights:
- Advised a TSX-listed mining company, its affiliated service provider and its president and CEO in the prosecution of claims for defamation against an internet publisher of defamatory statements that resulted in one of the largest awards of its kind in Canada
- Advised the owner and operator of a British Columbia-based investment business in the aftermath of its collapse due to its investments in a Ponzi scheme in New York in relation to matters before the British Columbia Securities Commission, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the prosecution of civil claims in New York and the defence of civil claims in British Columbia
- Advised corporations, directors and officers, majority and minority shareholders and other interested parties in numerous actions involving derivative claims, allegations of oppressive conduct, misappropriation and fraud in contests for corporate or partnership control of businesses and other disputes between owners of businesses
- Advised a Portuguese software development company in an arbitration before the International Court of Arbitration (International Chamber of Commerce) in New York for the prosecution of claims relating to unpaid software license fees and other breaches of contract by a Korean manufacturer of mobile phones
- Advised a Vancouver mining company with assets in China and shares traded on the NYSE and TSX in claims related to a New York-based short-selling campaign of its publicly traded securities by individuals based in China that resulted in what was alleged to be false imprisonment and defamation in British Columbia
Key practice areas:
- Class action
- Commercial
- Competition/antitrust
- Construction
- Construction and real estate
- Dispute resolution
- Government and regulatory
- Labor and employment
- Securities
Sector expertise:
Academic qualifications:
- LLB, York University - Osgoode Hall Law School, 1997
- BBA in finance, Simon Fraser University
Bar Admissions:
- British Columbia Bar, 2008
- New York State Bar, 2011
