The Advocate

Tom has practiced as a commercial litigator for more than thirty years, both in Canada and in the United States as a member of the New York Bar.

Combining creative and proven problem-solving abilities with well-practiced courtroom skills, Tom is skilled in analyzing complexity and synthesizing compelling advocacy. He has brought those skills to bear successfully in trials and substantive pre-trial proceedings in the Ontario Superior Court and the Federal Court of Canada, and on appeals in both the Federal and Ontario Courts of Appeal.

His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including insolvency and recovery, fraud, and professional negligence matters. In addition, he has extensive experience in the enforcement of intellectual property rights, with particularized knowledge and experience in matters involving the Copyright Act and the Trade-marks Act. To assist clients in enforcing both their rights as creditors and their intellectual property rights, Tom has developed significant experience in obtaining and supervising the execution of Anton Piller Orders and Preservation Orders and securing subsequent judicial approval of the issuance and execution of those Orders.

Education, Professional Practice and Development

Tom is a Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Lehigh University where he majored in International Relations and minored in Philosophy with a concentration in Ethics.

Having grown up on a weekly diet of Perry Mason’s courtroom victories, law school beckoned. He received his Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law.

Not content with practicing law in only one country, after moving to Canada, Tom attended the University of Toronto – Faculty of Law as a special student in conjunction with obtaining his Qualification Certificate from The Joint Committee on Foreign Accreditation.

Tom conducts training sessions, workshops and lectures on anti-counterfeiting enforcement for the RCMP, various regional and municipal police forces, representatives of Canada Customs, private investigators, and various professional organizations. In addition, he has authored and co-authored materials on issues relevant to enforcement of intellectual property rights, such as:

• “U.S. and Canada Part II:  Canada and the Borders Beyond,” INTA Anti-counterfeiting Forum 2005,

• “Pre-Trial Remedies for Intellectual Property Infringement,  Strategic Tips for Litigating Intellectual Property Cases,” Osgoode Hall Law School Professional Development Program, March 2005,

• “Intellectual Property in the Criminal Context: The Effectiveness of Copyright and Trade-mark Penalties,” Ontario Bar Association Professional Development Program, May 2009, and

• “Anti-counterfeiting: A Global Guide,”World Trademark Review (2010, 2011 and 2012).

In addition, Tom is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and its Entertainment, Media and Communications Section, the Canadian Intellectual Property Council, the Canadian Anti-Counterfeiting Network. He was a past committee member on issues of Court Reform in Ontario where he participated in the development of the Ontario Civil Case Management Rules.

Outside the Law

Tom devotes his free time to spending time with family and engaging the attention of an energetic and enthusiastically friendly English Bull Terrier (Zoe).

In addition, Tom enjoys travel (not for business), reading, movies and a wee drop of single malt. And then, there is baseball and golf:

• He is a member of the Executive and coaches youth baseball with the East Toronto Baseball Association, and, for a number of years, was an officer with the Toronto Baseball Association during which time he acted as a liaison with the Toronto Blue Jays and helped shape the organizations’ efforts to promote “grass roots” baseball in the GTA,

• His golf game is best left un-described in a public forum.