Practice Expertise

  • Advertising and Marketing Compliance and ...
  • Asbestos Litigation
  • Benzene Litigation
  • Advertising Compliance and Counseling

Areas of Practice

  • Advertising and Marketing Compliance and ...
  • Advertising Compliance and Counseling
  • Asbestos Litigation
  • Benzene Litigation
  • Class Action, Multidistrict Litigation
  • COVID-19 Litigation
  • Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts
  • Fourth Circuit Practice (US Court of Appeals ...
  • Glyphosate Litigation
  • Litigation
  • National Business Tort and Product Liability
  • PFAS Interdisciplinary Team
  • Product and Mass Tort Litigation
  • Product Liability and Mass Tort Litigation
  • Product Safety and Regulatory Compliance
  • Retail and Consumer Products Litigation
  • View More

Profile

Tom is co-head of the firm’s product liability and mass tort litigation practice group. His practice focuses on class action, mass tort and environmental litigation.

Tom is a litigator, handling complex civil matters, including class actions and mass torts. He has successfully defended class actions and product liability cases on behalf of companies in a variety of industries, including consumer and industrial products, energy and transportation.

At every phase of a matter, Tom works towards a successful resolution that aligns with each client’s business, strategic and legal goals. Tom’s practice extends beyond litigation: he counsels and advises clients regarding regulatory issues and risk mitigation. Tom represents multiple Fortune 100 companies in consumer class action, mass tort, product liability and environmental litigation in trial and appellate courts across the United States. He has also represented companies in class actions relating to alleged data breaches; securities fraud; and violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and Title VII.

Before joining the firm, Tom worked in politics. He ran a campaign in 1999, served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education of Virginia, and was named Acting Assistant Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth in 2001. Tom is admitted to practice in the US Supreme Court, the US Court of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, District of Columbia and Federal Circuits, the District Courts for the District of Columbia, the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia, the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Eastern and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, the Southern District of New York, the Northern District of Illinois, the Northern District of Ohio, the District of Maryland, and all state courts of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Relevant Experience

  • Lead counsel for major personal care products manufacturer in class actions relating to labeling, marketing and formulation of shaving gel, sunscreen and aftersun care products.
  • Lead counsel for Fortune Global 20 electronics manufacturer in class actions alleging violations of federal law and FTC regulations regarding consumer product warranties.
  • Lead counsel for multinational chemicals company in class action alleging contamination of groundwater with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
  • Lead counsel for manufacturer of pressure-treated lumber in nationwide class action alleging product defects, breach of warranty and violations of consumer protection statutes.
  • National coordinating counsel for multinational industrial manufacturer in litigation arising from alleged trace benzene and solvent exposure.
  • National coordinating counsel for major consumer products manufacturer in litigating arising from alleged asbestos contamination of raw materials used in historical products.
  • Lead counsel for multinational manufacturer of industrial and automotive coatings in multijurisdictional breach-of-contract litigation against purchasers arising from longterm supply and incentiver agreements.
  • Lead counsel for telecommunications provider in class action in the Eastern District of Virginia relating to alleged violations of the TCPA and state consumer protection statutes.
  • Lead counsel for industrial products manufacturer in litigation against IT services provider regarding breach of outsourcing agreements.
  • Represent Fortune 10 company in a nationwide product liability class action involving over 50 million household appliances, resulting in denial of class certification and nuisance-value individual settlements for the two named plaintiffs.
  • Represent leading manufacturer of consumer electronics in class actions across the country alleging violations of consumer protection statutes arising from the sale of cell phones, televisions, and home appliances.
  • Represent consumer product manufacturer in data breach class action alleging release of highly confidential customer information.
  • Represent a Fortune 100 company in several mass actions brought by foreign-national plaintiffs seeking recovery for alleged occupational and environmental exposure overseas.
  • Tried cases to jury verdict, drafted and argued successful motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment in state and federal courts, and drafted successful appellate, class certification and expert admissibility briefs.
  • Taken and defended the depositions of expert witnesses and fact witnesses, including corporate representatives.
  • Served as a Special Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Richmond on a pro bono basis, prosecuting a wide range of criminal matters.

Bar Admissions

  • New York
  • Pennsylvania
  • Virginia

Education
BA, Hampden-Sydney College, Economics, Classics, 1999

Areas of Practice

  • Advertising and Marketing Compliance and Regulatory Counseling
  • Advertising Compliance and Counseling
  • Asbestos Litigation
  • Benzene Litigation
  • Class Action, Multidistrict Litigation
  • COVID-19 Litigation
  • Environmental Litigation and Toxic Torts
  • Fourth Circuit Practice (US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit)
  • Glyphosate Litigation
  • Litigation
  • National Business Tort and Product Liability
  • PFAS Interdisciplinary Team
  • Product and Mass Tort Litigation
  • Product Liability and Mass Tort Litigation
  • Product Safety and Regulatory Compliance
  • Retail and Consumer Products Litigation

Professional Career

Significant Accomplishments
  • Represent multiple Fortune 100 companies in mass tort, product liability and environmental litigation in trial and appellate courts across the United States.
  • Represent financial institutions in class actions relating to alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Truth in Lending Act, securities fraud and other claims.
  • Represent a Fortune 100 company in several mass actions brought by foreign-national plaintiffs seeking recovery for alleged occupational and environmental exposure overseas.
  • Represent a Fortune 100 company in CERCLA actions and a personal-injury class action relating to operation of a Caribbean refining facility.
  • Represent a major equipment rental company in a class action relating to alleged fraud and deceptive trade practices in fuel sales to customers.
  • Represent an energy company in class action relating to determination of ownership of coalbed methane.
  • Tried cases to jury verdict, drafted and argued successful motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment in state and federal courts, and drafted successful appellate, class certification and expert admissibility briefs.
  • Taken and defended the depositions of expert witnesses and fact witnesses, including corporate representatives.
  • Served as a Special Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Richmond on a pro bono basis, prosecuting a wide range of criminal matters.


Professional Associations
  • Co-chair, Virginia Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division Membership Committee
  • Member, John Marshall Inn of Court

Professional Activities and Experience
  • Rising Star, Virginia Super Lawyers magazine, 2009, 2013-2016
  • Recipient, Hunton & Williams E. Randolph Williams Pro Bono Award, 2007-2009


Articles

  • Causation and the Use of Experts in Toxic Tort Cases, Toxic Tort Litigation, Second Edition
  • 2nd Circ. Slack-Fill Ruling Makes Injunctive Relief Harder, Class Action 360
  • Chapter 3: “Picking the Right Place: Venue Selection and Jurisdictional Considerations”, From the Trenches III - Pretrial Strategies For Success, American Bar Association
  • 9th Circ. Courts Should Ditch Obsolete Class Notice Standard, Law360
  • 2017 Hunton Andrews Kurth Retail Industry Year in Review
  • Consumer-Fraud Suits Against Product Retailers A Harbinger of New PFAS Class-Action Wave?, Washington Legal Foundation, Counsel’s Advisory, Vol. 28, No. 2
  • Expert Analysis: How to Defend Against Multi-Model Product Class Actions, Westlaw Journal Class Action, Volume 23, Issue 12
  • Following on the FTC’s Heels, Plaintiffs’ Firms File Dozens of Class Actions Against Retailers and Manufacturers Alleging Technical Violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Retail Industry 2022 Year in Review
  • 2012 Eastern District of Virginia Intellectual Property Year In Review
  • Why Enviros, Agencies Disagree On Safe Glyphosate Levels, Law360

Blogs

Privacy and Information Security Law Blog

Global privacy and cybersecurity law updates and analysis. Computerworld magazine has named Hunton & Williams the top firm for privacy for the fourth consecutive year based on a survey of more than 4,000 corporate privacy professionals. In addition, Chambers and Partners rated Hunton & Williams the top Privacy and Data Security practice in its Chambers Global, Chambers USA and Chambers UK guides, noting that the firm “is highly regarded for the strength of its excellent team.”

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