Biography
Tom's practice encompasses corporate and business transactions involving intellectual property and technology transfers.
He provides strategic advice to large, midsize, and small companies on the management, protection, licensing and sale of their intellectual property, involving patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, and further advises on the protection of intellectual property rights through litigation and other enforcement actions.
Tom’s practice has also included handling federal government contracts and procurement matters, including GAO protests, defense systems acquisitions, bid protests, contractor claims, data and patent rights, sealed bid and negotiated procurements, procurement fraud, compliance advice concerning the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) and other agency procurement regulations.
Before Fox Rothschild
Tom was a partner and Practice Area Leader of the Business Group at Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, which combined with Fox Rothschild in 2018.
Beyond Fox Rothschild
Tom was appointed in 2024 by the Greenville County Council to the Greenville County Capital Projects Sales Tax Commission. He is a member of the Southeast Nuclear Energy Council. He serves as Secretary for the Veritas Catholic Information Center. Tom recently served as Chairman of the Greenville Area Development Corporation and previously served as Vice Chairman of the Greenville County Research & Technological Development Corporation. He was formerly a Patent Examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and member of the Board of Managers of the Carolina Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Law Association.
Tom is a former Judge Advocate and retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserves Judge Advocate General's Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel. As a Judge Advocate, Tom was an acquisition attorney. He also presided as Investigating Officer over numerous military justice hearings and as Legal Advisor over many military discharge boards.
Bar Admissions
- South Carolina
- U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Armed Forces
- U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina
Education
- Clemson University (B.S., 1982)
- Mechanical Engineering
- University of South Carolina School of Law (J.D., 1986)
Memberships
- South Carolina Bar
- Intellectual Property & Innovation Committee
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- Carolina Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Association
- Federal Circuit Bar Association
- International Legal Honor Society of Phi Delta Phi
- Southeast Nuclear Energy Council
Board of Directors
- Greenville Area Development Corporation
- Past Chairman
- Kiwanis Club of Greenville
- Past President
- Veritas Catholic Information Center
- Metatomic, Inc.
Honors & Awards
- Selected to the "IP Stars" list by Managing Intellectual Property (2017-2025)
- Named to the list of "Super Lawyers" for Intellectual Property in South Carolina (2021-2024)
- Named to the “Lawyer of the Year" list in South Carolina for Intellectual Property Litigation (2019) and Copyright Law (2021, 2024, 2026) by Best Lawyers
- Selected to the "Best Lawyers in America" list for Copyright Law and Litigation - Intellectual Property in Greenville, SC by Best Lawyers (2014-2024, 2026)
- Named to the “Legal Elite” list by Greenville Business Magazine for Intellectual Property & Innovation Law (2013-2025)
- South Carolina Lawyers Weekly "Leaders in the Law" (2018)
- Martindale-Hubbell's highest (AV) Preeminent Peer Review Rating
