Tom is a commercial litigator. His practice focuses on appeals, judicial reviews, and complex commercial matters.
Tom has an active appellate practice and regularly appears before the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Tom has also been counsel at the Supreme Court of Canada and regularly prepares written submissions in that court. Tom also acts for clients in domestic arbitral proceedings and before various administrative bodies in British Columbia. In 2023, Tom was recognized by his peers in The Best Lawyers® in Canada: Corporate Commercial Litigation.
Prior to joining Fasken, Tom clerked for the Court of Appeal for British Columbia. After clerking, Tom practiced at a national law firm and then a boutique law firm in Vancouver.
Tom is an active member of the appellate advocacy community. He is on the executive of the Appellate Advocacy section of the Canadian Bar Association – BC Branch. Tom also serves as a referral counsel for Access Pro Bono’s Court of Appeal Program and has taken on a number pro bono appeals under that program
Tom also is a contributor to continuing legal education programs in British Columbia. He co-authors the Civil Appeal Handbook published by the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia and the CanLII BC Civil Litigation Manual, and regularly appears as a panelist on civil appeal matters. In 2023, Tom will be serving as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia teaching conflicts of law.
Notable Cases
Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65/ Bell Canada v. Canada (Attorney General), 2019 SCC 66
Gascoigne v. Desjardins Financial Security Life Assurance Company (Desjardins Insurance), 2020 BCCA 316
Charbonneau Estate v. Charbonneau, 2021 BCCA 206
Peace River Hydro Partners v. Petrowest Corp., 2022 SCC 41
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2021 FCA 157, leave to appeal dismissed, 2022 CanLII 21677 (SCC)
