Tom's practice focuses primarily on serving as outside general counsel and trusted and strategic advisor to emerging, growth-oriented companies.
An integral component of Tom's practice is his active leadership in Arizona's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Currently, Tom is a member of the Board of StartupAZ Foundation, where he recently was appointed to serve as its Chairman. He also served as Chairman of its Founders Collective Committee. He is a member of Greater Phoenix Leadership and a former Board member and past Chairman of Invest Southwest. He is a regular panelist in the Arizona Commerce Authority's (ACA's) Venture Ready program and is a longtime judge (at each level) in the ACA's AZ Innovation Challenge. Tom's entrepreneurial ecosystem involvement spans the last 30+ years. See the "Activities" tab for more information. He received the Arizona Technology Council's William F. McWhorter Community Service award in 2015; the honor, awarded at the annual Governor's Celebration of Innovation, recognizes an individual or organization that contributes to Arizona's technology industry "through relentless community involvement, leadership, visibility and excellence in economic development activity." He has been an active angel investor, and involved in Arizona Technology Investors angel investing activities. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Kansas University, the Executive Board of the Grand Canyon Council, B.S.A., the Board of Managers of Ryver, LLC, the Board of Directors of ExsoMed Corporation, and advisory boards of Hivewyre, LLC and Phanto, LLC.
Lawyer Client Comments