Bet-the-Company Litigation Commercial Litigation Corporate Law Litigation - Land Use and Zoning Litigation - Municipal Litigation - Real Estate
Thomas M. "Tom" Hale
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2008 Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
Thomas M. Hale is an experienced, skilled and effective trial and transactional lawyer who brings a wealth of knowledge to his clients in his practice areas of:
- Corporate and Transactional
- Employment and Labor
- Estate Planning, Administration and Trusts
- Local Government and Public Utilities
- Real Estate
- Professional Liability
- Litigation
- Commercial
- Corporate
- Municipal
- Land Use/Zoning
He is a solution seeker and problem solver and works hard as an advocate for his clients in an honest, straight-forward and professional manner. He exercises sound and prudent judgment in advising them of their legal alternatives, and his ability to clearly explain how the facts and the law are likely to converge, and what the most likely outcome would be, is of great benefit to his clients.
Mr. Hale tries all types of civil cases in both the federal and state courts throughout East Tennessee with specific emphasis in the areas of business-related disputes in contract, corporate, employment, as well as real estate and zoning/land use. He provides general commercial advice to local and national businesses.
His broad practice includes:
- Professional liability (legal malpractice and other professional errors and omissions defense)
- Contract preparation and review
- Advice on entity issues (i.e., corporate, partnership, LLC)
- Real property matters
- Uniform Commercial Code issues
- Purchases and sales of business entities
- Purchases, sales and leases of commercial real property
- Advice on obtaining and making loans
- Advice in the formation and governance of legal entities
For his corporate law practice, the prestigious, peer-review publication, Best Lawyers in America selected Mr. Hale for inclusion to its list each and every year since 2008, and also selected him as the "Knoxville Lawyer of the Year" in 2012. He has also been included in this publication each year since 2011 for his litigation-commercial, land use and zoning, municipal and real estate law practices.
Overview
- The University of Tennessee, J.D., graduated 1980
- The University of Tennessee, MBA, graduated 1980
- The University of Tennessee, BA, graduated 1976
- Tennessee, Tennessee Bar Association
- American Bar Association - Member
- Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee - Former Vice Chancellor
- Knoxville Bar Assocation - Former President-1997
- Knoxville Bar Association - Secretary - 1994-1995
- Knoxville Bar Foundation - Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Legal Aid of East Tennessee - President
- Tennessee Bar Association - Member
- Town of Farragut - Town Attorney
- Tennessee, Tennessee Bar Association
- American Bar Association - Member
- Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee - Former Vice Chancellor
- Knoxville Bar Assocation - Former President-1997
- Knoxville Bar Association - Secretary - 1994-1995
- Knoxville Bar Foundation - Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Legal Aid of East Tennessee - President
- Tennessee Bar Association - Member
- Town of Farragut - Town Attorney
- The University of Tennessee, J.D., graduated 1980
- The University of Tennessee, MBA, graduated 1980
- The University of Tennessee, BA, graduated 1976
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
- Litigation - Real Estate, Knoxville (2024)
- Corporate Law, Knoxville (2022)
- Litigation - Real Estate, Knoxville (2020)
- Litigation - Real Estate, Knoxville (2018)
- Corporate Law, Knoxville (2017)
- Litigation - Real Estate, Knoxville (2014)
- Corporate Law, Knoxville (2013)
- Litigation - Real Estate, Knoxville (2012)
- Corporate Law, Knoxville (2011)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Corporate Law
- Litigation - Land Use and Zoning
- Litigation - Municipal
- Litigation - Real Estate
Awards:
- Best Lawyers in America
- City View 2009-2015
- Fellow Tennessee Bar Foundation
- Fellow Knoxville Bar Foundation
- Managing Partner of Kramer Rayson LLP, 2001-2003
- Knoxville Bar Association's Governor's Award
News & Media
Case History
Cases
- City of Harriman v. City of Kingston, et al., 2011 Tenn. LEXIS 576
Successfully represented municipality through the Tennessee Supreme Court in suit by a neighboring municipality in which both municipalities sought to strike down the annexation by the other of the same territory.
- Jones v. Kayser-Roth Hosiery, Inc. 748 F. Supp. 1292 (E.D. Tenn. 1990)
One of the first cases brought as a class action under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) in which class of clients prevailed in recovering back pay and benefits for employer's failure to provide legally required notice of a plant closing.
- DeFord v. Secretary of Labor and Tennessee Valley Authority, 700 F.2d 281 (6th Cir. 1983)
A whistleblower case brought under the Energy Reoganization Act of 1974, 42 USCA § 5851, where client was discriminated against because he assisted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in an investigation of a plant owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
- New Covenant Baptist Church v. Panther Sark, No. E2002-02693-COA-R3-CV, 2003 Tenn App. LEXIS 472 (Tenn. Ct. App. July 8, 2003)
Successfully enforced restrictive covenants governing a commercial office park subdivision in preventing adjacent landowner from using a lot in the subdivision for the main point of access to the adjoining property.
- Birge v. Boeing, C/A No. 03A01-9609-CH-00295, 1997 Tenn. App. LEXIS 107 (Tenn. Ct. App. February 19, 1997)
Successfully defended employer's internal relocation policies as applied to management level employee.
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