Tom is a member of the firm’s Atlanta, Georgia office, where he focuses on providing counsel to organizations serving children and youth and representation in administrative and court proceedings involving allegations of child abuse and neglect.  Tom brings to the firm expertise expertise in child welfare law and policy. 

Tom is a recognized national and international expert in child welfare law, practice, and policy, having served as a juvenile court judge, as Georgia’s State Child Advocate, and as the Director of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.  He is a board-certified child welfare law specialist attorney and regularly trains attorneys, judges, and other child protection and welfare professionals across the US and abroad.  That work has taken him to Romania, Guatemala, Lebanon, Peru, Thailand, Armenia, and Uzbekistan.

Tom graduated with honors from Duke University and the University of Georgia School of Law, which he attended on a Robert W. Woodruff Scholarship.  He went on to earn a masters’ degree from Oxford University in International Human Rights Law.  In mid-career, Tom served for three years in Guatemala as country director for International Justice Mission, where he built and led a team of professionals who worked alongside prosecutors to assist child victims of sexual abuse and convict their offenders.  He is a former Fulbright Senior Specialist in Law and has authored  books on juvenile court procedure and child protection policy.

Tom is licensed to practice law in Georgia.

PRACTICE AREAS

• Litigation
• Legislative and policy advocacy
• Child Welfare
• Child Protection

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Admitted to Georgia Bar, 1992
• U.S. Federal District Courts, Northern District of Georgia
• U.S. Federal District Courts, Middle District of Georgia

• S. Federal District Courts, Southern District of Georgia
• S. 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals
• Georgia Court of Appeals
• Georgia Supreme Court

EDUCATION

• Duke University, BA cum laude, 1989
• University of Georgia School of Law, JD cum laude¸1992
• Oxford University, M.St. International Human Rights Law, with distinction¸ 2018.

MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS

• State Bar of Georgia
• National Association of Counsel for Children, Child Welfare Law Specialist.
• TBRI Practitioner
• US Fulbright Association
• National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Lifetime Member.
• Kids Alive International, Board of Directors (Treasurer)
• Wellroot Family Services, Board of Directors (Program Committee Chair)
• Connections Homes, Board of Directors
• Global Impact, Board of Directors