Tom Garwood is certified by the Florida Bar as a Specialist in Labor and Employment Law.
He excels in the counseling of business and management for successful strategies and effective solutions to deal with the legal challenges and problems encountered in the workplace. He also has extensive experience as a negotiator and advocate in labor law proceedings and as a trial attorney in employment litigation.
In recognition of his accomplishments, Tom was inducted as a Fellow in the National College of Labor and Employment Lawyers in 1997. He is also admitted as an Associate in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).
Tom serves in the following roles: General Counsel to Employers Association of Florida, Inc.; General Counsel to Orlando/Orange County Convention Visitors Bureau; General Counsel to Florida Labor/Management Conference; member: Academy of Florida Management Attorneys; member of FordHarrison LLP Executive Committee.
Recent Experience*
- Counselor and advisor to one of the largest employers in the United States on strategic plans and the administration of issues in labor/management relationships with numerous labor unions.
- Counseled and advised employers with multi-state operations on successorship issues under federal labor law in the context of corporate mergers and acquisitions.
- Negotiated renewal collective bargaining agreements to cope with financial strains imposed on Employer by recession while avoiding threatened strike and/or picketing
- Provided legal direction and practical guidance for multiple Employers on needed measures and actions to adjust to changed economic conditions including development and proper implementation of RIFs, WARN compliance, and accomplishment of separations with restrictive covenants for key employees.
- Developed and managed litigation strategies for defense of numerous cases (federal) including complex, class, and collective actions
Honors and Awards
- The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Fellow
- The Best Lawyers in America – Labor and Employment Law, listed for 25 consecutive years (1988-2013)
- The Best Lawyers in America – Orlando Employment Law – Management "Lawyer of the Year" (2010 and 2013)
- Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers in Business
- Leading Florida Attorneys
- International Who's Who of Management Labour & Employment Lawyers
- Who's Who Legal
- "Florida's Legal Elite" by Florida Trend Magazine
- "Florida Super Lawyers" and "Super Lawyers - Corporate Counsel Edition" by Law & Politics magazine
- "Best Lawyer" by Florida Monthly magazine
- AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
*Per Florida Bar rules, information on litigation and other legal successes has not been disclosed but is available upon request.