Tom Walsh has practiced civil litigation for 35 years, specializing in appellate advocacy in state and federal courts.
He has successfully handled hundreds of summary judgments and appeals, including those resulting in landmark employment discrimination decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and by various federal and state appellate courts.
For three years (2002-2005) Tom served as an adjunct professor in legal research and writing at the University of Memphis Law School and has taught a number of seminars on legal writing for attorneys and judges.
Tom belongs to the Appellate Practice and Labor and Employment Law sections of the American Bar Association. Professionally, for a number of years he served as a volunteer hearing officer receiving ethics complaints against Tennessee attorneys and as a pro bono advocate for senior citizens. He has received recognition for his volunteer leadership in various church and civic organizations, and he is a charter member of the National Civil Rights Museum. He has also held various offices with the Yale Club of Memphis.
Recent Experience
- In 2008, Tom wrote successful summary judgment and appellate briefs for a manufacturer whose employee alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and a state whistleblower statute. Both federal courts held the client had properly sought to accommodate the employee's disability. The case was dismissed on all counts.
- In 2007, Tom wrote briefs for an 8th Circuit appeal resulting in a major victory for a manufacturer, the reversal of a jury's punitive damages award. A male employee claimed his female supervisor sexually harassed him, but the company had commissioned several investigations, and none of them substantiated the plaintiff's claims.
- In 2002, Tom helped write an amicus brief for the Society of Human Resource Management that resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision defining the interplay between the rights of disabled employees under the (ADA) and the rights of their co-workers under established seniority rights systems.
Recent Publications
- Kenneth D. Stein and Thomas J. Walsh, Jr., "Jury Trial Waiver-A New Workplace Trend," Lawyer Pilot Bar Association Journal, Fall 2008
- William A. Carmell and Thomas J. Walsh, Jr., "Applying U.S. Antidiscrimination Laws to Multinational Employers," Ch. 5 of International Human Resources Guide, Thomson West, 2008
Honors and Awards
- The Best Lawyers in America – Labor and Employment Law