Tom is Of Counsel in the firm's Los Angeles Office. His practice focuses on complex, high-stakes litigation in the areas of technology, intellectual property, entertainment, and privacy.
Tom has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts around the country. He's prevailed against the Estate of William Faulkner in a copyright case in Mississippi against Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, and against famed New Orleans musician Paul Batiste in multiple copyright claims against Grammy-winning recording artist T-Pain in Louisiana. He's won dismissal of Viacom International from a trademark case by Gibson Guitars, and summary judgment for David Guetta for The Black Eyed Peas' Grammy-winning I Gotta Feeling. Tom has represented Google in the groundbreaking lawsuit by Perfect 10, establishing Google's eligibility for multiple safe harbors against money damages under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Tom's practice has included multiple other areas of litigation, including false advertising, trade secrets, white collar crime, trusts and estates, internal investigations, and appeals.
A significant part of Tom's practice focuses on privacy law. In addition to being a seasoned litigator, Tom is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), and served as Data Protection Officer and Privacy Counsel for a major trade association. Tom represents both plaintiffs and defendants in privacy litigation, and publishes and advises major corporations on compliance and enforcement under U.S. and international privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CPPA/CPRA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.
Before joining Quinn Emanuel, Tom served as law clerk to the Hon. Milan D. Smith, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
- Zazzle
- Netflix
- Amazon Studios
- Disney
- Paramount Pictures
- Warner Bros.
- Sony Pictures
- NBCUniversal
- Viacom International
- Comcast Corporation
- David Guetta
- T-Pain
- SoundExchange
- The Harry Fox Agency
- Head Genetics, Inc.
- Represented Google in groundbreaking lawsuit by Perfect 10, establishing Google's eligibility for multiple safe harbors against money damages under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
- Obtained complete dismissal of Viacom International from trademark infringement suit by Gibson Guitars regarding a V-shaped ukulele featuring SpongeBob SquarePants.
- Won summary judgment for Grammy Award winning artist T-Pain against copyright infringement claims regarding dozens of musical works by New Orleans musician Paul Batiste in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
- Won motion to dismiss on fair use grounds for Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris – in a case brought by William Faulker’s estate in the Northern District of Mississippi.
- Won summary judgment in copyright case for The Black Eyed Peas’ I Gotta Feeling, deposing plaintiff’s expert musicologist.
- Won motion to dismiss infringement claim regarding Fox’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, for lack of substantial similarity with plaintiffs’ work.
- Won motion to dismiss infringement claim against TV series Touch, for lack of substantial similarity.
- Obtained multiple eight-figure damage awards against piracy operations in the Central District of California, including against streaming services, IPTV services, and channel suppliers.
- University of Virginia School of Law
(J.D., 2005)- Virginia Law Review:
- Essays Editor
- Virginia Law Review:
- Princeton University
(A.B., with Honors, 2002)
- The State Bar of California
- The State Bar of New York
- United States Court of Appeals
- Sixth Circuit
- Ninth Circuit
- United States District Court
- Central District of California
- Northern District of California
- Southern District of New York
- Hon. Milan D. Smith, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Law Clerk
- Loeb & Loeb LLP, Associate
- Motion Picture Association, Inc., Vice President, Content Protection Legal and Privacy Counsel
- “Reviewing 2024's State Consumer Privacy Law Enforcement,” Law360 (2024)
- “Wash. Class Actions Are Coming After My Health My Data Act,” Law360 (2023)
- Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), International Association of Privacy Professionals
- Member, IAPP KnowledgeNet, Los Angeles Chapter