Attorney Profiles
Biography
With a background in public interest law and a passion for doing the right thing, Tom Sims came to Baron & Budd right after law school graduation. He worked on a variety of toxic tort cases, representing individuals who had been injured by exposure to mercury, chromium, dioxin, PCBs, TCE and beryllium. Tom says, “It’s my honor and my obligation to fight for people whose rights have been ignored.”
Tom was trial counsel in two lengthy bench trials involving an insurance coverage dispute in Tucson, Arizona, both of which produced favorable verdicts for his clients. In that case, Tom was part of a Baron & Budd team that represented over 1,600 people who had been injured by TCE contamination in their water. Tom, along with other attorneys on the Baron & Budd litigation team, was named Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2006 for his efforts on behalf of these clients.
Tom has always extended himself to the community through volunteer legal service and other community involvement. He represented victims of the 9/11 attacks through Trial Lawyers Care, Inc., a non-profit legal services organization established by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Tom has a long history of pro bono legal service through the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program and Lawyers Against Domestic Violence.
Even while Tom was in law school, his commitment to public interest legal work was obvious. Tom was president of the Public Interest Law Association and clerked with both Texas Rural Legal Aid and Legal Aid of Central Texas. He was also active in the law school’s legal clinics, where he represented children in foster care and women seeking to escape abusive relationships.
Tom is an adventurer who grew up overseas and completed an around-the-world trip with his wife. His most recent travels are on behalf of the many clients who benefit from his advocacy. He and his wife have settled in Austin, and Tom works out of Baron & Budd’s new Austin office.
Education
University of Texas School of Law (J.D., with honors, 1999)
New College (B.A. 1996)
Bar & Court Admissions
Texas
United States District Court for the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas
Awards
Trial Lawyer of the Year (Public Justice, 2006)
Rising Star of Texas Law (Texas Monthly Magazine, 2005)
Professional Associations
Public Justice
Reported Cases
Fullen v. Philips Elec. N. Am. Corp., 266 F.Supp.2d 471 (N.D.W. Va. 2002)
Hamilton v. Beretta U.S.A. Corp., 96 N.Y.2d 222, 750 N.E.2d 1055, 727 N.Y.S.2d 7 (2001)
Significant Trials
Smith, et al., v. Tucson Airport Authority, No. C-251422 (Super. Ct., Pima County, Ariz.)
Newsrss
Baron & Budd’s Greatest Hits of the Decade
As the first decade of the new millennium draws to a close and we reflect on the past ten years, Baron & Budd would like to share with you what we consider some of our law firm’s major accomplishments—our “Greatest Hits” of the decade, if you will. So, in the spirit of Casey Kasem, here is our countdown of the decade. We wish all of you happy holidays and a prosperous new year—and new decade—to come. Read More
Better Buses for California School Children
SAN FRANCISCO (August 6, 2008) Environmental Law Foundation, Our Children’s Earth and Communities for a Better Environment, three Bay Area environmental organizations, and Laidlaw Transit, Inc. agreed to a settlement of a lawsuit, under which Laidlaw will provide California’s school children with newer and cleaner buses. Read More
