Education

  • J.D., Northwestern University School of Law, 1993
  • M.M., Piano Performance, Juilliard School, 1987
  • A.B., cum laude, Harvard College, 1985

Bar Admissions

  • Arizona, 2003

Clerkships

  • Hon. Thomas A. Flannery, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, 1995-1997
  • Honorable David B. Sentelle, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, 1997-1998

Thomas A. Gilson

Partner
40 North Central Avenue
Suite 1900
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
Phone 602.262.5704
Fax 602.734.3790

About Thomas Gilson

A partner in the firm’s Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Gilson represents clients in a wide range of commercial disputes. He has extensive experience counseling clients in e-discovery and data management and also represents corporate clients in grand jury and government agency investigations.  Formerly the head of the firm’s class action practice group, Mr. Gilson has extensive experience litigating class action issues in both state and federal court. 

Prior to joining Lewis and Roca, Mr. Gilson was an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, D.C. During law school, he was the Executive Editor of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology and the recipient of the Lowden-Wigmore prize for Legal Scholarship and the Adlai E. Stevenson, III award for Best Brief in the Julius Miner Moot Court competition.

Mr. Gilson has been appointed as a member of the Advanced Planning Leadership Committee of the American Bar Association's Section of Litigation and has previously served as co-chair of the Criminal Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association's Section of Litigation.  He is the recipient of two awards from the ABA: Outstanding Subcommittee Chair and Outstanding Newsletter Editor.

A graduate of the Juilliard School, Mr. Gilson is an accomplished classical pianist who has performed at New York’s Lincoln Center and throughout the country.

Representative Cases/Matters

  • Defended several class actions seeking tens of millions of dollars for alleged violations of the telephone Consumer Protection Act.
  • Defended a chain of nursing homes in a two-year grand jury investigation.
  • Defended consumer class actions challenging the lending practices of financial services companies.
  • With Dale Danneman and Brian Pollock, Mr. Gilson tried a six-week jury trial involving competing claims for breach of contract and the covenant of good faith and fair dealing relating to an eight-figure contract for a complex engineering project.
  • Negotiated and implemented complex class action settlements.
  • Represented a construction company in complex dispute involving construction of a wastewater treatment plant.
  • Supervised the preservation, collection, production and review of millions of pages of electronic data in a complex breach of contract case.
  • Litigated numerous issues relating to the preservation and production of electronic data.
  • Participated in the successful mediation of multi-billion-dollar claims of accounting fraud on behalf of a provider of waste management services.

Memberships and Affiliations

  • American Bar Foundation, Fellow
  • Harvard Club of Phoenix, Board Member 
  • District of Columbia Bar, Inactive (1996)
  • State Bar of Illinois, Inactive (1993)

Publications

  • Author, "Updating Federal Procedures for Removal and Venue," American Bar Association - Section of Litigation, May 2012
  • Author, "Updating Federal Procedures for Removal and Venue: The Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011," Lewis and Roca Client Alert, January 2012
  • Co-Author, "Ninth Circuit Approves Preemptive Denial of Class Certification," American Bar Association, Class Actions and Derivative Suits Committee Website, March 2010
  • Co-Author, "Seek and Ye Shall Find?" American Lawyer (E-Discovery Supplement), December 2008
  • Co-Author, "Internal Investigations: Ten Ways to Avoid Inadvertent Disclosure of Confidential Information," American Bar Association, Criminal Litigation Committee Website, October 2008
  • Author, "Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(h): R.I.P.," American Bar Association, Criminal Litigation Committee Website, October 2008
  • Author, “Unpacking the Act of Production Doctrine,” Criminal Litigation Newsletter, Winter 2005
  • Author, “Making Sense of Booker/Fanfan,” American Bar Association, Litigation Section Website; Criminal Litigation Newsletter, Spring 2005

Court Admissions

  • Arizona Supreme Court, 2003
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 2002

Other Distinctions

Mr. Gilson has an “AV/Preeminent Attorney” rating with Martindale-Hubbell. He is also included in the March 2011 edition of AZ Business Magazine's Top Lawyers in the categories of Commercial Litigation and Information Technology Law.