Best brains in...

Complex jurisdictional questions. Large commercial disputes.

Highlight of your career so far?

Successful defence of a US$50 million claim against an Eastern European bank. The case had many legal, practical and cultural challenges.

Most challenging job you've ever done?

Acting for a major UK bank against another major UK bank on a technically complex, factually involved dispute where reputations were at stake. It involved a long and tough application of effort which paid off in the end.

What about outside the UK?

Most of my work involves an international dimension, including dealing with requests from foreign lawyers and their clients to gather evidence in the UK, enforce foreign judgments here, or act for them in English proceedings. The list of countries is too long to mention but the US and Central Europe are favourites. I am also an active member of the International Bar Association.

What's your definition of going the extra mile... And when have you done it?

In litigation it is always possible but not usually easy to think about the client's position from several angles. That requires lateral thinking and that is going the extra mile.

Best example of a creative legal solution?

It seems strange to say, but sometimes doing less rather than more is the better way. A conscious and considered decision not to submit to English proceedings led one client to save many thousands of pounds of fees when the case against him collapsed anyway.

How do you get under the skin of a client business?

Go and see them. They usually love that and always appreciate it. Or do a secondment if you can. I have just spent six months in the disputes team of a major energy company and gained a great insight into what drives the business and what they want from their external lawyers.

What's your single greatest contribution to Wragge & Co's corporate responsibility?

Running in a triathlon for charity, which came as something of a shock to the system, but is something I intend to do again.

What's been written or said about you that you're most proud of?

The in-house lawyer of a large multi-national said after a particularly difficult and acrimonious matter:

'Tom is a very dedicated lawyer. I know the enormous effort he put into this case and he did a quite outstanding job negotiating this settlement.'