About Tom

Tom began his legal career in the Cleveland (OH) Prosecutor's Office.  While still a first-year law student, he was selected to take part in a pilot program for the mediation of court-assigned disputes.  As part of that program, Tom was provided with 40 hours of advanced training in mediation skills. He then successfully mediated hundreds of assigned conflicts for the prosecutor's office before being selected to serve as a Law Clerk to United States Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robert B. Krupansky of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

 

Following his service with the Federal Courts, Tom began a career as a Business Litigation Attorney in the New York City office of Kaye Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler, a world-renowned international law firm.  Tom was an lawyer in that Firm's Litigation/Antitrust Department until he returned to Northeast Pennsylvania in the 1990s, where he formed Smithford Business Lawyers, a regional full-service business law firm serving small and family-owned businesses throughout the region from offices in Wilkes-Barre and Stroudsburg.  

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In addition to his legal career, Tom has been involved as a manager or owner of several diverse businesses, including a photography business, a Poconos resort, a newspaper, and a restaurant.  Since 2017, Tom and his wife have also enjoyed being Innkeepers at their traditional Bed & Breakfast Inn in Mount Pocono.

His practical business experience informs the legal counsel and assistance that he provides to clients.  Tom knows what it takes to run a business.  His clients benefit from the experience, skill, and knowledge derived from his big-firm training, his decades of representing small and mid-sized businesses, and the hands-on experience  running his own businesses.  For more about his background, see Tom's Detailed Biography

If you think your business can benefit from Tom's unique background, contact him today: