OUR PEOPLE

After graduating from the Northwestern University School of Law in 1981, Tom worked at a series of important positions before launching GKWW with Jim Koch in 1992. Tom Gardiner has successfully represented individuals, municipalities and business entities in an exceptionally encyclopedic variety of contexts, all the way up to the Supreme Court, where he collaborated with his GKWW partners on the case of Illinois v. Wardlow.

Tom’s many years of litigation experience and ability to connect with judges and jurors has allowed him to achieve tremendous results for those who have experienced catastrophic injuries. Teaming up with John Wrona and other members of the GKWW team has led to tremendous results for the families of those who have died or for individuals who have survived the accident.

Tom’s myriad other accomplishments have not gone unrecognized. Every year since 2007, Tom’s peers have selected him as an Illinois Super Lawyer, placing him as one of the top lawyers in his practice areas. He has also been chosen as a Leading Lawyer by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and his peers. Tom holds membership in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum–a distinction limited to trial lawyers who have demonstrated exceptional skill, experience, and excellence in advocacy by achieving a trial verdict, award or settlement in the amount of $1 million or more.

Tom’s work on behalf of injured individuals covers matters from medical malpractice, personal injury, products liability, wrongful death litigation and nursing home litigation to civil rights actions. Over the course of his sterling career, Tom’s efforts have resulted in the awarding of many millions of dollars to his clients: for instance, the Richmond case. In this case, John Wrona and Tom achieved a $2.75 million settlement for a truck driver who had to drive off the interstate to avoid colliding with an overturned 18-wheeler. Tom’s litigation experience has caused clients to seek his services in areas beyond catastrophic injury cases. For example, Tom was part of a trial team that won a $21 million wrongful conviction verdict – at the time, one of the largest civil rights verdicts ever awarded by a jury.

Private entities seek Tom’s counsel in matters involving both transaction and litigation. From the formation of new companies to navigation of the thorny corporate issues that mark a successful company’s day-to-day, Tom’s advice keeps many of Chicago’s most successful businesses on a steady course. Tom’s expertise covers contracts, acquisitions, sales of shares, real estate, business asset purchases and sales and succession, as well as general contract and employment matters. On the litigation side, Tom’s representation has supported his corporate clients in matters ranging from contract disputes to complex commercial, employment, restrictive covenant and intellectual property cases.

Tom feels strongly about his role as an educator outside the halls of GKWW–both of law’s next generation and of the public at large. He has served for many years as an Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy at his alma mater, the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and welcomes the opportunity to teach on a guest basis at other institutes of higher learning. A prolific author, Tom’s work has been extensively published in industry journals, magazines, and newspapers.

Tom Gardiner is one of only three United States lawyers chosen for membership in the International Practice Group (IPG). This organization is comprised of lawyers and accountants around the globe who meet twice per year to apprise each other of developments in law and finance throughout the world, and Tom is a frequent presenter at the semi-annual conferences. In 2022, he presented on changes to the U.S. Trademark Act coming in January 2023–including to expungement, reexamination, and letters of protest–which will make the process faster and much less expensive. Learn more about IPG here.

Tom was featured in the 2019 Consumer Edition of Leading Lawyers Magazine. He is a longtime member of the Geneva Lake Association.