Personal Experience

Thomas A. Gilson is an attorney at Beus O’Connor McGroder PLLC, a premier boutique law firm concentrating on High Stakes Litigation and Plaintiffs Catastrophic Injury & Wrongful Death. Mr. Gilson is a member of the firm’s High Stakes Litigation practice.

Mr. Gilson represents clients in a wide range of commercial disputes. He is an experienced trial attorney, handling multi-million dollar lawsuits involving financial fraud, professional liability claims, insurance coverage disputes, and other complex litigation matters. He has extensive experience counseling clients in e-discovery and data management and has litigated and negotiated technical issues regarding the preservation and spoliation of evidence. He is recognized by his peers as an AV® Preeminent Lawyer, the highest rating in Martindale-Hubbell.

Before joining the firm, Mr. Gilson was a partner in a major Phoenix firm where his practice included class action suits and representation of clients in government agency investigations. He was also an associate in an international law firm’s Washington, D.C. office and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas A. Flannery of the U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (1995 to 1997) and the Honorable David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit (1997 to 1998). Mr. Gilson is an active member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation, serving in the Section’s leadership for more than ten years. 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.

Admissions

• United States Supreme Court
• Supreme Court of the State of Arizona
• Supreme Court of the State of Illinois (inactive)
• District of Columbia Court of Appeals (inactive)

Education

• Harvard College – A.B., cum laude, 1985, John Harvard and Harvard College Scholarships for Academic Achievement
• The Julliard School – M.M., Piano Performance, 1987
• Northwestern University School of Law – J.D., 1993, Adlai Stevenson III Award for Best Brief, Julius Miner Moot Court Competition, Lowden-Wigmore Prize for Legal Scholarship, Executive Editor, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

Memberships & Activities

• American Bar Association, Section of Litigation
• Co-Chair/Member of Pro Bono Task Force 2017-present
• Member, Regional Meetings Committee (assisting Section of Litigation Committees in providing legal education programming for their members) 2015-2017
• Member, Roundtable Committee (assisting Section of Litigation Committees in providing legal education programming for their members) 2012-2015
• Member, Advanced Planning Leadership Committee (assisting Section of Litigation Committees in sharpening and achieving their goals) 2010-12
• Co-Chair, Criminal Litigation Committee 2007-10
• Editor-in-Chief, Criminal Litigation Newsletter 2005-07
• American Bar Foundation, Fellow
• National Institute for Trial Advocacy
• Faculty, NITA deposition training program
• Board of Directors, Harvard Club of Phoenix
• Interview and evaluate applicants for Harvard College
• Northwestern Law School
• Interview and evaluate applicants to the law school
• Board of Directors, Phoenix Symphony 2007-2009

Publications

• Author, “Updating Federal Procedures for Removal and Venue: The Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011,” ABA Commercial Tort Newsletter May 2012
• Co-Author, “Ninth Circuit Approves Preliminary Denial of Class Certification,” ABA Class Actions and Derivative Suits 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
• Author, “Federal Sentencing Guidelines: The Requirement of Notice for Upward Departure,” published in volume 82 of the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 1992