Tom Pender is a trial lawyer whose areas of concentration are General Tort Litigation with an emphasis in Premises Liability, property damage claims, subrogation recovery actions, construction and transportation accidents and a broad range of commercial and contractual matters. He has litigated cases in federal, state, and appellate courts and defended numerous mass tort and class action claims. In addition, Tom handles subrogation/recovery claims around the country in matters arising from construction defects, natural disasters, explosions, fires and equipment defects.

A graduate of Washington & Lee University School of Law (J.D., 1987) and Miami (OH) University (B.A., 1984), Tom is a member of the Illinois bar and has been admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois. He is a member of the Defense Research Institute and the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel.

Tom has been a frequent contributor to the literature, with his research published by the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel and the Defense Research Institute. He authored and updated the chapter on the Illinois Survival Act for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s Illinois Wrongful Death and Survival Actions Handbook.

Published opinions of cases Tom successfully resolved include Bailey v. Edward Hines Lumber Company, 308 Ill.App.3d 58, 719 N.E.2d 178 (1st Dist. 1999).