Tom Burgess
Tom is a native of Birmingham. He received his undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of Alabama and his law degree from Birmingham School of Law (J.D. ’80). Tom is admitted to practice in all Alabama state and federal courts, the Fifth and Eleventh U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court. Tom holds the prestigious Martindale–Hubbell “AV” rating.
Throughout his career, Tom has held special interest in handling all aspects of tort, contract and insurance litigation with emphasis on design professionals, insurance, real estate agents, fraud, bad faith and insurance coverage litigation of all kinds, including workers compensation litigation and construction defense. He has participated in hundreds of court cases and has personally tried dozens of jury cases to verdict. He has obtained numerous summary judgment dismissals of suits against design professionals. He regularly represents attorneys, architects, engineers, real estate and insurance agents in professional liability matters.
Tom has successfully represented clients in dozens of “first impression” cases in the Alabama and federal appellate courts. For many years, he served as faculty professor at Birmingham School of Law teaching tort litigation. He frequently lectures on a wide range of topics and defense strategies, including lectures to claims professionals on insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, and claims avoidance for design professionals. He has been lead attorney in over forty appellate published decisions.