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Accepts Cases
Willing to take International Cases
Willing to take Cases $100,000+

Law School
University of Notre Dame Law School, J.D., 1985

Profile

Tom Ajamie is an internationally-recognized trial lawyer who has successfully represented clients in complex commercial litigation and arbitration. The authoritative Chambers USA has described Tom as “relentless, energetic and intelligent” and a “hard-working and successful trial lawyer who never quits.”  He has handled a number of high-profile cases, including groundbreaking securities and financial cases, cross-border litigation, business contract disputes and employment issues. Tom has won two of the largest awards ever handed down by an arbitration panel for investors, including a $429.5 million award. He has also won a record $112 million civil RICO jury verdict, as well as a $79 million settlement against Wells Fargo – the largest executive deferred compensation recovery in United States history.

Tom has been recognized by numerous legal publications and directories, including Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation, and Super Lawyers. The National Law Journal has named Tom one of its 50 Litigation Trailblazers as well as one of its Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Trailblazers. The Hollywood Reporter selected Tom as a Power Lawyer.  He was also honored as one of the nation’s 500 Leading Lawyers by Lawdragon, as well as that publication’s “100 Lawyers You Need to Know in Securities Litigation.” The Martindale-Hubbell law directory, which ranks the legal ability of lawyers, gave Tom an AV rating. He is also a life member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, whose membership is limited to attorneys who have won multi-million dollar verdicts, awards and settlements–fewer than 1% of U.S. attorneys.

Tom is regularly invited to give legal analysis by news media outlets including ABC, CNN, CNBC, NPR and BBC, and his work has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The American Lawyer. He is the co-author of the book Financial Serial Killers: Inside the World of Wall Street Money Hustlers, Swindlers, and Con Men. His work in exposing disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein is featured in the instant New York Times bestseller She Said, by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. His work on behalf of investors in the Bre-X gold scandal is featured in the book Fools’ Gold: the Making of a Global Market Fraud, by Brian Hutchinson.

The Ajamie Scholarship Fund was created by Tom as a way of promoting tolerance and equality among our youth. The Scholarship Fund offers university scholarships to students who display respect and support diversity initiatives in our society, without regard to race, religion, creed, skin color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability or sexual orientation.

Educational Background

Arizona State University, B.A., cum laude, 1982; University of Louvain, Belgium

Languages Spoken

Spanish; French

Honors and Awards

Power Lawyer (The Hollywood Reporter); Top 50 Litigation Trailblazers (National Law Journal); Plaintiffs' Lawyers Trailblazers (The National Law Journal); Best Lawyers in America (New York and Texas); Leading Lawyer in Commercial Litigation (Chambers USA); Litigation Star - Commercial (Benchmark Litigation, published by Euromoney/Institutional Investor); Texas Super Lawyer; 500 Leading Lawyers in America (Lawdragon); Top Lawyers in Business Litigation (H Texas Magazine); Top 100 Lawyers You Need to Know in Securities Litigation (Lawdragon); Rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell for Ethical Standards and Legal Ability

Scholarly Lectures and Writings

“Protecting Your Wealth From Financial Serial Killers,” Chautauqua Institution; “1MDB: Dissecting One of the World’s Biggest Financial Scandals,” 15th Annual North American OffshoreAlert Conference; “Protecting Your Wealth From Financial Serial Killers," Co-author, Expert Witnesses, Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, Fourth Edition; “Managing the Hearing: Negotiating from a Position of Strength,” The American Bar Association’s 9th Annual Arbitration Training Institute; “Issues Facing Claimants’ Attorneys,” Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) 24th Annual Meeting; “Damages,” Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) 23rd Annual Meeting; “Securities Arbitration and Mediation: Telling Your Story,” New York State Bar Association's Spring CLE Program, New York; "Looking Across the Globe: How Developments in FCPA Investigations and Regulations are Shaping the Future," ALM's Cross-Border M&A and Litigation Forum, New York; "The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: What's Your Risk Exposure?," Union Internacionale des Avocats and New York State Bar Association 5th Business Law Forum, New York; "Focus Groups and Jury Selection," AEGIS Insurance Claims Roundtable Program: "Managing Mass Tort Litigation," East Rutherford, New Jersey and Los Angeles, California; "Insurance and Collection Issues: The Punch List for Claimants’ Attorneys," Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) 21st Annual Meeting; "Victimized: When to Refer Your Client to an Attorney," Financial Planning Association of New York eNews; Keynote Address: "Financial Serial Killers," Accountants Club of America Meeting, Union League Club, New York; "The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: What’s Your Risk Exposure?," Corporate Counsel’s Cross-Border Litigation Forum, The Harvard Club, New York; "The Attorney-Client Privilege for In House Attorneys," Association of Corporate Counsel’s National Litigation Committee Meeting; Keynote Address: "What Advisors Can Learn from the Financial Crisis & Scams," The Financial Planning Association of New York Annual Forum; W!se MoneyPower Conference for Financial Literacy, The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York; "Commentary: Help for Securities Fraud Plaintiffs Seeking Class Certification," Texas Lawyer; Keynote Address: "How To Detect and Deflect Scams & Schemes," The Financial Planning Association of New York’s 9th Annual Financial Fitness Workshop; Keynote Address: "Greed, Ego, Power, Ethics & the Law," NALSC 2011 Spring Conference; "The Financial Serial Killers Among Us," CFA Society of Houston Program; "Turning Commercial Litigation into Commerce—The Corporate Legal Department as a Profit Center," ALM's 2nd Annual Litigation Summit and ALM's Controlling Legal Costs: Valuing, Measuring and Enhancing the Delivery of Legal Services; "Thinking Like a Plaintiff," Corporate Counsel's 7th Annual General Counsel Conference West Coast Conference; "Regulation D, TICs, and Unlisted REITS," Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) 18th Annual Meeting; "Doing Ethical Business in Europe: Are You Ready for Multi-Cultural Legal Operations?" Corporate Counsel's 21st Annual General Counsel Conference; "La Seguridad Empresarial - Cómo Evitar que un Pleito de Negocios Resulte en Cargos Criminales" ("Business Security: How to Prevent a Business Dispute from Resulting in Criminal Charges"), American Chamber of Commerce of México: Reunión del Comité de Seguridad; "Surviving and Succeeding Under the Media Spotlight," AEGIS Policyholder Conference Roundtable Program: "Success Through Utilizing AEGIS' Gas & Electric Litigation Services"; "Representing the Hedge Fund Investor," Trial Magazine; "Getting Grandma's Nest Egg Back," The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) Business Torts Section Newsletter; "Litigating Insurance Product Claims," The American Association for Justice (AAJ) 2006 Annual Convention; "A Basic Primer on Hedge Funds," AAJ 2006 Annual Convention; "A Mock Arbitration: As Close as You Can Get," Securities Industry Association (SIA)/Wharton Securities Industry Institute 54th Annual Program; "Insurance Industry Issues," Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association; "A Look at the Securities Arbitration Process," ATLA Business Torts Section Newsletter; "Mock Arbitration," SIA/Wharton Securities Industry Institute 53rd Annual Program; "Securities Fraud, Market Abuses and Insider Trading," University of Houston Law Foundation, Advanced Business Litigation; "Nuevas Responsabilidades Legales de los Fabricantes de Autopartes en el Mercado Norteamericano." Industria Nacional de Autopartes, A.C., XXXIX Reunión de Evaluación del Sector Automotor; "Shareholder Litigation and Officer/Director Liability Post-Sarbanes-Oxley," University of Houston Law Foundation, Representing Corporations in a Changed Legal Environment.

Professional Affiliations and Memberships

Arbitrator, National Futures Association; Member, FINRA National Arbitration and Mediation Committee (2012-2015); College of the State Bar of Texas; International, American, Texas, New York & Houston Bar Associations; American Bar Foundation; American Association for Justice; Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association; Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum - Life Member

States Admitted with Active License to Practice
New York
Texas