About Tom Farrell
Tom Farrell has lived in New York his whole adult life. While working full-time as a paralegal, he went to law school and graduated from Saint John’s in 1995. Early in his career, Tom practiced Corporate and Securities law, including serving as General Counsel to two publicly traded companies. Afterwards, Tom’s practice included regulatory compliance, licensing, HR policies, and a broad and deep range of contract negotiation and drafting. More recently, he was General Counsel to a niche recycler in Eastern Long Island. With the closing of that business, Tom has decided to bring his skills and experience closer to home, establishing a solo practice that’s targeted to small- and mid-sized businesses.
Throughout his career, Tom has also done pro bono work, both for his church and for various small not-for-profits.
Tom has been married for over thirty years and has three adult daughters.
“I want to become your long-term, go-to lawyer, getting to know your business so I can not only address your current legal issues, but anticipate and plan for the coming ones.”
Experience
Prior to 2002 I practiced Securities Law with two small firms and as In-house Counsel to a Nasdaq-listed company.
Contract Attorney/Private Practice
2002-June 2007
I worked for several major New York City law firms such as Skadden Arps and Greenberg Traurig as a contractor (freelancer). The work was mainly review of documents related to large litigations. Because the availability of work was uneven, I also began to develop my own practice, focusing on small corporate clients and business matters.
Meyer, Suozzi, English, & Klein, P.C.
January 2007- June 2008
As a contract attorney for Meyer, Suozzi, my work was mostly transactional. It included
- the acquisition by one commercial insurance company of another;
- the acquisition by a foreign company of a U.S. software engineering corporation and the related export issues; and
- the complete restatement of several not-for-profit corporations’ By-Laws in connection with their corporate reorganization.
Meanwhile, I continued to represent a handful of private clients I had developed. For these clients I negotiated a broad spectrum of contracts, including asset purchases, commercial leases, and franchise agreements. In addition, I formed and organized corporations and LLCs, and the occasional partnership.
General Counsel and Director of Human Resources Hi-Temp Specialty Metals, Inc,
Aug 2008 – Jul 2016
- Analyzed the terms and conditions of agreements and contracts, including financing documents, and negotiated revisions to ensure favorable outcomes for the organization.
- Updated the Employee Handbook.
- Standardized several regularly-used contracts.
- Implemented IP protection procedures including confidentiality agreements.
- Developed and presented Anti-Harassment Training for Supervisors and safety-training programs for production workers, to increase employee compliance.
- Conducted a three-months-long due diligence investigation for a possible acquisition.
- Created and delivered orientation sessions for new hires, including discussion of safety & HR policies. Began bi-lingual sessions.
Education
- St. John’s University School of Law, Juris Doctor (JD) – 1995
- St. John’s University, Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Literature – 1993
Description of Practice
Thomas M. Farrell has a business law practice, representing organizations of various sizes and sophistication, ranging from small and family-owned enterprises to medium-sized, well-established businesses. My mission is to bring sophisticated legal services to these entrepreneurs at an affordable rate, protecting both the owners’ personal assets and the business’s assets.
For start-up ventures and locally oriented businesses, I provide advice on both immediate concerns and on long-term planning. The formation of and maintenance of legal structures for doing business — corporations, limited liability companies and other entities — are matters I handle regularly. In addition, government filings, licenses, and individually crafted shareholder or member agreements will also come into focus. My careful analysis of real estate leases, franchise documents, and other complex legal documents will contribute to the long-term growth of the enterprise by highlighting long-term obligations and enabling appropriate planning.
To further contribute to my clients’ growth, I will structure or negotiate financing arrangements, ranging from traditional-source loans to the use of equity and debt securities; explore and explain venture capital financings; and give advice regarding stock and asset acquisitions (sometimes involving mergers). I am well-versed in assisting management with reports to State and Federal regulatory agencies; my experience enables me to anticipate regulatory issues peculiar to each client, and assist in designing and implementing compliance programs.
For clients of all sizes, I will draw upon my 20-plus years of experience to negotiate and draft a broad array of agreements, including sale or purchase of a business, non-competition agreements, contracts between suppliers and customers, and intellectual property licenses. Issues affecting employee training, executive compensation, employment contracts, manufacturing, and franchising opportunities are also regular parts of my practice. Critical internal matters such as protection of Confidential Information will be addressed proactively, turning potential trouble spots into support for the bottom line.
As small clients grow and established clients’ needs become more complicated, I will suggest ways to implement effective corporate governance programs. These programs will be tailored (as only a solo practitioner can) to meet each individual client’s needs, addressing policy issues ranging from discrimination, privacy, and Internet-related matters, to sexual harassment and other issues. Governance advice can also relate to good “corporate citizenship” for those companies interested in participating in or contributing to community life; in this respect, my clients will benefit from my considerable experience with not-for-profit corporations.