Tom Sparks
Lead Counsel, Fiduciary Litigation Group
Tom is one of the longest-tenured attorneys in North Carolina whose practice is dedicated to fiduciary litigation … and only fiduciary litigation. His practice in this area began in 2012 when he served as Fiduciary Litigation Counsel for the Walker Lambe law firm in Durham. His dedication to the exclusive practice of helping individuals, families and small business owners navigate and resolve fiduciary disputes was cemented when he founded the Fiduciary Litigation Group in 2018.
Veteran Roots and a Love of North Carolina
Tom did not grow up in North Carolina. He spent the first 36 years of his life first as the dependent of a US Navy Submarine sailor and then serving in the United States Air Force. He’s lived in six States, one US Territory (Guam), and overseas (Italy). He attended the Duke University Engineering School where he studied Electrical Engineering and graduated Magna Cum Laude and as a Distinguished Graduate from the Air Force ROTC program. He then served for five years as an engineer, during which time he earned a Masters in Business Administration while stationed in NW Florida, before the Air Force sent him back to Duke for Law School. He graduated law school with High Honors and as a member of the Order of the Coif. He and his wife (also an Air Force veteran) also had their first child while stationed in Durham and an abiding love of all things North Carolina.
There was no doubt that Tom and his family would return to North Carolina after their years of service were over.
Family Law Without the Marriage License
Fiduciary litigation is NOT supposed to be Family Law. There is no threat of divorce; the litigants are rarely seeking to resolve disputes over their own money; and the custody of children is not at issue. But it often seems like Family Law. The care of an aging parent is often at issue, as is the management, and potential abuse, of those parents’ assets. These disputes have the very real potential of fracturing life-long inter-family relationships. They can involve the potentially unwanted dissolution of a long-held small business (tell those owners this isn’t a custody battle, huh?!). The disputes can disrupt the grieving process over the loss of a loved one while the survivors fight over the proper administration/distribution of that loved-one’s hard-earned estate.
Tom and the team at Fiduciary Litigation Group are empathetic to what our clients are going through when they seek our help. They do their utmost to help those clients navigate the stormy seas of emotion that accompany these disputes.
To Litigate or Not to Litigate, that is the Question….
Tom is a veteran not just of the Air Force, but of courtroom battles. He is at home in the courtroom, but he is also acutely aware that he and his law firm represent individuals, not deep-pocketed insurance companies. Stated differently, the clients cases invariably have a fixed amount of money in dispute. While Tom will always fight to seek justice for his clients, he also realizes that fight should be tempered by the reality that the expense of the lawyers involved should be, if possible, minimize so that “fixed amount” can stay in a family or a small business as the case may be. So, while Tom and his team are always preparing as if every case must go the distance, they are also in search of opportunities to resolve disputes in ways that are acceptable to clients … and more beneficial to those clients than to their attorney.
Admissions:
North Carolina State Bar
United States District Court: Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of North Carolina
The Fiduciary Litigation Group Approach: Strategy and Mediation
We recognize that the best outcome in trust litigation is often one that preserves family relationships.
As part of our strategic advocacy, we frequently utilize mediation to reach creative settlements that avoid the public nature of a trial. However, we built our reputation on being uncompromising in the face of injustice. If the other side refuses to act reasonably, our deep experience in North Carolina courts becomes your greatest asset.