Managing Partner
803.451.4511 Direct
803.799.1111 Main
803.254.1335 Fax
tom@basjlaw.com
1613 Main Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Tom is a managing partner of the firm and has a diverse practice focused on business and corporate law, construction law, insurance coverage and litigation, and religious and nonprofit law. Tom enjoys working on a variety of cases involving both litigation and transactional work, and his clients value his conscientious and reasonable approach to each matter.

Tom joined the firm in 1984 after graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he was selected to serve on the South Carolina Law Review. He received his undergraduate degree in 1981 from Clemson University with honors. He has been selected ten times for inclusion in South Carolina Super Lawyers in the Civil Litigation—Defense category and in 2016 was ranked among the Top 25 attorneys in South Carolina by that publication’s nomination, research, and blue ribbon review process. He has also been recognized multiple times in The Best Lawyers in America for both Construction Litigation and Insurance Litigation, and as a Midland’s Legal Elite for Construction Law.

Tom gained extensive experience in insurance coverage and civil litigation during his first ten years with the firm. He served as South Carolina coverage counsel for several prominent insurance companies, authoring hundreds of coverage opinions and handling numerous declaratory judgment and bad faith lawsuits. He currently represents both insureds and insurers. For the past twenty years, he has also developed an established commercial practice focusing on construction and contract law and other business-related matters. In conjunction with local counsel, he has assisted clients with negotiating and drafting contracts for construction projects and other commercial transactions in over thirty states and several countries.

Tom maintains an active litigation practice, handling cases involving major construction and contract disputes, insurance coverage, bad faith, defamation, surety bonds, defective products, professional malpractice, motor vehicle accidents, will contests, debt collection, and trust reformations. He also counsels churches and charities on the unique legal issues they face, including the drafting of bylaws and policies and procedures, reporting child abuse and neglect, volunteer participation, and church incorporation. He also assists churches with construction and contract issues related to their building programs.