Thomas R. Ajamie

Named one of the leading lawyers in the United States, Tom Ajamie has successfully represented clients in complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters for over 25 years. His work includes groundbreaking securities and financial cases, international cross-border litigation, business contract disputes and employment issues. He has traveled the world extensively working on legal matters in countries as diverse as China, Thailand, Indonesia, Switzerland, France, England, Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina and Venezuela. Mr. Ajamie has handled a number of high-profile cases, including representing companies, pension funds and shareholders seeking to recover losses in stock fraud cases, and corporations and officers and directors being sued in securities matters.

Mr. Ajamie has been recognized by numerous legal publications and directories, and was recently 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.” Mr. Ajamie has been selected by Texas Super Lawyers as one of the top attorneys in Texas for five years running. The Martindale-Hubbell law directory, which ranks the legal ability of lawyers, gave Mr. Ajamie 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 – less than 1% of U.S. attorneys.

Mr. Ajamie co-authored the book Financial Serial Killers: Inside the World of Wall Street Money Hustlers, Swindlers, and Con Men, a fascinating look at financial fraudsters, their schemes, and their victims.  The book has been featured in The New York Times and Money Magazine.

Mr. Ajamie has appeared on major television and radio news outlets, including

• ABC
• CNN
• CNBC
• FOX
• NPR; and
• BBC

and has been featured in

• The Wall Street Journal
• The New York Times
• The American Lawyer
• InvestmentNews
• Bloomberg
• Forbes
• Financial Times
• BusinessWeek
• Newsweek; and 
• Texas Lawyer

The Ajamie Foundation was created as a way of promoting tolerance and equality among our youth. The foundation offers 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. It currently finances student scholarships at Arizona State University.

Mr. Ajamie is a Patron Council Premier Benefactor of the Sundance Institute, a non-profit organization that supports independent films and theater programs.

Representative Matters

• Won a $112,119,005 jury verdict after a three-week trial in a case brought under civil RICO against defendants who conspired to extort money from our corporate client and tamper with trial witnesses. (American Lawyer article, Lawdragon article)
• Co-counsel in an ERISA class action alleging that plan fiduciaries breached their duties of loyalty and prudence by selecting and maintaining inappropriate Putnum mutual funds for the defendant company's 401(k) plan.
• Involved in the Chrysler, General Motors, Lehman Brothers and ASARCO bankruptcy proceedings. (CNBC interview)
• Recovered a multi-million dollar "clawback" for our Fortune 100 client in a case where the client's executive employees were hired away by a competitor.  The departing executives had signed agreements in which they promised to pay back restricted stock and stock option awards that they received if they went to work for a competitor.
• Conducted several internal investigations for a Fortune 100 company.
• Won a $14.5 million arbitration award on behalf of a New York family against Prudential Equity Group. The award was obtained following 84 hearing sessions at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The Wall Street Journal stated that this award was the third largest in the United States. (Wall Street Journal article)
• Represented the Mexican subsidiary of an international corporation in the illegal arrests of the corporation’s employees in Mexico following a dispute concerning an alleged breach of contract. The representation involved complex cross-border matters in the U.S. and Mexico.
• Settled a lawsuit against two insurance agents, six insurance companies and a law firm for $7.29 million after four days of trial in Galveston state court. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants negligently advised a 90-year-old widow and her 65-year-old son to sell their Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. stock and use the proceeds to purchase life insurance and annuities as part of an "estate tax plan." (VerdictSearch article)
• Won a $429.5 million arbitration award against a former PaineWebber broker. The Wall Street Journal noted that the award is the largest in United States history.  One of the brokers involved in the fraud was convicted and served six and a half years in federal prison. (Wall Street Journal article)
• Won an eight-figure settlement on behalf of several investors defrauded of over $100 million by one of the United States' largest national brokerage firms.
• Successfully represented a pension fund in a lawsuit against a New York hedge fund after the hedge fund lost 30% of the funds with which it was entrusted.  (Wall Street Journal article)
• In the Enron litigation, represented one of the insurance companies that provided directors and officers insurance coverage.
• Represented a Hong Kong businessman concerning a dispute over the mishandling of his investments with Goldman Sachs.
• Represented an Illinois-based utility company in litigation against distressed bondholders seeking recovery following an $80 million bond default for an electric power facility located outside of Chicago. At the time, this was the "eighth largest municipal bond default in the history of the municipal market," according to the Bond Investors Association.
• Won a dismissal of all claims against a major utility company in connection with the Panhandle interstate gas pipeline system in an antitrust lawsuit alleging conspiracy to monopolize, tying and a group boycott.
• Litigated an agreement to affiliate a client's television stations with the WB Television Network. Secured a favorable settlement, including the sale of the client's Houston station for $95 million — an "incredibly high" price, according to Variety.
• Won the dismissal of 21 consolidated class action lawsuits filed in federal court against former officers of a NYSE-listed client alleging violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5.
• Successfully defended the second largest funeral and cemetery services company against a $4 billion hostile takeover bid by SCI, that industry's largest company. The case involved securities, tort and antitrust litigation.

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

• W!se MoneyPower Conference for Financial Literacy, The McGraw-Hill Companies, New York (2011)
• Keynote Address: “How To Detect and Deflect Scams & Schemes,” The Financial Planning Association of New York’s 9th Annual Financial Fitness Workshop (2011)
• Keynote Address:  "Greed, Ego, Power, Ethics & the Law," NALSC 2011 Spring Conference (2011)
• "The Financial Serial Killers Among Us," CFA Society of Houston Program (2011).
• “Turning Commercial Litigation into Commerce--The Corporate Legal Department as a Profit Center,” ALM's 2nd Annual Litigation Summit (2010), and ALM's Controlling Legal Costs:  Valuing, Measuring and Enhancing the Delivery of Legal Services (2010).
• "Thinking Like a Plaintiff," Corporat Counsel's 7th Annual General Counsel Conference West Coast Conference (2009).
• "Regulation D, TICs, and Unlisted REITS," Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) 18th Annual Meeting (2009).
• "Doing Ethical Business in Europe: Are You Ready for Multi-Cultural Legal Operations?" Corporate Counsel's 21st Annual General Counsel Conference (2009).
• "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 (2008).
• "Surviving and Succeeding Under the Media Spotlight," AEGIS Policyholder Conference Roundtable Program: "Success Through Utilizing AEGIS' Gas & Electric Litigation Services" (2008).
• "Representing the Hedge Fund Investor," Trial Magazine (2007).
• "Getting Grandma's Nest Egg Back," The Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) Business Torts Section Newsletter (2006).
• "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 (2006).
• "Insurance Industry Issues," Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (2005).
• "A Look at the Securities Arbitration Process," ATLA Business Torts Section Newsletter (2005).
• "Mock Arbitration," SIA/Wharton Securities Industry Institute 53rd Annual Program (2005).
• "Demonstrative Evidence: Making an Effective Presentation on a Budget," University of Houston Law Foundation, Litigation and Trial Tactics (2004).
• "Securities Fraud, Market Abuses and Insider Trading," University of Houston Law Foundation, Advanced Business Litigation (2003).
• "Securities Fraud and Insider Trading," South Texas College of Law (2003).
• "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 (2003).
• "Stock Fraud: Evaluating the Case," University of Houston Law Foundation Advanced Business Litigation (2002).
• "Shareholder Litigation and Officer/Director Liability Post-Sarbanes-Oxley," University of Houston Law Foundation, Representing Corporations in a Changed Legal Environment (2002)