![[Tom Brown]](images/imagebio.jpg)
Tom
attended the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, from 1966
to 1970, graduating with a degree in Political Science. He served two
years in the United States Army as a Lieutenant. His second year in the
Army found him proudly serving in Vietnam. Tom attended Woodrow Wilson
Law School where he graduated in 1977.
During his studies at Woodrow Wilson, Tom worked as a Governor's Intern at the State Board of Workers' Compensation as a Law Clerk for two years. This gave him his first exposure to the field of Workers' Compensation. He worked for five different judges during 1976 and 1977.
Once he graduated from Woodrow Wilson Law School, Tom began work as a claims adjuster for Kemper Insurance Company and remained with Kemper for two full years. This experience was quite helpful in that it immersed Tom in all aspects of the insurance defense of workers' compensation cases.
Tom began his practice of law in April 1979 in a partnership with Attorney Essley Burdine. As background information, Mr. Burdine began his practice of law in 1953, after graduating from Mercer Law School. He had a criminal law practice until he was appointed an Administrative Law Judge at the State Board of Workers' Compensation in 1960. In early 1963, Mr. Burdine left the State Board and established a practice representing almost exclusively injured workers. His practice grew substantially due to Mr. Burdine's excellent reputation from the years 1963 through the year of 1979, when Tom began practicing with Mr. Burdine. They were in practice together until Mr. Burdine's retirement in 1989. Mr. Burdine died in 1991. Tom has kept the name Burdine & Brown in honor of his one and only law partner.
Tom's practice is primarily in the area of workers' compensation representing exclusively injured workers'. He has a substantial sub-practice in the area of Social Security Disability representing applicants for Social Security Disability Benefits.
In 1989, Tom was one of the founders of a group of specialized practitioners in the area of workers' compensation calling themselves workers' compensation claimants' lawyers. He became the Secretary, then Treasurer, then Vice Chairman, then Chairman of this organization. His Chairmanship ended in 1998 and Tom remains on the Executive Committee of this exclusive organization. The WCCL has a reputation in the community at large, at the State Board of Workers' Compensation and among the employers and insurers as an organization, that carries substantial weight and influence in the area of workers' compensation issues. This organization stands as virtually the only organization that represents the injured workers' interests.
Tom is an active member of WILG (Workplace Injury Litigation Group). This is a national organization affiliated with the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and is dedicated exclusively to advocating the cause of the injured worker. This organization is in its third year of operation.
Tom's clients find him a strong advocate for the injured worker and for the disabled person. He seems to have an excellent reputation in the community. He has been involved in substantial litigation that has found him in the forefront of lawyers representing the injured worker. He enjoys his practice immensely.
