Personal Quote
"The three keys to being a successful attorney are: preparation, preparation and preparation."
- Professor David Goldberger
Biography
Thomas E. Berry, Jr. is a shareholder of Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard and serves as Practice Group Leader for Business Litigation. Tom is also part of the Business Law Practice Group. He focuses his practice in the areas of labor and employment law with regards to all aspects of employment litigation, employment counseling and immigration.
Tom’s practice has exclusively been on behalf of management and has represented clients before state, federal or local administrative agencies as well as before both state and federal courts throughout the country. His practice has been national in scope and has represented employers in legal proceedings in over twenty different states. Tom has extensive litigation experience which permits him to effectively counsel and advise clients on a variety of employment related issues in order to insure that effective human resource practices and procedures are followed in order to minimize any additional exposure.
Tom was named as one of the 2009 Southwestern Illinois All-Stars by the Illinois Business Journal for his outstanding contributions and his impact in his community and to the people living in it.
Prior to joining Sandberg Phoenix, Tom practiced for over 17 years at an employment law boutique in St. Louis.
Tom's most recent litigation experience includes:
Kaminski v. Bremner, Inc. This matter was tried in August 2006 in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Lyon County Circuit Court before the Honorable Bill Cunningham. Bremner is a manufacturer of cookies and crackers in Princeton, Kentucky. Plaintiff was a shift manager who was fired after the company discovered that he had ordered a subordinate employee to build him a deer stand on company time. Plaintiff claims he was fired in retaliation for a workers' compensation claim relating to a back injury he suffered six weeks prior to the deer stand incident. The jury agreed with Bremner and rejected Plaintiff's claim that the true reason for his termination was an intent to retaliate for his prior workers’ compensation injury.
Glaziers Local 513, et al. v. Bethalto Glass. In June of 2004, the union and several of its benefit funds were claiming that Tom's client breached its collective bargaining agreement when it used members of the Carpenters Union, which it also had a collective bargaining relationship with, to perform work which they believed belonged to the Glaziers. During the period of 2002 – July 2005, plaintiffs sought to recover over $180,000 in monetary damages plus attorneys fees and costs pursuant to the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”).
Because ERISA suits are non-jury, this action was tried in Federal Court before Chief Judge Carol Jackson. Judge Jackson granted the Motion for Judgment as a matter of law at the close of plaintiffs’ case. Julia Walker assisted in preparing a voluminous document case for trial that raised novel issues involving the interplay between ERISA and the National Labor Relations Act, and her astute research helped develop an argument that justified and resulted in the introduction of evidence at trial that plaintiffs argued should be excluded as irrelevant in their ERISA case.
Practice Groups
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Business Law
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Business Litigation
Industries/Areas of Practice
- Employment Litigation
- Employment Law
- Labor and Employment Law
- Employment Counseling
Civic Activities
Tom serves on the Executive Committee for the Southwest Division of the United Way of Greater St. Louis (2000-present); Board of Directors, United Way of Greater St. Louis (2004-present); Board of Directors, Illinois Center for Autism (2004-present); and Board of Directors, Madison County Urban League (2006-present).
Professional Activities
Tom is admitted to practice law in Illinois, Missouri and Ohio (inactive), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Circuits and before the United States District Courts for the District of Arizona, Eastern District of Missouri, Southern District of Ohio and Eastern District of Wisconsin. In June of 2006, Tom was sworn in and admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.
He is a member of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and served as Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section from 1998-1999; and he is a member of the Missouri Bar, American Bar Association and American Immigration Lawyer Association.
In addition, Tom serves as a member of Sandberg Phoenix's Professional Development and Recruiting Committees. He also serves as the firm's employment counsel.
Publications
Tom is a frequent contributor for the Illinois Business Journal and a frequent presenter at employment related seminars.
Education
Tom earned his Juris Doctor with honors from The Ohio State University College of Law in 1987.
He earned his A.B. from the University of Illinois in 1984.