Thomas D Halket

Profile

Tom is currently an associate member of Tanfield Chambers where he pursues a practice as a neutral in alternative dispute resolution matters.

He is also a partner in the New York law firm of Halket Weitz LLP where his practice includes corporate, technology and intellectual property matters in addition to his ADR work and an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Fordham University School of Law where he teaches courses on International Arbitration and Representation of Technology Start-Ups.

Prior to forming Halket Weitz, Tom was the partner in charge of the Commercial Technology Practice in the New York Office and member of the Commercial Technology, Life Sciences, Private Equity and General Corporate Groups of Bingham McCutchen LLP. Prior to that he was a partner and Co-Chair of the Technology and the Emerging Company Group and member of the General Corporate Group of Hughes, Hubbard & Reed LLP. Previously, he was Assistant General Counsel of Engelhard Corporation.

Experience

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Over 20 years experience as neutral or counsel in international and domestic complex commercial arbitrations and mediations. Extensive experience arbitrating (as chair, sole, or panel member) or mediating disputes involving licensing, intellectual property, commercial technology matters, domain names and other internet disputes, securities, franchising, government contracting and various international and domestic commercial matters. Industries involved include computers and e-commerce, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and health care, defense, aviation and transportation, finance and banking, heavy equipment, home products, fashion and consumer electronics. Amounts in controversy have exceeded $100,000,000.

United States

Legal

Over 30 years domestic and international general corporate and commercial experience specializing in technology and intellectual property (IP) matters and the representation of high technology companies.

Corporate

Includes corporate, securities and business counseling, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, public and private (early and late stage) debt and equity financings and domestic and international commercial transactions (approximately 35% of practice).

Commercial Technology

Includes software licensing, equipment and hardware transactions, internet and e-commerce transactions, biotech and medical device matters, design and development contracts, outsourcing, government contracts, supply chain and other commercial matters (35% of practice). 

Intellectual Property

Includes IP licensing and other contracting, IP counseling and the management of IP litigation in patents and trade secrets (principally technology and business method), copyrights (principally information technology and design and other visual arts) and trademarks (for various industries) (30% of practice).

International

Includes transactions in many European countries, South Africa, Israel, South America, India, Japan, Korea and other countries in the Far East.

Significant Arbitrations

Disputes involving:
- patents and patent and trade secret licensing in the telecommunications (international – chair)
- pharmaceuticals (domestic – chair)
- software (international – chair)
- internet (international - chair)
- chemical equipment (international - sole member)
- industrial equipment (international – sole member)
- financial business method (chair)
- trademark and copyright (design) licensing dispute in consumer products (three matters – counsel and sole member)
- software design and licensing (various international and domestic matters – either chair or sole member)
- securities and banking (various international and domestic matters –  either chair or sole member)
- outsourcing of information processing services (domestic - party appointed member)
- acquisition of a medical equipment company (international - party appointed member)
- products liability pertaining to commercial aircraft (international - sole member) and transportation equipment (domestic - member)
- aircraft charter (international - sole member)
- telecommunications backbone services and equipment (international  - chair)
- computer games (domestic - sole member)
- movie distribution (domestic - member)

Publications

Choice of Law in International Intellectual Property Arbitrations: A Three-Dimensional Chess Game?, in Contemporary Issues in International Arbitration and Mediation (Arthur W. Rovine ed., Martinus Nijhoff, 2009)

Improving Arbitration through Technology: a Quest for Basic Principles, 62 Dispute Resolution Journal no. 3, 54 (2007)

The Use of Technology in Arbitration: Ensuring the Future is Available to Both Parties, 81 St. John’s L. Rev. 269 (2007)

Arbitration Offers Advantages in Resolving Technology Disputes, N.Y.L.J. Techtrends, vol. 8, no. 2, March 22, 2004 at T3

Co-Author, Using Technology to Resolve Business Disputes, A special supplement of the ICC Court of Arbitration Bulletin, ICC Publication No. 667 (2004)

Outsourcing the Web Site Design Project, N.Y.L.J.E-Commerce, June 9, 2003 at S5

To Do: Determine the Value of My Failed Startup’s IP, Venture Capital Journal, October 2002, at 43

The Benefits of Arbitration for Technology-Based Disputes: More than meets the Eye?, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Vol. 8, No. 9, September 2000

Joint Author, ADR and On-Line Dispute Resolution, in Arbitration Now 69 (Paul H. Haagen ed., ABA Press, 1999)

Memberships

American Bar Association (Member and Former Chairman of the Section of Science and Technology, Division on Ventures and Enterprise and Aerospace Law Division)

Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Member and Former Chairman of the Subcommittee on Software and the Uniform Commercial Code)

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Fellow and Chairman of the New York Chapter, Tutor and Member of the Practice and Standards Committee)

London Court of International Arbitration (Member)

American Arbitration Association (Chairman of the AAA Technology Advisory Committee)

ICC Commission on Arbitration (Member of the USCIB and Former Member of the ICC Task Force on IT in Arbitration)
 
The Worshipful Company of Arbitrators (Liveryman)

The International Technology Law Association (Member)

The American Physical Society (Member)

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (Member)

The New York Academy of Sciences and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (senior member)

Qualifications

J.D. - Columbia University School of Law (Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar; Writing and Research Editor, The Columbia Journal of Environmental Law)

S.B. and S.M. (Physics) - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sigma Xi)

Member of the panels of arbitrators and mediators of the American Arbitration Association (including the commercial, large complex, large complex technology and IP and international panels), the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Fellow and Chartered Arbitrator), the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution (including the CPR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals and International Panel), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the World Intellectual Property Organization (including domain name and on-line panels). Service as an Arbitrator for the International Chamber of Commerce.