Thomas (Tom) O’Connell is a Shareholder at Buchalter APC, where he serves as Chair of Litigation for the firm’s San Diego office, Chair of the firm’s Franchise Law Practice, and Chair of the firm’s e-Discovery Practice.Mr. O’Connell’s litigation experience broadly encompasses all aspects and stages of litigation in negotiations, arbitrations, courts, and appellate courts throughout the country. While Mr. O’Connell’s success in defending employment litigation on behalf of entities ranging from public entities to multi-national corporations is most notable, his clients also regularly call on him to aggressively defend and/or resolutely pursue complex business-to-business litigation and franchise-related litigation.In addition to the above, Mr. O’Connell is widely regarded as an industry authority on a variety of franchise compliance issues. Mr. O’Connell takes the same proactive, business-minded approach he uses during litigation when he drafts various franchise documents—including franchise disclosure documents, single-unit franchise agreements, multi-unit franchise agreements, area development agreements, and master franchise agreements—and provides compliance advice for regional, national, and multi-national franchisors and franchisees.