background & education
Tom grew up in North County San Diego, surfing during the day and working as a cook in Del Mar restaurants at night. Tom attended Sonoma State University (SSU) in wine country for undergrad.
Tom double-majored in Philosophy and Communications Studies while working full-time as a kitchen manager at a brewpub. He graduated from SSU in 2000, then returned to San Diego and graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2003 in the top 19th % of his class. Tom has been licensed to practice law in California since 2003.
Tom double-majored in Philosophy and Communications Studies while working full-time as a kitchen manager at a brewpub. He graduated from SSU in 2000, then returned to San Diego and graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2003 in the top 19th % of his class. Tom has been licensed to practice law in California since 2003.
legal experience
Tom spent the first 14 years of his career working at civil litigation firms around San Diego County. He obtained hands-on experience managing litigation caseloads and getting results in the courtroom and in depositions. Tom developed an affinity for business disputes and became the go-to person at multiple firms for business cases.
law office of thomas ladegaard, apc
The Law Office of Thomas E. Ladegaard was formed in 2017 and incorporated in mid-2018.
The Law Office of Thomas E. Ladegaard serves as general counsel for a wide variety of industries, and leverages his litigation and transactional experience Tom continues to manage a busy business litigation caseload, but he expanded his practice area to better serve his clients. Having litigated business disputes for many years, Tom recognized that problems usually arose during contract formation or performance, or improper formation and documentation for business entities, resulting in lawsuits that could have been avoided if an attorney was involved. Tom therefore expanded his practice to include entity formations, contract drafting, and trademark registrations. Trademark has become a major focus of the practice, and Tom is the attorney of record in approximately 200 trademark applications and registrations. Tom thrives in public speaking and has built much of his practice from conducting legal workshops, where he educates business owners on essential legal concepts. |