Thomas Bird Bio

Tom is a trusted advisor and outside general counsel, guiding closely held companies to success through astute business planning, financial strategy, and business succession planning. Tom is an experienced business attorney who serves as outside general counsel to privately owned business and their owners. He empowers business owners to achieve success through strategic guidance and collaborative problem-solving. Listening actively to understand his clients' specific challenges and strategic needs enables him to focus on their big picture rather than isolated transactions. This mindset helps him select the right Fredrikson attorneys skilled in relevant areas to serve on the client’s legal team, including tax planning, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, trusts and estates, compensation and benefits, employment and labor, bank and finance, and business litigation. Tom has guided clients through choice of entity in business formation, counseling them on the various legal structures available to them, including S corporations, family limited partnerships and limited liability companies. His experience includes negotiating and drafting purchase and sale agreements, shareholder buy-sell agreements and implementing business succession plans. He is committed to presenting information from multiple sources and helping business owners not only consider the alternatives but also arrive at a strategy that best aligns with their specific circumstances, objectives, personality and risk tolerance. As senior leadership prepares to shift ownership, Tom develops strategies to maintain or dispose of business interests effectively, ensuring smooth transitions and maintaining business continuity. Throughout, he prioritizes the healthy functioning of family members or other owners, knowing that dissension among principals is harmful to the business. In family businesses, he supports parents in selecting a successor and structuring fair compensation among family members. He also advises on the sale to co-owners, key employees, ESOPs or third parties, and provides a legal framework for an orderly transition of the business in a tax-efficient manner. Tom’s passion for business law stems from his own entrepreneurial journey. Before joining Fredrikson, he was the president of his own law firm, advising closely held business owners on a range of legal and financial matters. This experience, combined with his tenure as Director of Business Succession and Estate Planning at a Fortune 500 company, equips him to provide holistic and strategic legal counsel.