Tom graduated from DePauw University in May 1986 with a major in History and minor in Computational Mathematics. He then attended the University of Kansas School of Law, where he graduated three years later. He has law licenses in Kansas (1989), Minnesota (1998), and Arizona (2001). He is also licensed to appear in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, as well as the United States Supreme Court.

During the past 37 years, Tom has practiced appellate, family, juvenile, and criminal law, including service as a county prosecutor, assistant U.S. attorney, assistant city attorney, and county public defender. Beginning in 2004, he developed an expansive family court practice, participating on family law rules committees and legislative workgroups, mediating family law disputes, covering family court hearings as a judge pro tempore, and teaching family law and civil procedure at the Phoenix School of Law.

Tom has presented training seminars on domestic violence intervention for over two decades, as well as topics such as spousal maintenance and artificial intelligence. He worked for Community Legal Services from January 2007 to June 2014 as a senior staff attorney, which helped him develop valuable problem-solving skills for people with limited resources. Afterward, he went into private practice in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Tom plays horn semi-professionally with the Gilbert Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Brass Collective, Salt River Brass, and Millennial Choirs and Orchestras. He also enjoys computer science, reading, writing, swimming, camping, and hiking.