TOM CAULEY is co-head of Sidley’s international Investment Funds Litigation practice. Tom has litigated over 50 trials and arbitrations to final judgment. Recently, he won a $134 million judgment following a five-week trial in Cook County Circuit Court, which was one of the largest reported judgments in that court’s history. Tom also was one of the trial attorneys who obtained a $138 million jury verdict in Houston for a commodity futures brokerage firm. He also successfully defended the former chairman and principal shareholder of an insurance company against a $50 million damage claim arising out of allegations that he had breached his fiduciary duties to the insurance company by depriving it of corporate opportunities. In addition, Tom won a $56 million fraudulent transfer case in a trial in Delaware bankruptcy court brought against a hedge fund client.
Tom has successfully represented private equity fund managers, hedge fund managers, mutual funds, commodity pool operators, futures commission merchants, brokerage firms and numerous corporations, both as plaintiffs and defendants, in federal and state courts and in arbitrations around the country. Tom has handled a wide variety of cases concerning securities, commodities, commodity futures or derivative instruments. Many of the cases Tom has handled have been class actions or derivative actions brought on behalf of large groups of investors. Tom has successfully handled numerous securities cases, brought as class actions or shareholder derivative actions, that involve claims under Sections 11 and 12 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10b of the Securities Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5.
Tom has also handled numerous cases involving allegations of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, as well as cases involving disputes among partners and members of limited liability companies.
Tom has used his training as a CPA in representing numerous private equity firms and others in post-closing disputes, including disputes concerning working capital adjustments and allegations of fraud and breaches of representations and warranties.
Tom has also represented numerous participants in the financial markets in connection with regulatory proceedings before the SEC, FINRA, the CFTC, NFA and the New York Attorney General’s Office. In addition, he has represented numerous audit committees of large manufacturing companies and financial institutions in internal investigations of alleged accounting irregularities and concerning possible violations of the securities laws.
In addition, Tom has represented numerous investment funds in connection with “claw back” and fraudulent transfer claims in bankruptcy cases, including cases stemming from Ponzi schemes operated by Bernard Madoff and Thomas Petters. He also successfully represented two commodity pools, the Rogers Funds, in adversary proceedings in the Refco bankruptcy, and recovered virtually all of the Rogers Funds’ $341 million in claims against bankrupt Refco entities.
Tom has worked in public accounting and passed the CPA examination. He is admitted to practice law in both Illinois and New York.
Tom is currently in his third term as the President of the Village of Hinsdale, Illinois. Previously, he served on Hinsdale’s Village Board for two years.