DeSimone, V. James

Tom Quilling is a graduate of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. He received his B.S. in Architecture degree with honors from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.

Tom Quilling has over thirteen years of law practice experience, and six years of architecture practice experience, Tom Quilling has developed expertise in law practice areas that take advantage of his professional architectural career.

Tom has a comprehensive transactional and litigation background with particular emphasis in matters involving construction, environmental, real estate, land use and governmental relations law. Tom manages the legal aspects of large land deals and construction projects, where he assists public agencies, owners, and developers in meeting environmental regulations and green building standards, and provides advises on transactional work including leasing, acquisitions and sales. Because of the nature of his practice Tom has experience in many complex litigation cases in various areas of law.

Complex Litigation Practice

Tom has extensive experience in managing and litigating Complex Litigation cases throughout California. The California Courts define a "complex case" as an action that requires exceptional judicial management to avoid placing unnecessary burdens on the court or the litigants and to expedite the case, keep costs reasonable, and promote effective decision making by the court, the parties, and counsel.

He has litigated construction claim litigation, construction defect litigation, environmental and toxic tort claims involving many parties, and litigation of mass tort and product liability class actions.

Tom has represented and defended a major tire manufacturer in a national class action law suit claiming defective manufacturing of stock tires on multiple American car makes and models. He has represented government agencies, private development corporations, surety companies and construction management companies in complex construction claim litigation. Several of these construction claim litigation matters involved California False Claim Act violations.

He has been involved in several litigation matters involving environmental or toxic tort claims.

He has also represented developers, general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers in multiple complex construction defect litigation matters throughout California.

Construction Transactions and Litigation Practice

Tom works with construction industry clients from the inception of a project and the formation of contracts to the resolution of claims in litigation. An experienced litigator, he looks for unique solutions to construction disputes to achieve solutions that are efficient and cost effective for his clients.

Tom represents public and private entities in his Construction Practice – including educational facilities, public agencies, owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, design professionals, condo and homeowners associations.

Tom's construction and project administration experience covers the drafting and negotiation of construction contract documents and related documents for a range of project types and sizes, and various manufacturing, industrial, commercial, resort, mixed-use, and institutional building types. In addition to contract drafting and negotiation, he regularly advises and represents owners, developers and contractors during the contract administration phase of large projects in connection with change orders, claims, and related project issues.

He has proficiency in the implementation and use of the design-build process. Because the construction industry has moved toward design-build, his Clients benefit not only from his broad, indepth understanding of how the process works and its legal nuances, but also from his ability to apply this knowledge in a practical way.

Tom's litigation experience covers numerous construction litigation actions ranging from standard two-party disputes to complex multi-party claims involving amounts in controversy totaling tens of millions of dollars. His experience includes representing contractors in bid protests against state, and local governments; representing contractors and owners in private construction contract claims and disputes, including claims for changes, delays, inefficiencies, accelerations, defective work, differing site conditions, and terminations; and representing contractors and owners in defense of a range of construction actions, including mechanic's liens, payment claims, toxic mold claims, and default terminations. Tom also regularly counsels and represents clients in various alternative dispute resolution proceedings, including mediation and arbitration.
His construction experience also includes prosecuting and defending construction contract, construction defect and design defect claims on behalf of owners, contractors and design professionals on both private and public projects.

Environmental Practice

Tom's practice involves the representation of clients in environmental and land-use litigation, transactional and compliance matters. He is also experienced with sustainable (LEED) development. He has represented clients in state and federal environmental and land-use litigation, including cases involving CERCLA, RCRA, CEQA and other environmental statutory and common law claims.

He has handled a wide range of federal, state and local environmental and land use matters, including Clean Water Act, Brownfield redevelopment, and environmental due diligence. His clients' cases have included cost recovery actions for environmental cleanup expenses, Superfund and related cost contribution cases, and environmental insurance issues. He has handled construction and real estate development environmental issues, including environmental permitting, audits and compliance.

Tom regularly advises clients concerning the impact of environmental laws on all types of business and real estate matters. He undertakes environmental due diligence, provides strategic advice, and negotiates and resolves environmental issues arising in construction or real estate development matters. He assists in managing environmental due diligence investigations, oversight of environmental consultants, and the review and finalization of their reports.

Real Estate/Land Use/Government Relations

Tom has represented commercial and residential developers, lenders, borrowers, sellers, buyers, investors, landlords, and tenants and individuals. He has reviewed, negotiated and prepared all the necessary documents to complete complex residential and commercial real estate transactions, including deeds, notes, mortgages, liens and assignments of interest.

He has also handled land use and government relations in matters related to permits, licenses, entitlements, zoning and related land use matters.

Tom has experience in several areas of real property law. His real estate practice areas include: purchase and sale of residential and commercial real estate; construction and development of commercial and residential property; green and sustainable ("LEED") development; land use and entitlements; commercial property leasing; and real estate litigation.

The asset types he has worked with include: affordable and workforce housing; hotels and resorts; mixed-use developments; multifamily housing; office buildings; residential subdivisions and planned communities; and retail shopping centers.

Tom understands and advises landlords, tenants, buyers, sellers, owners and developers programmatic information to effectively consummate transactions for his clients. He also provides practical advice on transactional matters and an overview of important legal trends affecting transaction contents and invalid requirements for purchase.