Tom Pier is a Maritime Attorney and former antitrust attorney who has litigated in Federal and State Courts for over 20 years. Tom's background is shaped not only by his legal practice but also by extensive firsthand experience in maritime settings. Over the years, he worked for three years as a commercial fisherman in the gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea; single-handedly sailed over 6,000 miles in wooden vessels internationally and along the California coast and served as a lifeguard and deckhand on lifeguard boats and environmental mitigation boats for the City of Newport Beach, CA. He is also an avid bay swimmer, having completed a 7 mile swim from Ocean Beach to the Bay Bridge (no wet suit). He currently serves as Chair of the California Boating and Waterways Commission and continues to enjoy cruising the San Francisco Bay on his 1974 wooden Grand Banks 32' trawler.

Tom recently earned an L.L.M. (Masters of Law, advanced legal degree) in Admiralty and Maritime Law after a year of residency at Tulane University in New Orleans. Additionally, he holds a B.A. in Public Policy from Brown University, an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Texas Austin, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of San Francisco.