Thomas G. Allen is a US court litigator and international and domestic arbitration lawyer. He is a partner and member of the firm's Energy, Infrastructure, and Resources and Litigation and Dispute Resolution practices. Thomas primarily focuses on resolving cross-border commercial disputes. He has represented companies from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, China, Singapore, India, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Thomas draws from detailed industry knowledge in a variety of sectors, including:
- Nuclear Energy, representing US and Japanese nuclear utilities, fuel fabricators, NSSS component designers and manufacturers, and investors in nuclear power assets. He has successfully defended over US$8 billion in ICC arbitration claims related to nuclear power.
- Renewable Energy, representing project sponsors, equity investors, solar power plant developers, solar module manufacturers, battery storage system designers, manufacturers, and project owners.
- Supply Chain, Trade Disruption and Manufacturing, handling claims related to parts and equipment supply, delayed delivery, equipment and material shortages, design and manufacturing defects, and tariff and tax related contract disputes.
- Transportation, including disputes related to aviation, passenger and freight rail. Thomas steered clients through two of the biggest commercial aviation issues in the last 20 years, the fleetwide grounding of the 787 Dreamliner due to battery events and a worldwide airworthiness directive surrounding safety testing on an estimated 120,000 passenger seats.
Based in Washington, DC, Thomas works closely with the firm’s government relations, trade and regulatory teams to help clients, particularly foreign investors, navigate a dynamic US political and regulatory environment.
Thomas is a part of the firm’s data center initiative. He is a frequent lecturer on international legal topics and a former adjunct professor at American University, Washington College of Law. He served as the vice chair of the dispute resolution and arbitration committee of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association from 2018 to 2024. In addition to acting as counsel, Thomas is a mediator and arbitrator. He is a member of the roster of arbitrators and mediators for the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association.
