Tom Peabody

Tom is a former federal prosecutor and accomplished investigator, trial lawyer and appellate litigator. Drawing on substantial experience in the private and public sectors, he guides clients through complex and high-stakes disputes with regulators, prosecutors, consumers and shareholders.

Before joining Cooley, Tom served as the deputy chief of national security and cybercrime at the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, running and supervising complex investigations and prosecutions relating to cybercrime, exploitation, terrorism, espionage, trade secrets and financial crime. He has tried multiple cases to guilty verdicts, and he has authored and coauthored dozens of appellate briefs.

Tom also held several other leadership positions at the US Attorney’s Office, serving as coordinator for the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) program, a position where he advised prosecutors on computer and intellectual property investigations and the advanced use of the legal process, as well as export control coordinator, supervising investigations concerning regulatory and sanctions-related offenses.

Before his career as a prosecutor, Tom worked in private practice, representing companies in multidistrict litigation and complex disputes and advising firms and executives confronting government investigations. Tom clerked on the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.