Overview
Thomas "Tom" Cockriel is a shareholder in the firm’s Business Transactions practice group. Tom’s practice focuses on corporate and business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and sale transactions, capital raising transactions, intellectual property and technology agreements, trademark and copyright protection, commercial contracts, and other general business legal matters. His clients include private equity and venture capital investors, entrepreneurs and business owners, startups and local and regional businesses.
Tom also provides strategic and commercial advice to companies on all aspects of technology transactions, including intellectual property portfolios, IP licensing, software and data issues, strategic sourcing, cloud computing, IT infrastructure, data protection, and cybersecurity. His experience in numerous industries, including emerging technology, financial services, software, digital platforms, and medical devices, provides clients a broad based perspective on critical issues.
Prior to joining Trenam, Tom was an associate in the New York office of a large global law firm. Tom also served as a judicial intern for Magistrate Judge Monte C. Richardson in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Representative Matters
- Represented a national technology services firm specializing in business software applications and cloud solutions with the sale of the company.
- Represented a Tampa-based leading provider of online education and training with the acquisition of a company specializing in technology and software related to educator evaluations and professional development.
- Provided corporate, business, and legal advice to national bank, including review of contracts and transactions with a mobile app development company and a cloud based communications platform service company.
- Represented a regional equipment sales and rental company with the sale of the company.
- Represented owner of a mixed-use commercial building (and its subsidiaries) in connection with establishing credit facilities with a national bank, involving a multi-million dollar line of credit, a multi-million dollar purchasing card line, and related facilities.
- Represented a growth equity investment company in connection with a significant investment in a digital music distributor company.
- Represented a venture capital firm specializing in growth capital, early stage, seed, and series funding with its investment in an accredited drug and alcohol addiction treatment facility.
- Represented a Tampa-based leading provider of online education and training in the acquisition of a higher education content developer.
Honors and Distinctions
- Florida Super Lawyers, Rising Star 2020
- The Best Lawyers in America "Ones to Watch", (Corporate Law; Technology Law) 2021
Professional Involvement
- American Bar Association
- Hillsborough County Bar Association
Community Involvement
- Tampa Bay WaVE, Mentor 2017 to present
- Tampa Connection, Class of 2018
- Team Member of the Year Award
- University of Pennsylvania Law School, Recruitment Advisor, 2017-2018
News
Thought Leadership
- “How to Prepare Your Startup For Investment,” Tampa Bay Wave Webinar, July 2020.
- “Protecting Your IP: A Workshop for Entrepreneurs and Start-ups," Tampa Bay Wave Seminar, February 2020.
- "Protect Your IP: Three Important Agreements for Founders and Executives," Tampa Bay Wave Seminar, August 2019.
