By Jo Mathis
Legal News
A native of Grosse Pointe Shores, attorney Thomas Vaughn attended Our Lady Star of the Sea and Austin Catholic Preparation High School on the east side of Detroit.
He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgetown University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, both in Washington, D.C.
After graduation, Vaughn joined Dykema Gossett’s Corporate Finance Department and has spent his entire career with the firm. He currently serves as co-head of the firm’s M&A Practice Group and leads its annual M&A Survey, heading into its 16th year.
Vaughn’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, Securities and Exchange Commission and public company compliance matters, private placements of securities, corporate governance matters and general matters. He serves as corporate secretary for a number of his public and private company clients, including the Board of the Association for Corporate Growth-Detroit, a professional association focused on middle market mergers and acquisition matters. He chairs the association’s annual M&A All-Stars Awards, now in its fifth year.
Vaughn also sits on the Grosse Pointe Woods Planning Commission and before that its Senior Citizen Commission, serving his local community for nearly 35 years in these roles.
Favorite local hangouts? City Kitchen on Kercheval in Grosse Pointe, with the best perch in town. 5Irish Coffee in Grosse Pointe Farms, with the best perch sandwich in town. Little Tony’s in Grosse Pointe Woods, with the best hamburger in town. Nikki’s Pizza in Greek Town.The Parc in Campus Martius.
Favorite websites? SEC.gov. I am on that site daily.
What is your proudest moment as a lawyer? Becoming a member (partner) at Dykema Gossett, PLLC. (Back then, it was Dykema, Gossett, Spencer, Goodnow and Trigg.)
What inspired you to enter the field? I have wanted to be a lawyer for as long as I can remember, way back in grade school. I always saw it as a great way to help and serve other people.
When you were considering law school, what was Plan B? I never really had a Plan B. But I was an accounting major, so my fall back would have been becoming a tax accountant.
What was always written on your grade school report card? I was “Tommy” back then. An old friend recently told me that all the girls thought I was the nicest boy in my grade school class.
At what do you secretly excel? It is not a big secret to my family, but I love the movies and I am great at spotting the movies that are going to get nominated for the Academy Awards each year.
What would surprise people about your job? As a corporate lawyer, a lot of people think what I do is banker hours, 9-5. It is anything but that. It’s usually 9 to 9 and weekends. There is never a dull moment.
What has been your favorite year so far? Any year other than 2020! Social distancing is really hard for me.
Favorite stamp on your passport? France. I love Paris. My goal when I retire is to rent an apartment in Paris for a month and live like a Parisian.
When you look back into the past, what do you miss most? I am a look-forward type person. I love what I have done in the past, but I look forward to what is yet to come.
If you could have witnessed any event in history, what would it be? This is really hard. I love all of those time travel shows. I think it would have been really cool to have experienced the exuberance of being in Times Square on VJ Day when people knew that WW II was really over.
What were you doing in your last selfie? I took a picture of me with a beer in hand and pig in the background, at my nephew’s barn wedding in Florida.
Can you think of a failure that ultimately became a positive? I was rejected by Dykema for a summer associate position, but reapplied for a permanent position in my third year of law school. That decision to get past an early failure, ultimately turned about to shape the rest of my career and life.
What is one thing you would like to learn to do? I played piano when I was a kid, but not as an adult. I want to relearn that skill.
What is the best advice you ever received? Years ago, I had a chance to move back to Washington, D.C. and take a job with the SEC. One of my mentors, Lloyd Semple, advised me to stay with Dykema and continue to build my practice. Best advice I ever received.
What purchase of $50 or less has most positively affected your life? I bought a pair of hiking boots quite a few years ago that led to a love of hiking the National Parks. It has become a passion for me and it is something that I am able to do one-on-one with my adult children.
What are you looking forward to? As chair of the Association for Corporate Growth-Detroit’s 5th Annual M&A All-Star Awards this year to be held on June 25 at the Townsend Hotel, I am looking forward to honoring some great deals and dealmakers and partying the night away.
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