IJ Arizona Chapter Names Tom Liddy Executive Director

Lawyer and former Marine Tom Liddy brings a fighting spirit and a sharp legal mind to the battles for parental choice in education, freedom of speech and private property rights as the Institute for Justice Arizona Chapter’s new executive director. Tom joined IJ as an attorney in January 2002, immediately leaping into combat against the well-established statist group Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, which is suing the State of Arizona to get more money for failing public school districts. Tom filed the IJ Arizona Chapter’s intervention arguing that parents and schoolchildren—not school districts—have a right to funding for an adequate education. The suit seeks vouchers for parents rather than more funding for failing schools.

Tom is also helping to litigate the Arizona Chapter’s challenge to the Clean Elections Act, and he is working to stop the City of Mesa’s abuse of eminent domain to seize a family-owned brake shop and sell it to a privately owned hardware store that wants to expand.

J’s Clint Bolick said, “It’s rare to find the combination of excellent legal skills and a passion for freedom that Tom possesses. In just the short time since he has come on board, he has already become an integral part of our team.”

Prior to joining the IJ Arizona Chapter, Tom was an attorney with Bess Kunz in Phoenix where he practiced insurance defense litigation, entertainment law and election law. In the aftermath of the 2000 general election, he represented Republican candidates and the Republican Party of New Mexico during the recount. Tom also served as the Deputy Counsel of the Republican National Committee and worked for a private law firm in Washington, D.C. He received his law degree from Fordham Law School in 1992 and his undergraduate degree in history from Fordham College in 1986.