Thomas D Halket

1948 - 2021
Thomas D. Halket of Larchmont, NY died November 24 after a short illness. Born in NYC on July 20, 1948, he earned BS and MS degrees in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was elected to Sigma Xi, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an editor of The Columbia Journal of Environmental Law. While at M.I.T., Tom met his future wife Amy at a Wellesley College mixer.



Tom and Amy skied together and with their children in Vermont and across the world. Tom loved to travel and experience food and wine. He brought home whatever could be packed in the luggage and shared the bounty at dinner parties with family and friends. An opera-lover and audiophile, Tom built his first sound-system from scratch and kept his ticket from Woodstock.



A distinguished lawyer, Tom used his science training in his practice, which was divided between corporate and commercial technology law. He was an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law where he taught courses on international arbitration, licensing, and intellectual property and entrepreneurship law. Tom was instrumental in the establishment of a week-long Columbia Law School/Chartered Institute of Arbitrators course on international arbitration. He was counsel to Ferdinand IP Law Group, was a founding member of Halket Weitz LLP, and a partner at Bingham McCutchen LLP and Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP.



Tom was an international arbitrator and mediator for over thirty years. He was a fellow, Chartered Arbitrator, and President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, a panelist of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals and of the Tech List of the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center. He was Chair of the American Arbitration Association's Section of Science and Technology, a member of the International Arbitration Club of New York, and a panelist with the London Court of International Arbitration. Tom was a sought-after speaker and co-authored and edited several books on arbitration.



Proud of his Scottish heritage, Tom was the 100th President of the Saint Andrew's Society of New York. He was instrumental in establishing an ongoing relationship between The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and New York Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. He loved M.I.T. and served as the President of the M.I.T. Club of New York and on the board of the M.I.T. Alumni Association.



Of all his accomplishments, Tom was most proud of his four children, Jonathan (Maria), Andrew (Brenna), Douglas (Emily), and Jenny, and his six grandchildren, Penelope, Raia, Theodore, Harrison, Lachlan and Noah. He is survived by Amy, his children, and grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the M.I.T. Alumni Fellowship Fund for Physics at giving.mit.edu/thomas-halket