Tom was born and raised on the Island of Maui and graduated from HP Baldwin High School. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Labor and Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from the University of Arizona, he obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arizona in 1975. He was admitted into the Hawai`i State Bar in 1975 when he began his legal career as a VISTA volunteer with the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii. In 1976 he opened the Law Office of Thomas R. Cole in Maui, Hawaii. He is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Hawai`i and the United States District Court in Hawai`i.
Tom’s community affiliations and services have included the following:
- – Board of Trustees at Maui Community Theatre
- – Member of the Board of Trustees at Hale Makua
- – Treasurer of Maui County Bar Association
- – President of Maui County Bar Association
- – Wailuku Elementary School PTA Board
- – Horizon’s Academy Board of Trustees
- – Board of Directors Ka Lima O Maui
- – Parent’s Board at Seabury Hall
- – Seabury Hall Community Development Committee
- – American Trial Lawyers Association
- – Board of Trustees of Maui Wheelchair Sports Association
- – Chairperson of the State of Hawai`i Defender Counsel
- – Maui County Bar Association elections observer
- – Maui Youth Basketball League Board of Directors
- – County of Maui Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Handicap
- – United States Coast Auxiliary District 14 Legal Officer
- – Counsel for the Maui Chamber of Commerce
- – Continuous membership in the Maui County Bar Association, the Hawai`i Bar Association, and the American Bar Association