Thomas W. Hartmann is an American lawyer and officer in the United States Air Force Reserve. He has 32 years of criminal, commercial and civil litigation experience. Between 1983 and 1991 he was a prosecutor and defense counsel in the Air Force, including duties as Chief Air Force Prosecutor in Asia-Pacific Region. From 1991 to 1996 he was an associate at Bryan Cave LLP and at SBC Communications (now AT&T). In 1996 he became Senior Counsel for Mergers & Acquisitions for SBC Communications closing multiple deals worth several billion dollars in U.S., Europe, and South America as well as negotiating a strategic partnering agreement with a global internet service provider. From 1998 onwards he was General Counsel for SBC Communications (1999–2001), Orius Corp. (2001–2004) and MxEnergy Inc. (2005–2007) in domestic and international settings. In July 2007 Brigadier General Hartmann was appointed the Legal Adviser to the Convening Authority in the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions. In September 2008, as a result of the expansion of the Commission efforts that General Hartmann had led, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England elevated General Hartmann to become the Director of Operations, Planning, and Development for the Commissions. Hartmann reported to Susan J. Crawford, a retired judge, who was the Convening Authority until March 2010.
Mr. Hartmann has handled cases in the areas of contract disputes, civil rights, sexual and racial discrimination, interference with business relations, violation of non-compete clauses, breach of employment contracts, denial of unemployment benefits, employment rights, overtime reporting failures, construction, business defamation, and fraud. Mr. Hartmann served as a General Counsel for several medium-sized enterprises (up to $1B in revenue). He has negotiated many hundreds of business disputes in favor of his clients, shepherded a company through bankruptcy in 56 days, and overseen the effort to gain temporary restraining orders in emergencies. Mr. Hartmann has negotiated commercial transactions in the U.S., Europe, and South America worth billions of dollars. Additionally, he has been in charge of Human Resources, Safety, Collections, Insurance, Benefits, Public Affairs, and Regulatory and has saved many millions of dollars through streamlining, cost cutting, better risk management, benefit renegotiation, and improved safety. He has worked with boards, board committees and bankers. Mr. Hartmann also has experience with arbitrations and mediations.