Thomas J. Gillen is a legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute. In this role, Gillen assists Buckeye’s public interest litigation efforts to protect people’s rights and promote sound public policy through the courts.

Prior to joining The Buckeye Institute, Gillen was with the Law Department of the City of Perrysburg, Ohio. During his two years there, he researched topics relating to city functions and infrastructure and drafting legislation. Additionally, Gillen worked in prosecutor’s offices in the Toledo area at both the municipal and county levels and participated in proceedings on the record as a certified legal intern. 

Gillen received his bachelor’s degree from Franciscan University and his J.D. from the University of Toledo. During law school, Gillen was on the Criminal Law Moot Court Team and won the Best Oral Advocate Award at the 50th Annual Charles W. Fornoff Appellate Advocacy Competition. He was among the first student fellows at the Institute for American Constitutional Thought and Leadership at the University of Toledo. There, Gillen assisted in developing programming for the institute as well as researching topics related to American constitutional law and interpretation.