Tom Buri lives in Smithers where he has practiced law for the last 25 years. His general practice includes Supreme Court civil litigation and corporate commercial transactions. He received his undergraduate degree in English Literature from Dartmouth College in 1967 and his law degree from UBC in 1981. He was appointed Queens Counsel in 1993.
During the 1970s between college and law school, Tom lived on the lower Stikine River below Telegraph Creek where he and his family built a log house and lived off the land while adopting the ways of the Tahltan people who lived in that country. While at law school, Tom helped organize the Friends of the Stikine society to oppose BC Hydro's plans to dam the river. He also conducted a survey of the documentary evidence of Tahltan aboriginal title. Environmental and aboriginal law have remained a special interest ever since, both in his law practice and in his literary studies in the history of northwest BC.
Tom is active outdoorsman. He serves on a number of community organizations, including the boards of the Bulkley Valley Center and One Sky, and he is the father of four children who continue to provide him with a growing number of grandchildren who will listen to his endless stories about the years on the Stikine.