Reed Smith has added litigator Jay Thornton to its Financial Industry Group, as a partner in its Miami office. Jay, who has been litigating complex banking, employment and commercial litigation matters for 20 years, joins the firm from Gray Robinson, P.A.
Jay brings to Reed Smith significant jury and non-jury trial experience in state and federal courts, and he regularly represents large institutional clients in various litigation matters. His practice specializes in complex banking litigation, including class action, general bank operations litigation, check fraud and UCC Article III and IV claims, Fair Credit Billing Act and real estate litigation, mortgage fraud and title insurance disputes, fraudulent transfer act litigation, creditor rights, and commercial loan workouts and foreclosures.
Jay also advises on complex commercial litigation matters including contract disputes, deceptive and unfair trade practices, right of publicity actions, defamation, civil theft, fraud, civil RICO and all other forms of fraud. He also has experience in IP litigation, eminent domain and inverse condemnation and defense of accessibility discrimination claims under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Regarding employment law, Jay has represented clients in defense of race, age, gender, sex, pregnancy, religious, and disability discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation claims brought under Title VII and/or the Florida Civil Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the ADA, and federal and state “whistleblower” statutes. He has also acted in defense of wage and hour claims brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act, including collective actions and retaliation.
“South Florida is a region where our existing and potential banking and finance clients have expressed to us a need for top-notch legal counsel across a wide range of areas for potential litigation,” said Ed Estrada, global chair of Reed Smith’s Financial Industry Group. “Jay is a fantastic commercial litigator with first chair trial experience and will bring much needed support and knowledge of Florida law and procedures. We wholeheartedly welcome him to the firm.”
Since opening in 2017, Reed Smith has maintained a deliberate growth strategy in Miami, focused on several core practices. In addition to serving as a key office for the firm’s industry-leading international arbitration practice, the Miami office is a central hub for its Latin America capabilities, and was recently joined by a four-person team led by Hugh Lumpkin and Matt Weaver, who joined the firm’s Insurance Recovery Group.
“We are building a team in Miami comprised of lawyers with both well-earned reputations as the best in their respective fields, as well as an acute understanding of the business and legal needs of our current and prospective clients in the region,” said Ed Mullins, Reed Smith’s Miami Managing Partner. “Bringing aboard a partner with a focus on financial services litigation but with the diverse experience as Jay’s allows us to continue to build on our core practice areas while at the same time providing additional expertise in employment and commercial litigation.”
Jay obtained his J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 2000 and his B.A. from the University of Tennessee in 1990.
Source: www.reedsmith.com
