Practice Areas
Background
John T. Lay has over 20 years of experience managing complex, high-stakes litigation for clients, and has tried more than 100 cases to verdict. As a member of GWB's Business and Commercial Practice Group, he focuses on business litigation, professional malpractice, insurance bad faith and coverage, financial services litigation, and product liability. Some of his most notable cases have included:
- Multi-million dollar class action suits
- Death and catastrophic injury product claims including pharmaceutical products
- Allegations involving professional negligence of doctors and lawyers
- High-profile business disputes between corporate interests
- Representation of lenders in multi-party financial fraud claims
- Insurance institutional bad faith litigation
John T. has been recognized extensively by peers in the legal profession. He is AV Rated in Martindale Hubbell, and listed in Best Lawyers in America in three categories: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation and Product Liability Litigation. He is also listed in South Carolina Super Lawyers. Additionally, John T. is a fellow and member of the Order of Justitia of the Litigation Counsel of America. In 2009, he received the Exceptional Performance Citation from the Defense Research Institute (DRI). The next year, he received the organization's annual Fred H. Sievert Award, nationally recognizing an outstanding defense bar leader. In 2010, John T. was also awarded the "Leadership in the Law" Award by South Carolina Lawyers Weekly, and has been recognized by Columbia Business Monthly's "Legal Elite" issue.
As an experienced attorney, John T. lends his knowledge to a variety of professional organizations. Currently, he serves as Chair for the International Association of Defense Counsel's Business Litigation Committee and is also a member of the organization's Product Liability and Trial Tactics Committees. He is also a past president of South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association, and a member of the highly-selective Association of Defense Trial Attorneys. Selected by the South Carolina Supreme Court, John T. has served as an attorney to assist disciplinary counsel for the South Carolina Commission on Lawyer Conduct. He is also on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and was elected to John Belton O'Neill Inn of Court.
John T. also has an interest in cultivating legal talent and has developed a broad background in teaching trial techniques. He has taught trial advocacy at the University of South Carolina School of Law and led the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Trial Academy for three years. In 2009, John T. was a faculty member for International Association of Defense Counsel's Trial Academy at Stanford University.
As a Columbia, South Carolina resident, John T. is active in the community serving on the boards of several Midlands organizations, including Senior Resources, Inc. and Meals on Wheels. Currently, he is also the elementary school wrestling coach and a director of the Skyhawk Board at Hammond School.
Education
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J.D., University of South Carolina School of Law, 1991
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B.A., Davidson College, 1987
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Support Staff
Bar Admissions
Professional Associations & Memberships
- South Carolina Bar
- Richland County Bar
- Commercial Litigation and Product Liability Committees, Defense Research Institute
- Chair of the Business Litigation Committee, Member of Product Liability & Trial Tactics Committees, International Association of Defense Counsel
- Past President, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association
- American Bar Association
- Board of Directors, American Board of Trial Advocates
- John B. O'Neill Inn of Court
- Attorney to Assist Disciplinary Counsel for the Commission on Lawyer Conduct
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
- Association of Defense Trial Attorneys
- Council on Litigation Management
Honors & Awards
- Best Lawyers in America, 2008-2012 (Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Product Liability)
- South Carolina Super Lawyers, 2008-2011
- Greater Columbia Business Monthly's 2010 Legal Elite
- 2010 Leadership in Law Award - South Carolina Lawyers Weekly
- 2010 Fred H. Sievert Award - Defense Research Institute
- 2009 Exceptional Performance Citation - Defense Research Institute
Recent Articles, Publications & Presentations
- Vetting and Hiring Your Expert Witness - Alabama Defense Trial Attorney, Destin, Florida - June 2008
- Vetting and Hiring Your Expert Witness - South Carolina Defense Attorney, Asheville, North Carolina - July 2008
- 30(b)(6) Deposition for the Advanced Litigator - South Carolina Defense Trial Attorney Association, Columbia, South Carolina - May 2009
- Cross of the Expert - Trial Academy at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California - July 2009
- Preparing Your Witness for Trial - Trial Academy at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California - July 2009
- Vetting and Hiring Your Expert Witness - Louisiana Defense Trial Attorneys, New Orleans, Louisiana - August 2009
- Effective Low Cost Technology at Trial - ABA Litigation Committee, Beaver Creek, Colorado - January 2010
- Attacking the Adverse Expert at Trial - International Association of Defense Counsel - March 2010 (National Webinar)
- Damn Proud to Be a Defense Lawyer - IADC Regional Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina - April 2010
- Taking the 30(b)(6) Deposition - South Carolina Defense Trial Attorney Association, Columbia, South Carolina - May 2010
- Comparative Negligence - the South Carolina Experience - North Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys, Hilton Head, South Carolina - June 2010
- Preparation and Cross of Insurance Witness - Joint Meeting of South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys - July 2010
- Masters in Trial Demonstration - American Board of Trial Advocates - February 2011
- Attacking the Plaintiff's Adverse Expert (National Webinar) - Association of Defense Trial Attorneys - October 2011
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