William "Jay" Harbison II is an attorney at Neal & Harwell and works primarily in the areas of business and civil litigation. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants and advises clients on a variety of complex legal issues. Representative cases involve contract disputes, defending a metropolitan television station against defamation claims, and defending a large pharmaceutical company in numerous mass tort cases. Jay is recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2024 for Civil Rights Law, Commercial Litigation and Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants.
Jay graduated magna cum laude from the University Of Tennessee College Of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College. While in law school, he served as the Executive Editor for the Tennessee Law Review.
Prior to entering private practice, Jay served as a law clerk for the Honorable Gilbert S. Merritt, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Representative Matters:
- American Baptist College v. National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., Davidson Co. Chancery Court No. 17-1140-BC
- Dell’Aquila v. LaPierre et al., 2020 WL 5816222 at *1 (M.D. Tenn. Sept. 30, 2020) (dismissing purported class action complaint against non-profit client under Rule 12(b)(6)).
- Funk v. Scripps Media, Inc., 570 S.W.3d 205 (Tenn. 2019).
- SPE GO Holdings, Inc. v. W&O Construction, Inc., 759 F. App’x 359 (6th Cir. 2018).
- Bell v. McLemore, 347 F. Supp. 3d 362 (M.D. Tenn. 2018).
- Durham v. Martin, 905 F.3d 432 (6th Cir. 2018).
- Seay v. Rowland, 2018 WL 6174692, at *1 (M.D. Tenn. Aug. 30, 2018), report and recommendation adopted, 2018 WL 5095456 (M.D. Tenn. Oct. 19, 2018).
jharbison@nealharwell.com
615-238-3650