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William Harbison

William “Jay” J. Harbison II

Member

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 2025 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:
  • SmileDirectClub, Inc. et al. v. NBCUniversal Media, LLC, et al., — S.W.3d —, 2024 WL 4233949 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 19, 2024)
  • Avantax Wealth Management, Inc. v. Marriott Hotel Services, Inc., 108 F.4th 407 (6th Cir. 2024)
  • Charles v. McQueen, 693 S.W.3d 262 (Tenn. 2024)
  • 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).
Legal Services
Professional & Civic Affiliations
  • American Bar Association – Member
  • Tennessee Bar Association – Member
  • Nashville Bar Association –  Premier Member
  • Nashville Bar Foundation Leadership Forum 2022 Class
  • Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2025 – Civil Rights Law, Commercial Litigation, & Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants
  • 2021 Attorney for Justice
Education
  • University of Tennessee College of Law, 2014, J. D., magna cum laude; Executive Editor for the Tennessee Law Review
  • Middlebury College, 2005, B.A., English and Theater, Minor in Classical Studies