Biography
Patricia H. Thompson, Esq. joins JAMS after a successful career as trial and appellate lawyer and arbitrator, concentrating her practice in construction, employment, surety, fidelity, financial insurance matters and other complex commercial disputes in state and federal courts.
Her goal as an arbitrator is to meet the parties’ pre-dispute expectations of efficiency and cost reductions. In mediation, she balances facilitation, evaluation and perseverance to direct the best avenue of resolution for all parties involved.
Ms. Thompson has been regularly listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Business Lawyers, The International Who's Who of Construction and Business Lawyers, and similar Florida publications ranking attorneys in her areas of practice concentration. She is a fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers.
Ms. Thompson has served as chair and in other senior leadership roles of the Tort and Insurance Practice, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee of the American Bar Association, which awarded her the Martin J. Andrews Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fidelity and Surety Law in 2012.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
Representative Matters
- Surety
- Prosecution of construction delay claims by surety against architect and engineer
- Prosecution of nonpayment claim by contractor against developer
- Defense of developer against nonpayment claims of contractor, in arbitration involving claims of design negligence and defective work
- Defense of numerous claims of nonpayment by subcontractors against contractors and sureties
- Defense of numerous performance bond claims by public and private owners against sureties
- Negotiation of numerous take-over and completion agreements between sureties and owners
- Prosecution of multiple claims for indemnification and subrogation against owners, contractors and design professionals responsible for surety losses
- Defense of miscellaneous surety bond claims, including receiver, theft, trustee and other fiduciary obligations
- Defense of contested supersedeas bond claims
- Negotiation of numerous surety indemnity agreements
- Insurance
- Served as chair of a three arbitrator panel sitting in Miami for an insurance coverage dispute involving international choice of law issues concerning coverage under a policy of insurance sold and issued in Costa Rica and allegations of negligence on the part of the soliciting insurance broker
- Defense of claim of reformation of insurance policy resulting in judgment in favor of insurer
- Defense of numerous types of claims under Financial Institution Bonds and crime policies, including excess policies
- Prosecution of fidelity insurers’ claims for subrogation and indemnity against wrongdoers primarily liable for fidelity losses
- Defense of numerous claims for disability or life insurance coverage
- Numerous coverage opinions and defense of fidelity, forgery and other claims under bonds and crime policies
- Investigation, prosecution and defense of claims by federal banking regulators against insurers, bank officers and third parties
- Commercial
- Defended evidentiary proceeding on motion for preliminary injunctive relief in connection with contractual right of first refusal in sale of business; motion denied and case settled
- Defense of suit to foreclose mortgage on low income rental complex; verdict in favor of client
- Defense of claim in arbitration for damages for alleged breach of contract to purchase shopping center
- Prosecution of numerous claims on notes and mortgages
- Prosecution and defense of claims on letters of credit
Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS.
Professional Recognition
Professional and Civic Activities
Publications
Lectures
Professional Recognition
- Recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America, 2018-2022
- AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management (2006-2017, 2021)
- Listed as Miami Labor Law - Management "Lawyer of the Year" in The Best Lawyers in America (2016)
- Recipient of the 2013 Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Salute to Miami’s Leaders Awards (Legal/Law)
- Listed in Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Business Lawyers (2006-2016)
- Selected for inclusion in Florida Super Lawyers (2006-2016); Florida Super Lawyers' Top 50 Female Lawyers and Top 100
- Selected for inclusion in The International Who’s Who of Construction Lawyers (2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2020)
- Selected for inclusion in The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers (2015)
- Listed as a Top Lawyer in South Florida Legal Guide (2002-2003, 2005-2015)
Professional and Civic Activities
- American College of Construction Lawyers
- Past member, Board of Governors
- Past member, Nominating Committee
- Insurance and Surety Committee, Past Co-Chair
- The Florida Bar
- Eleventh Circuit Unauthorized Practice Law Committee "A," Former Chair
- Florida Bar Grievance Committee "llB"
- American Bar Association
- Forum on Construction, frequent author and speaker
- Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section
- Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Past Chair & Vice-Chair
- Past Program Co-Chair, Annual and Mid-Winter Fidelity and Surety Programs
- 2012 Recipient of Martin J. Andrew Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fidelity and Surety Law
- Frequent program speaker, author and contributor to Committee publications
- Brief, Past Editor
- Professionalism Committee, Former Member
- Litigation Section
- Construction Litigation Committee, Past Co-Chair
- Mechanics Lien Subcommittee, Past Chair
- Damages Subcommittee, Past Chair
- ADR Committee, Membership Subcommittee, Past-Chair
- Woman Advocacy Committee, Former State Coordinator
- Task Force on Model Rules of Ethics for Mediators
- The Ethics of the Deal, Section of Litigation Annual Meeting, Program Chair, 2005
- The Fidelity Law Association, Former Member, Board of Advisors
- Surety Claims Institute
- Program Coordinator, January 2000
- Fidelity Committee Member
- American Arbitration Association, Past Member, Approved Panel of Arbitrators for Complex Commercial Cases
- The Defense Research Institute, Former Member
- The Eugene P. Spellman American Inn of Court, Past Member
- Women’s Chamber of Commerce of South Florida, Past Officer and Director
Publications
- Co-author, “Effective Use of Arbitration”, ARBITRATION AND THE SURETY, (ABA 2020)
- Contributor, "PropertyCasualtyFocus," Carlton Fields (October 2016)
- Co-Author, "Court Holds Insured vs. Insured Exclusion Unambiguous, Precluding Coverage," D&O Diary (April 2016)
- Co-Author, "Drafting Disasters - Why You Need to Sharpen Your Clause," ABA Forum on Construction Midwinter Meeting (January 2015)
- Co-Author, "Claims Management and Ethical Consideration," Commercial Crime Insurance Coverage, ABA (November 2014)
- Co-Author, "The Danger of Inconsistent Choice of Law, Jurisdiction and Arbitration Clauses in Insurance Policies," Bloomberg BNA (May 2014)
- Co-Author, "Is it time to include mandatory arbitration clauses in all reinsurance policies?," Global Reinsurance (March 2014)
- Co-Author, "When One Size Does Not Fit All – Manuscript Endorsements," ABA program materials for ABA, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee Midwinter 2014 meetings (January 2014)
- Co-Author, "Ten Steps to Help Insurers Preserve Their Right to Restitution Under Federal Victims’ Rights Statutes," Carlton Fields Web article (October 2013)
- Co-Author, "A Primer In Contract Surety Law," Fundamentals of Construction Law, American Bar Association (September 2013)
- "Top Ten Ways to Avoid/Minimize Employer Liability for Overtime Pay," CarltonFields.com (July 2013)
- “Drafting a Takeover Agreement,” Carlton Fields Web article (February 2013)
- Client Article: "Contractual and Federal Statutory Support for an Owner’s Right to Withhold Payment for Work Performed," (July 2012)
- Client Article: "Ethical Business Practices Construction," (June 2012)
- “Best Practices for Litigation Budgeting,” Carlton Fields Web article (December 2011)
- Co-Author, "Claims Considerations for the Insurer Under a Financial Institution Bond When the FDIC is Claimant," program materials for the Fall Meeting of the ABA TIPS Fidelity and Surety Law Committee (October 2011)
- Co-Author, “Can Direct Mean Direct? Untangling The Web of Causation in Fidelity Coverage,” XVI Fidelity Law Journal 125 (2010)
- “The Unexpected Pleasure of Pro Bono Work,” The Woman Advocate, Volume 15, Number 4 (Summer 2010)
- Co-Author, “A Work Product Overview in Light of Federal Rule of Evidence 502,” The Florida Bar Topics in Evidence seminar in Tampa, FL (March 2010)
- “Florida,” State-by-State Guide to Architect, Engineer & Contractor Licensing (2002-2010 Cumulative Supplements)
- Co-Author, “Financial Institution Bond Insurer’s Rights of Subrogation and Indemnity,” presented at the ABA TIPS Fidelity & Surety Law Committee meeting (January 2010)
Lectures
- Presenter, “Busting the Myth: The Right to Fast, Fair & Cost-Effective Appeals in Arbitration,” Toolbox Talk Series by D1 Construction Litigation & Dispute Resolution, ABA Forum on Construction Law, December 2021
- Moderator, “Mediation of High-Profile Construction Disputes,” International Association of Lawyers, June 2021
- Panelist, “Thinking Differently about Commercial ADR” CLE Program, JAMS, December 2018
- Panelist, “Lessons from the Battlefield,” Miami, November 2018
- Shareholder, Carlton Fields, 1997-2016
- Shareholder at Popham Haik Schnobrich & Kaufman, 1990-1997
- Shareholder at Kimbrell & Hamann, 1982-1990
- Associate at Kimbrell & Hamann from, 1976-1982
- J.D., Vanderbilt University Law School, 1976
- B.A., magna cum laude, St. Olaf College, 1973
Counsel Comments
- “You are one of the best arbitrators I've ever seen in action....I don't want the opportunity to go by without saying that you have taught me a ton. The next arbitration that I conduct will be modeled on what I watched live...in this setting as an arbitrator or umpire. Someone should write a law review article on how you administer this process so fairly and equitably. Your focus on the law and the facts is like a diamond cutting through glass.”
- “I cannot compliment Patricia enough nor thank her enough for the professional way she handled the mediation. The client needed to resolve the matter short of any litigation and Patricia assisted them greatly, all within her role as a mediator. She went above and beyond in moving the parties toward settlement.”
- “Patricia Thompson with JAMS is a “first-class construction arbitrator” who excels across the full spectrum of disputes including non-payment claims, wrongful terminations, breaches of contract and defective work claims.”
- Who's Who Legal, Florida 2020, Construction
News
Events
Practice Areas
- Appellate
- Banking
- Business/Commercial
- Construction
- Employment
- Engineering and Construction
- Financial Markets
- Insurance
- Surety
Locations
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