Jeffrey Y. Lewis

Partner

Direct: 404.873.8702
Fax: 404.873.8703
Atlanta
171 17th Street NW
Suite 2100
Atlanta, Georgia 30363

Biography

Jeff is a partner in the Litigation practice and a member of the Entertainment & Sports, Global Commerce, Industrial & Warehouse, and Logistics & Transportation, industry teams. Jeff is a talented lawyer who uses proven dispute resolution devices to help large and small companies as well as individuals. For nearly four decades, Jeff has defended clients through litigation, mediation, and arbitration in the United States and abroad. His widespread experience spans the healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceutical, construction, technology, retail, restaurant, manufacturing, and real estate industries. Clients retain Jeff for his legal acuity and personal attention to detail. He handles matters related to global commerce, business defamation, and tortious interference, class actions, technology sales and licensing, insurance coverage, trade secrets, and Uniform Commercial Code matters. He also manages matters related to estate litigation, family business, logistics, labor and employment, restrictive covenants, non-competition agreements, false labeling, and letters of credit matters.

Jeff serves on the Georgia Governor’s Film, Music, and Digital Entertainment Commission. He was a professional actor from 1985 to 1992 and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. He served on the Board of Directors for the Southeast Playwrights’ Project and the Georgia Shakespeare Festival. He has performed in the “A Courthouse Line” charitable productions of the Atlanta Bar Foundation.

Experience

  • Assisted a foreign bicycle manufacturer in a product recall with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

  • Defended manufacturers in product liability cases, defective construction products, beer distribution rights, and foreign manufacturing of equipment for the cable television industry.

  • Handled a breach of contract for the renovation of a chemical storage tank.

  • Handled inter-generational estate litigation over a will.

  • Protected a client’s trade secrets for proprietary yeast strains in the ethanol industry.

  • Represented a company accused of negligent inspection in wrongful death/personal injury cases arising out of an explosion and fire at a sugar refinery.

  • Represented a franchisor in disputes over franchise and guaranty agreements in the fast food industry.

  • Resolved a defamation and tortious interference claim arising out of the World Trade Center disaster on Sept. 11, 2001.

  • Successfully resolved a claim against a client’s health insurance provider over reimbursement obligations.

  • Won a breach of contract dispute for hospital linen services.

Credentials

  • University of Georgia School of Law, Juris Doctor,
    cum laude
    • German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) – Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany, 1978-79
  • University of Georgia, Bachelor of Arts - Political Science and German,
    summa cum laude
  • State of Georgia 1982
  • United States Supreme Court 1998
  • Georgia Court of Appeals 1982
  • Superior Courts of Georgia 1982
  • Supreme Court of Georgia 1982
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 1982
  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia 1982
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia 1982
  • Professional Activities:

    • American Bar Association, Section of Tort and Insurance Practice
    • Atlanta Bar Association
    • British American Business Council
    • Georgia Film, Music, and Digital Entertainment Commission
    • German American Chamber of Commerce
    • Lawyers Club of Atlanta
    • Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Sound Economy Task Force

     

    Community Activities:

    • First Presbyterian Church, Elder and Sunday School Teacher
    • Gridiron Secret Society
    • Leadership Georgia, 1994
    • Liberty Fund
    • “Neil ‘Hondo’ Williamson and The Georgia Bulldog Allstars” Radio Program, Panelist
    • Northside Youth Organization, Football Coach
    • University of Georgia, Vincent J. Dooley Library Endowment Fund, Committee Member
    • University of Georgia School of Law, Alumni Board
    • Westminster Schools, Alumni Board
    • Wrestlers In Business Network Atlanta Chapter, Board of Directors
    • YMCA Adventure Guides/Princesses
  • German ( Conversational )

Recognition

  • Georgia Super Lawyers, 2004-21
  • Recipient of the 2017 Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service from the State Bar of Georgia
  • AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, 2012-17
  • Alumnus Service Award, The Westminster Schools, 2012

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