Finley, Joseph E.

Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Joe Finley has a broad range of experience in complex litigation, including contract, trade secret, product liability, and bankruptcy matters. A particular focus of his practice is shareholder derivative and class action lawsuits involving securities and corporate governance issues, as well as internal investigations and SEC matters for companies and board committees. Prior to joining Jones Day, Joe represented the government as lead counsel in a dozen felony jury trials and more than 50 bench trials and contested sentencing hearings in military courts.

Joe has represented clients in state and federal courts, as well as in arbitrations and mediations. Some examples include: defending the CEO of Cumulus Media in shareholder derivative litigation arising from a going private transaction, defending WL Ross & Co. in shareholder litigation arising from the merger of two textile corporations, representing certain outside directors of The Home Depot in shareholder litigation concerning executive compensation and stock options issues, representing Dana Corporation in a dispute over long-term requirements contracts for the annual supply of approximately $200 million of product, and defending Yamaha Motor Corporation in off-road vehicle litigation.

Joe is a member of the Defense Research Institute and the Securities and Corporate Litigation subsection of the Atlanta Bar Association. He has lectured on the issue of stock options backdating and presented a seminar to the Business Court of the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia on the issue of minority squeeze out mergers under Georgia and Delaware law.

Areas of Practice

• Trial Practice
• Securities Litigation & SEC Enforcement

Representative Cases

• BlueLinx wins temporary injunction against supplier in breach of contract and trade secrets dispute
• Caremark Rx officers defend shareholder derivative and class action litigation
• Cumulus Media defends against dispute involving broadcast rights and allegations of trademark and antitrust violations
• Cumulus Media defends against dispute involving FCC multiple ownership rules arising from multiple agreements to purchase and sell radio stations in Florida
• Cumulus Media defends against dispute involving terminated purchase agreement for North Dakota radio stations
• Cumulus Media defends against multi-forum commercial dispute concerning the ownership of Minnesota radio stations
• Dana Corporation favorably resolves dispute with major supplier
• Florida Power defends against litigation involving fiber optical purchase and $77 million in damages
• Fuqua Industries defends shareholder derivative litigation
• Fuqua Industries former officers and directors defend shareholder derivative action
• Home Depot's outside directors defend shareholder derivative litigation
• MedE America defends against litigation involving trade secrets and product defects related to Y2K
• Micro Warehouse settles putative class action by former MLB players against computer baseball game manufacturers
• Officers and Directors of Mayflower Corporation defend securities fraud action
• Samsung Display Devices defends against breach of warranty and negligent misrepresentation litigation
• Special litigation committee of Glenayre Technologies defends against shareholder litigation concerning stock options

West Practice Categories

Bankruptcy Litigation, Capital Markets, Class Actions, Commodities, Complex Litigation, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, Foreign Investment, International Trade Litigation, Litigation & Appeals, Military & Veterans Appeals, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, Private Placements, Public Offerings, Securities Fraud & Insider Trading, Securities Law, Securities Regulation, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Tax Litigation, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia

Education

• Emory University
• U of California - San Diego

Published Works

• The Pitfalls of Contingent Public Financing in Congressional Campaign Spending Reform, 44 Emory L. J. 735, 1995
• Crack Charging in Los Angeles: Do Statistics Tell the Whole Truth About ‘Selective Prosecution’, 6 Fed. Sent. Rep. 113, 1993

Address

1420 Peachtree Street, N.E.,
Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30309-3053

Phones

1.404.581.8409 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.404.581.8330 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com