Cooke, John (JT) T.

Harry A. Payton founded Payton & Associates and continues to lead its preeminent commercial litigation practice. A South Florida resident for most of his life, Mr. Payton represents corporations, developers, entrepreneurs, and financial institutions, in business litigation matters including commercial real estate, lender liability, business torts, contracts, commercial foreclosures, shareholder and partnership disputes, and professional liability. Recognized by his peers as a diligent, persistent, ethical litigator, he has received consistent recognition as Top Lawyer in Complex Commercial Litigation and Real Estate Litigation in the South Florida Legal Guide and Florida Super Lawyers®. In 2012, Harry was appointed to the Supreme Court of Florida's Commission on Professionalism for the 11th Judicial Circuit.

Through years of practice, Harry has achieved a level of skill recognized by the State of Florida - through board certification by The Florida Bar. He is one of only 97 attorneys who are board certified by the Florida Bar in both civil trial and business litigation. He currently serves on the Florida Bar Judicial Nominating Procedures Committee, and recently completed a term on the Florida Bar's Judicial Administration and Evaluation Committee. Previously, Mr. Payton chaired the Business Litigation Certification Committee which is responsible for screening applicants, and preparing and grading exams for applicants seeking Florida Bar certification inbusiness litigation. Following his term on this committee, he was appointed to, and later chaired, the Board of Legal Specialization and Education (BLSE), the body that supervises the entire certification program of The Florida Bar.

Mr. Payton was a leader in the effort by the American Bar Association Committee on Corporate Counsel in the creation of a uniform system of billing and budgeting that serves as a platform for assessing the productivity and efficiency of outside counsel and law firms. He seeks to improve the way in which in-house counsel and corporate law departments manage their business litigation through his active role in the Law Department Consortium.