Lawrence L Jones II

Lawrence L. Jones II
Partner

Recent Results:

$5.05 million auto accident verdict (a record setting verdict in Kentucky)
$1.36 million medical malpractice verdict
$1.16 million pedestrian auto accident settlement
$300, trip and fall verdict

Larry spent nearly the first seven years of his career representing some of the largest companies in the world as a litigator at Tachau Maddox Hovious & Dickens, PLC. Today, Larry uses his skill, experience and training to fight for real people. After leaving the Tachau firm, Larry founded Bahe Cook Cantley & Jones PLC and then JONES WARD PLC, a national class action and mass torts law firm.

On November 4, 2009, Governor Steve Beshear appointed Larry to serve as a Special Justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court. Chief Justice Minton selected Larry to author the opinion of the Court, which was adopted unanimously by his fellow Supreme Court justices.

Larry has attained the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell AV® Peer Review Rating -- An AV® certification mark is a significant rating accomplishment - a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence. It is the highest rating a lawyer can receive.

Larry is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Larry has also been selected by the American Trial Lawyers Association as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Kentucky. Moreover, Larry has been selected by Louisville Magazine as one of "Louisville's Top Lawyers" on several occasions.

Today, Larry's litigation practice focuses primarily on class action, mass tort and personal injury cases. He handles all types of personal injury cases including medical malpractice, defective products and drugs, wrongful death, auto accidents, tractor trailer accidents, motorcycle accidents, pharmaceutical injuries, nursing home negligence and other injury claims. He also handles many types of employment discrimination and sexual harassment cases.

Larry has been actively involved in several pharmaceutical multi-district litigation (MDL) cases, including most recently In re: DePuy Orthopaedics ASR Hip Implant Litigation MDL 2197; In re: Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 2100; In re: Chantix (Varenicline) Products Liability Litigation MDL 2092; In re: Digitek Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1968; In Re: Total Body Formula Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 1946; and In Re: Avandia Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation MDL 1871 and In re: Prempro Products LIability Litigation MDL 1507. Larry currently serves on the Plaintiff's Steering Committee in the Total Body Formula MDL. Additionally, Larry has been selected by lead counsel to assume a very active role in the In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig "Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010 MDL 2179 litigation.

Larry is currently co-lead counsel in a class action lawsuit against BP and the other parties responsible for the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico --which is the worst man-made environmental disaster of our times. Along with a consortium of nationally-renowned mass tort attorneys, Larry also represents numerous individual claimants in the Gulf states for claims ranging from lost employment opportunities, lost rental income, lost business income and diminished property values.

Larry is a noted leader in both the business and the legal communities. In 2007, the Louisville Courier Journal's Velocity Magazine featured Larry as one of Louisville's "Generation Next." In 2005, Louisville's Business First publication selected Larry as one of the "Top 40 Under Forty" -- an award bestowed upon the top 40 business leaders in the Louisville area under the age of forty.

In 2010, Larry was selected as the Outstanding Young Professional Alumnus by the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Before law school, Larry served as a political aide to Kentucky Governor Paul E. Patton. Larry earned his law degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law, graduating near the top of his class with cum laude honors. While in law school, Larry earned a position as an Associate Editor on the prestigious Kentucky Law Journal, was selected for the law school's Moot Court Board and was one of only two chosen to represent the law school on its National Evidence Moot Court Team. Larry's peers also elected him to serve as their class representative on the Student Bar Association. Larry received a CALI Award of Excellence for the Highest Grade in Insurance Law, which serves him well in his daily battles to get insurance companies to honor their commitments to compensate injured victims for their losses.

Larry's experience is broad. During his career, he has worked on matters involving wrongful death, class actions, nursing home negligence, defective products, medical malpractice, auto accidents, employment disputes (breach of contract, wrongful discharge, and non-compete agreements), employment discrimination, insurance practices and coverage (bad faith and contract disputes), consumer protection, business contract disputes, lender liability, letters of credit, financial advisor negligence, unfair competition, trade secrets, defective software, preferential transfers, creditors' rights, fiduciary disputes, False Claims Act/Qui Tam actions, planning and zoning appeals, fiduciary duty claims, and common law fraud.

Larry's practice has been national in scope. He has represented clients in state and federal court actions in almost every state.

Larry has served three terms on the Louisville Bar Association's Board of Directors (2002, 2006-07). He is the past Chair of the Louisville Bar Association's Litigation Section and its Young Lawyers Section. He is also actively involved in local, state and national politics.

Additionally, Larry has served in the following leadership positions:

American Association for Justice
-Board of Governors (assume office in Feb. 2012)
-State Delegate
-Membership Oversight Committee (Presidential Appointment)

Kentucky Justice Association (a/k/a Kentucky Academy of Trial Attorneys)
-Board of Governors (2006-present)
-Legislative Committee
-Membership Committee
-Convention Planning Committee

University of Kentucky College of Law
-Alumni Board of Directors (2001-2010)

Louisville Bar Association
-Board of Directors (2002, 2006-07)
-Continuing Legal Education Committee (2002-07, Chair, 2006-07)

Kentucky Bar Association
-Young Lawyers Section (Executive Committee, 2002-2007)
-Convention Planning and Continuing Legal Education Committee (2003)
-Kentucky Lawyers Assistance Program (2002-present)

Larry has been a presenter or host at continuing legal education seminars on post-trial motion practice in Kentucky, technological battles in 21st century litigation, bad faith insurance practices, ethical litigation practice, law practice technology, e-discovery, federal court practice, expert witnesses, mass torts, medical devices, trial practice and personal injury damages.

Larry has also authored numerous articles on mass torts, class actions, bad faith insurance practices, uninsured and underinsured motorists, and the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Larry is also a member of the Southern Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice.

Larry has volunteered in a number of civic and community activities, including with the Louisville Legal Aid Society Volunteer Lawyer Program, The Healing Place (an alcohol treatment and residential program), the Louisville Bar Association's Call-A-Lawyer Program, the Kentucky Democratic Party Voting Rights Legal Team, and the Democratic National Committee National Lawyers Council. Larry also served as a member of the Clothe-A-Child, Inc. Board of Directors.

Larry was also appointed to serve as a Board member on the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority and the Kentucky Student Loan Corporation, which services approximately $8.1 billion worth of student loans. As someone who financed his way through college and law school using student loans, this is a cause near and dear to Larry's heart.

Larry has served as General Counsel, Finance Chairman and Campaign Chairman for numerous local, state and national political and judicial candidates.