Harry A. Payton

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 various corporations, developers, entrepreneurs, and financial institutions, in business litigation matters ranging from contract disputes and business torts to real estate, construction, foreclosures, bankruptcy adversary proceedings, and lender liability in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and throughout South Florida. Recognized by his peers as a diligent, persistent, ethical litigator, he has received consistent awards as Top Lawyer in Complex Commercial Litigation and Real Estate Litigation in the South Florida Legal Guide and Florida Super Lawyers. 

Through years of practice, he has achieved a level of skill recognized by the State of Florida - through board certification by The Florida Bar. Mr. Payton is one of only 97 attorneys in the State of Florida who is Florida Bar board certified in both civil trial and business litigation. He currently serves 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, preparing and grading exams for certification as a business litigator by The Florida Bar. 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 has been a leader in the effort by the American Bar Association Committee on Corporate Counsel to develop and promote 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.

Professional Activities

Advisory Board, Law Department Consortium, 2008-present

Council on Litigation Management, 2009-2010

The Florida Bar, Member: Judicial Nominating Procedures Committee, July 2011-; Member, Judicial Administration and Evaluation Committee, 2008-2011; Member, Grievance Committee, 1976-1979

Board of Legal Specialization and Education: Member 2002-2008, Vice Chair, 2004-2005, Chair 2005-2006; BLSE Standards Committee: Member 2002-2005; BLSE Executive Committee: Member 2004-2007, Vice Chair 2004-2005, Chair 2005-2006; BLSE Communications Committee: Member 2006-2008, Chair 2007-2008; Business Litigation Certification Committee: Member, 1997-2002, Vice Chair, 1999-2000, Chair, 2000-2001

American Bar Association: Vice Chair 1994-1997, Co-Chair, 1998-2004, Subcommittee on Billing and Budgeting, Corporate Counsel Committee, Section of Litigation

Dade County Bar Association

Florida Justice Association

American Association for Justice

Board Certifications

Board Certified Civil Trial and Business Litigation Lawyer, Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education.

Peer Recognition

Harry Payton was listed in Florida Super Lawyers for the years 2006 to 2011 and has been named in the South Florida Legal Guide as one of the Top Lawyers in Complex Commercial Litigation and Real Estate Litigation since 2005. He currently serves on the Florida Bars Judicial Adminstration and Evaluation Committee.

Areas of Concentration

• Business and Commercial Litigation
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Business Torts
• Commercial Real Estate Litigation
• Construction Litigation
• Lender Liability
• Bankruptcy Adversary Proceedings
• Professional Liability
• Probate and Estate Litigation
• Condominium Litigation
• Appellate Law

Articles and Lectures

Program Leader and Panelist: "2011 Florida Distressed Real Estate Summit.," re: "When Workouts Don't Work Out – Litigation, Receivers, Lender Liability and More," and "Workouts & Recapitalization." Sponsored by GreenPearl Events, Miami, Florida, January 27, 2011.
Speaker: Annual Conference of the Council on Litigation Management, "Managing Litigation Reference Model," Pointe Vedra, Florida, March 24-26, 2010.
Faculty Member: Law Department Consortium "Managing Litigation as a Business," Law Department Consortium: Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto, Ontario, June 9, 2009.
Faculty Member: Law Department Consortium "Managing Litigation as a Business," Washington, D.C., March 31, 2009.
Faculty Member: Law Department Consortium "Managing Litigation as a Business," Chicago, Illinois, October 29, 2008.
Moderator: "The Rise and Fall and Future of Special Billing Arrangements Including Task Based Billing," American Bar Association, Section of Litigation, Corporate Counsel Committee, February 19, 2005.
Speaker: "The Litigation Management Scorecard-What Law Firms Will Buy Into," Litigation Management Scorecard Symposium, Chicago, Illinois, Oct. 24, 2004.
Panelist: "Advice from the Experts: Successful Strategies for Winning Commercial Cases in Federal Courts," Florida Bar Business Law Section Seminar, Miami, September 27, 2002.
Author: "Task-Based Billing -- Overcoming Fear," Florida Bar Journal, January 1998.
Co-Author with Greg Nguyen: "The Corporate Provisional Director: Has Due Process Been Overlooked?" Florida Bar Journal, October 1998.
Author: "Task-Based Billing -- Management Control Over the Litigation Process In House and Outside," Corporate Counsel Newsletter, Section of Litigation, American Bar Association, Vol. 43, August 1995.
Speaker: "Marketing Your Skills to Attorneys in Civil Litigation," Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, August 16, 1995.
Speaker: "The Agreement for Deed from Hell," Attorney's Title Insurance Fund Assembly, May 17, 1995.
Speaker: "Current Trends in Accounting Liability," The CPA Club of Greater Miami, June 17, 1994.
CLE Lecturer: "Traps for the Unwary, Lost Profits and Valuation of Closely Held Corporations," St. Thomas University School of Law, June 17, 1993.
Speaker: "Lender Liability-The Small Practitioner's Viewpoint," American Trial Lawyers Association, Orlando, Florida, January 22, 1990.

Military

Honorable discharge, National Guard