Joe Finley is a litigator and trial lawyer with more than 25 years of experience representing companies in high-stakes business and tort litigation. He focuses on complex construction and commercial disputes in federal, state, and bankruptcy courts, as well as arbitrations and mediations.
For more than a decade, Joe represented the owners of the first two nuclear units built in the United States in more than 30 years, handling litigation over project design, construction, and cost overruns in federal court and bankruptcy proceedings involving the project's engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor. He served as lead counsel in a series of construction cases concerning the technological infrastructure of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and has represented engineering firms, contractors, and owners in cases involving design and construction defects, delays, and contract disputes. He also advises clients on contract negotiation and drafting agreements for construction projects. His recent trial experience includes a three-week federal jury trial where commercial property owners sued a financial institution over allegedly fraudulent loans taken out in their names without consent.
Before joining Jones Day, Joe served as a prosecutor in the U.S. Navy JAG Corps, handling a dozen felony jury trials and more than 50 bench trials and contested sentencing hearings. Joe is recognized by Chambers USA as a leading construction lawyer and serves as a guest instructor for Emory Law School's Kessler-Eidson Program for Trial Techniques. In addition, Joe advises clients and speaks at seminars on the impact of generative AI on the legal profession.
担当案件
- October 14, 2025
Generative AI, Agentic AI, and the Next Wave of Litigation presented at the Clarence Cooper Inn of Court - May 14, 2025
Human-Centric Innovation: Leveraging Agentic AI While Elevating Human Skills presented at the Techbridge CXO Alliance 2025 - February 3, 2025
An Update on Emerging Legal Issues involving the Use of GenAI, including ChatGPT and Other AI Tools: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know presented at the 2025 Jones Day CLE Academy - October 9, 2024
An Update on Emerging Legal Issues Involving the Use of AI, including ChatGPT and other AI Tools: What Every Chief Litigator Needs to Know presented at the Chief Litigation Counsel Association 2024 Fall Meeting - February 5, 2024
Georgia Ethical Considerations Relating to the Use of Generative AI in the Practice of Law, presented at the 2024 Jones Day CLE Academy - March 16, 2021
COVID-19 Vaccines: Can They be Mandated? presented at the Clarence Cooper Inn of Court - February 21, 2023
ADR Skills & Strategies presented at the Clarence Cooper Inn of Court - December 14, 2012
Opening Statements and Direct Examination, NBI Seminar on Advanced Trial Tactics - October 24, 2012
Perfecting the Attorney-Expert Relationship - February 20, 2007
Options Backdating - Defense Strategies, Investigations and Professional liability Coverage, DRI Teleconference, presented by DRI's Commercial Litigation Committee
- Emory University (J.D. with distinction 1995; Order of the Coif; Graduated second in class; Managing Editor, Law Journal; Winner of the 1995 Emory Law Day Moot Court Competition); University of California, San Diego (B.A. in Political Science with high distinction 1991); Georgetown University (Institute on Political Journalism, summer program 1990)
- Florida, District of Columbia, Georgia, and licensed to practice before the Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces
- Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps, where he served as a prosecutor from 1995 to 1998
Winner, Georgia "Commercial Litigation Department of the Year," The Daily Report, April 23, 2014
Winner, Georgia "General Litigation Department of the Year," The Daily Report, April 25, 2013