Jack Waddey

Jack Waddey is a patent attorney who is regularly selected to mediate intellectual property and major commercial disputes locally, regionally and nationally. Mr. Waddey believes in being prepared, pro-active and innovative. He is tireless, and on the rare occasion when a case does not settle, he follows up until all avenues toward resolution have been exhausted. He has been publicly recognized as the "go to" person for mediating difficult cases.

Jack was selected by Business Today, the largest on-line business magazine in the US, as the 2023 No. 1 mediator in the US for IP and sophisticated commercial disputes.  Jack was also named as the outstanding aerospace engineering alumnus for 2024 by the Auburn University School of Engineering.

For over 5 years Mr. Waddey has been listed as one of the top 150 lawyers in Tennessee by BusinessTN magazine. He is a Distinguished Fellow in the International Academy of Mediators, a member of CPR's technology panel, a member (1 of 15) of the INTA panel of distinguished mediators for the Southeast, a member of the AAA mediation panel and has served as a Board member of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center.

Jack was a member of the Editorial Board of the Georgetown Law Journal and served as law clerk to Judge Harry Phillips, Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Upon entering private practice, he became a polished trial lawyer, first with Arent Fox in Washington, D.C., and later in Nashville, starting with Willis & Knight and eventually starting his own firm, Waddey & Patterson, which he co-founded with Mark Patterson and which has become a nationally recognized IP firm.  In January of 2015, Jack resigned as a member of Waddey & Patterson (now Patterson PC) and joined the firm of Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis where he is Co-Leader of the IP Practice Group.  He has tried numerous cases, been an advocate in mediations and arbitrations and handled work-outs for a variety of businesses before focusing the bulk of his time on ADR services.

At the end of 2023, Jack resigned as a member of Holland & Knight (the successor to Waller) to form a boutique IP firm, WaddeyIP.  The move was a friendly one but one necessitated because of the size of Holland Knight, which conflicted Jack out of most of the mediation opportunities that came to him.  The new firm does not have that conflict problem, is nimble, skilled and well equiped to serve its IP clients and to enable Jack to be available to assist you with your mediation needs. 

Georgetown University Law Center - Juris Doctorate, 1970 (Top 5% of class; Associate Editor of Georgetown Law Journal)

Auburn University - Bachelor of Science, Aerospace Engineering, 1965

ADR TRAINING:

• Completed 40 hours of mediation training;
• Advanced Mediation Techniques & Issues Workshop;
• IAM Mediation Training Conferences in Paris, Napa, Nashville, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Harvard;
• Instructor at CLE conference on mediating IP cases at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego;
• Adjunct instructor and Advisory Board Member at the Lipscomb Institute for Conflict Management
• Various other CLE and CME courses relating to commercial mediation

• Selected as the best mediator in the United States for IP and sophisticated disputes by Business Today, the country's on-line business magazine with the largest circulation
• Adjunct Professor at The Strauss Institute for Conflict Resolution at Pepperdine Law School
• Commissioner of the Tennessee Supreme Court commission on ADR
• President of the American Inns of Court Nashville Chapter on Entertainment and IP Law
• Distinguished Fellow, International Academy of Mediators
• Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) mediator panel for technology
• INTA Panel member of Distinguished Neutrals
• Member of the inaugural classes of both the Tennessee and the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals;
• Commercial Mediators Association
• Member, National Arbitration Forum panel of Arbitrators and Mediators
• NASD/FINRA Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators
• President, Tennessee Association of Professional Mediators 2005-06
• Board of Directors, Nashville Entrepreneur Center
• American Bar Association (Intellectual Property and Dispute Resolution Sections)
• International Trademark Association
• American Intellectual Property Law Association
• Tennessee Bar Association (Past Chairman, Section on Intellectual Property; Member ADR Section)
• Nashville Bar Association (Secretary/Treasurer 1974-75; Member, IP Section, ADR Section)
• Nashville Bar Foundation
• Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association (President, 2004-06)
• Board Member, Davidson County Industrial Revenue Board 1981
• Area Delegate, Tennessee Bar Association House of Delegates 1996 - 2008

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