Joseph M. Terry

Though all cases vary and none is predictive, Joe’s experience includes:

• Obtaining a dismissal on behalf of Fox Sports commentator Shannon Sharpe in a defamation suit brought by NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre regarding Sharpe’s comments on his show, “Undisputed,” about Favre’s connection to a Mississippi welfare fraud scandal, and successfully arguing before the Fifth Circuit to affirm that dismissal.
• Successful representation of Google in a case concerning the Antiterrorism Act (ATA), 18 U.S.C. § 2333 and in persuading the Court not to address the scope of Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act.
• The defense of Bank of America in a high-profile case involving the Commanders football team and alleging a breach of fiduciary duty.
• Representation of a group of First Amendment scholars as amicus in an important First Amendment case before the Supreme Court, where the Court held that an advocacy group plausibly alleged that a former government official violated the First Amendment by coercing regulated entities to terminate their business relationships with the advocacy group in order to punish or suppress their message.
• The defense of Fox News in a defamation action brought by a former contributor; in multiple defamation suits brought by individuals who had entered into workplace-related settlements with a commentator and who objected to public comments made about those settlements; and in a suit for intentional infliction of emotional distress brought by the parents of Seth Rich
• The trial defense, through settlement, of ABC News against libel and product disparagement claims by the producers of “lean finely textured beef.”
• The defense of the Atlantic Monthly in an ongoing defamation suit.
• Representations of media companies in non-public retraction demand matters or threatened litigation regarding coverage.
• Representation of a major motion picture studio in connection with litigation regarding the construction of a theme park.
• Representation of a Fortune 500 media corporation that was the target of a highly-publicized FCPA investigation by the Department of Justice and SEC.  The investigation was closed without settlement, charges, or an enforcement action.
• Obtaining a complete defense victory for a Big Four accounting firm in a multi-hundred-million-dollar accounting malpractice arbitration.
• Obtaining summary judgment for a major accounting firm accused of professional malpractice.
• Obtaining a dismissal on behalf of a multinational media company in the only civil litigation brought in the United States regarding the phone hacking controversy involving UK tabloids.
• Criminal defense of Senator Ted Stevens on charges that he made false statements on federal disclosure forms.  Senator Stevens was ultimately exonerated on all counts following the revelation that the prosecution withheld key evidence that undermined its principal theory of the case.  The American Lawyer described Williams & Connolly’s work on the case as “one of the best criminal defense performances in memory, resulting in a heightened scrutiny of prosecutors that will affect the Justice Department for years to come.”
• Defense of former New York Stock Exchange Chairman and CEO Richard A. Grasso in the highly publicized civil action brought by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer challenging the reasonableness of Mr. Grasso’s compensation.  After a four-year battle that reached New York’s highest court, all counts against Mr. Grasso were dismissed.
• Lead counsel in the representation of a multi-billion-dollar asset manager in an arbitration concerning a non-compete dispute with a former partner.
• Lead counsel in the defense of a chain of for-profit trade schools accused of fraud and deceptive trade practices.
• Lead trial counsel in the pro bono defense of an individual charged with first degree attempted murder.  The jury acquitted the defendant of first degree attempted murder and hung on all remaining charges but theft of over $500.