J. Joseph Bainton

J. Joseph Bainton is a Partner in the New York Litigation Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP.

Mr. Bainton is listed in Who’s Who In The World, Who’s Who In America, Who’s Who In The Law, Who’s Who In Business and Finance and he was also selected for inclusion in 2010 and 2011 New York Super Lawyers. He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America.

Mr. Bainton has, for 35 years, represented a wide variety of public and private clients in various commercial litigations. Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Bainton was a partner at other prominent law firms, including Bainton McCarthy, Reboul, MacMurray, Hewitt, Maynard & Kristol; Shea & Gould; Whitman & Ransom and Ross & Hardies.

Mr. Bainton’s 35 years of practice is fairly described as widely diverse and successful. While many lawyers can claim to be Superman, Mr. Bainton can truthfully claim that he has represented SUPERMAN® in his time of need.

Mr. Bainton has worked for years in many different areas of law. Below is a list of a few of his representations in the different areas.

Intellectual Property. For many years, Mr. Bainton was responsible for the anti-counterfeiting/anti-piracy programs of a number of leading intellectual property owners, including Louis Vuitton S.A., Gucci and various subsidiaries of Warner Communications. Among his seminal work for intellectual property owners, he established the right of intellectual property owners to ex parte injunctive relief, the right of intellectual property owners to recover damages for violations of injunctions as a matter of right and not judicial discretion, the right of a prospective trademark user to obtain declaratory relief regarding non-infringement prior to actual use of a mark in commerce and the propriety of subjecting recidivist counterfeiters to criminal prosecution in the name of the United States of America by attorneys “specially appointed” by District Courts for that purpose. Recently, Mr. Bainton successfully represented a major pharmaceutical company in a Section 43(a) Lanham Act case against another major pharmaceutical company.

Accounting Malpractice. Mr. Bainton has both represented and sued accounting firms for malpractice. He represented Price Waterhouse in the National Telephone Litigation, which was the first occasion on which that firm favorably settled a claim asserted by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. On behalf of a Bankruptcy Trustee, he subsequently recovered $20 Million from PriceWaterhouseCoopers based upon the alleged malpractice of that firm.

Corporate Governance. Mr. Bainton has broad experience in both defending and suing directors and officers of public and private companies for breach of their fiduciary duties. He recently successfully defended five former officers and directors of a wholly-owned subsidiary of a public company who were sued for breach of fiduciary duties in an action seeking recovery of damages in excess of $100 Million.

Products Liability. Mr. Bainton began his products liability practice defending The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in connection with the Steel Radial 500 Tire Litigation, which was one of the first mass tort cases. He has represented Crown Equipment Corporation, a leading manufacturer of material handling equipment, for more than 35 years in the state and federal courts of the New York metropolitan area. Mr. Bainton has also represented manufacturers of medical devices, excavators, other industrial equipment and furnaces in products liability actions.

General Litigation. Over the years, Mr. Bainton has been engaged to prosecute or defend all sorts of lawsuits ranging from breach of contract actions to the only reported case involving the ‘temporary intervention’ of private property by the Nicaraguan Sandinista.

Mr. Bainton received his J.D. degree from Rutgers School of Law and his Bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College. Mr. Bainton is either currently or has been a member of The American Bar Association, The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, The Defense Research Institute, The Federal Bar Council, The International Trademark Association and The Product Liability Advisory Council.

Mr. Bainton serves on the Judiciary Board of the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association. He is a member of the New York Yacht Club, the Coral Reef Yacht Club, the Stamford Yacht Club and the Metropolitan Opera Club. Mr. Bainton also serves as a Volunteer Mediator for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.