Patricia H. Thompson, Esq., FCIArb, CollArb is a full-time arbitrator and mediator at JAMS, concentrating her practice in construction and surety claims, employment discrimination, wage and non-compete disputes, fidelity and business insurance coverage analysis, and other complex commercial disputes.

As an arbitrator, she uses lessons learned over 46 years of trial, arbitration, and appellate practice to pro-actively manage arbitrations to be a more efficient, fair and cost-effective method of dispute resolution than litigation. As a mediator, she guides the exchange of necessary information in advance of the parties’ joint sessions, assists in planning how to structure the negotiation sessions, and uses experience and preparation to help the parties assess risk, value claims, and make informed decisions as to the best avenues of resolution.

Ms. Thompson has been regularly listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Business Lawyers, The International Who's Who of Construction and Business Lawyers, and similar Florida publications ranking attorneys in her areas of practice concentration. She is a fellow of both the American College of Construction Lawyers and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a member of ArbitralWomen.

Ms. Thompson has served as chair and in other senior leadership roles of major committees of the Tort and Insurance Practice and Litigation Sections of the American Bar Association. In 2012, she was awarded the Martin J. Andrew Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fidelity and Surety Law by the Fidelity Law Committee of the Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the ABA.

Representative Matters

• Business Commercial
• Arbitrated commercial and consumer disputes involving claims of fraud, FDUTPA, and multiple breach of warranty claims
• Arbitrated numerous TCPA, FCCPA, and other related state law claims
• Arbitrated Fair Credit Reporting Act claims
• Arbitrated several claims for breach of contract
• Handled numerous claims on notes and mortgages, including foreclosures involving low income rental properties
• Construction
• Chaired a construction arbitration panel which resolved conflicting claims of material breach of contract, defective work, delay, and wrongful termination
• Served as umpire in assisting two expert appraisers in resolving a multi-million dollar dispute under the loss appraisal protocol of a construction policy
• Served as party-appointed arbitrator in an ad hoc defective construction dispute
• Served as single arbitrator in a construction dispute over hurricane damage remediation on a Caribbean island.
• Mediated numerous construction defect, delay, non-payment, and wrongful termination claims
• Mediated coverage issues raised in multi-insurer construction dispute
• Employment Law

Arbitrated and mediated numerous wrongful termination, retaliation, unpaid wage and various types of employment discrimination claims, including:

• Mediated a claim by a senior university employee for breach of employment contract
• Mediated sexual harassment and discrimination claims
• Mediated a class/collective action involving 200 employees of a construction industry company asserting FLSA overtime claims
• Arbitrated employee claims of age, gender, disability, and race discrimination
• Arbitrated employee minimum and overtime wage claims
• Arbitrated non-compete and non-solication disputes
• Insurance
• Served as chair of a three-arbitrator panel sitting in Miami for an insurance coverage dispute involving international choice of law issues concerning coverage under a policy of insurance sold and issued in Costa Rica and allegations of negligence on the part of the soliciting insurance broker
• Arbitrated employee theft coverage dispute between a college and its insurer
• Mediated a coverage dispute between a school and its insurer over allegations of abuse of children
• Investigated and defended numerous coverage claims under Financial Institution Bonds and various commercial crime policies
• Issued numerous coverage opinions, cases involving issues of fidelity, forgery, and other claims under bonds and crime policies
• Pro Bono
• Mediated a dispute between the mobile home site renters and the owner of the mobile home park
• Mediated an eviction dispute between a tenant of subsidized housing and the landlord
• Settled several disputes involving churches, including issues including suit against a contractor who misused $50,000 in funds and employment related matters, and cases involving constitutional church-state statutes
• Provided employment counseling to pro bono legal aid organization
• Negotiated fraudulent claims in the area of elder law and care

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS.

Professional Recognition

• Recipient, Fidelity Law Association's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award, 2024
• Recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America, 2018-2024
• AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell
• Listed in "Who's Who Legal Thought Leaders", Construction 2021, 2023
• Listed in Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law – Management, Labor Law – Management (2006-2017, 2021, 2024)
• Listed as Miami Labor Law - Management "Lawyer of the Year" in The Best Lawyers in America (2016, 2024)
• Recipient of the 2013 Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Salute to Miami’s Leaders Awards (Legal/Law)
• Listed in Chambers USA Guide to America's Leading Business Lawyers (2006-2016)
• Selected for inclusion in Florida Super Lawyers (2006-2016); Florida Super Lawyers' Top 50 Female Lawyers and Top 100
• Selected for inclusion in The International Who’s Who of Construction Lawyers (2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2020)
• Selected for inclusion in The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers (2015)
• Listed as a Top Lawyer in South Florida Legal Guide (2002-2003, 2005-2015)

Professional and Civic Activities

• American College of Construction Lawyers
  • Past member, Board of Governors
  • Past member, Nominating Committee
  • Insurance and Surety Committee, Past Co-Chair
• The Florida Bar
  • Chair, Arbitration Committee, ADR Section
  • Eleventh Circuit Unauthorized Practice Law Committee "A," Former Chair
  • Past Member, Florida Bar Grievance Committee "llB"
• American Bar Association
  • Forum on Construction, frequent author and speaker
  • Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section
    • Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Past Chair & Vice-Chair 
    • Past Program Co-Chair, Annual and Mid-Winter Fidelity and Surety Programs
    • 2012 Recipient of Martin J. Andrew Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fidelity and Surety Law
    • Frequent program speaker, author and contributor to Committee publications
    • Brief, Past Editorial Board Member
    • Professionalism Committee, Former Member
  • Litigation Section
    • Frequent program speaker
    • Construction Litigation Committee, Past Co-Chair
    • Mechanics Lien Subcommittee, Past Chair
    • Damages Subcommittee, Past Chair
    • ADR Committee, Membership Subcommittee, Past-Chair
    • Woman Advocacy Committee, Former State Coordinator
    • Past Member, Task Force on Model Rules of Ethics for Mediators
    • The Ethics of the Deal, Section of Litigation Annual Meeting, Program Chair, 2005
• The Fidelity Law Association, Former Member, Board of Advisors
• Surety Claims Institute Program Coordinator, January 2000
• Fidelity Committee Member
• American Arbitration Association, Past Member, Approved Panel of Arbitrators for Complex Commercial Cases
• The Defense Research Institute, Former Member
• The Eugene P. Spellman American Inn of Court, Past Member
• Women’s Chamber of Commerce of South Florida, Past Officer and Director

Publications

• Author, "Aggressive Adovcacy or Unethical Bullying?" ABA, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Fidelity and Surety Law Midwinter Conference, August 17-19, 2022
• Panelist, “[PODCAST] Demystifying Mediation and Arbitration Myths in the Construction Industry,” JAMS ADR Insights, April 2022
• Author, “Arbitration Appeals: A Safety Value That Is Fast, Fair, Cost-Effective and Final,” ADR Times, March 2022
• Interviewee, “My Story” Featuring Patricia H. Thompson, Esq., JAMS ADR Insights, March 2022
• Author, “Arbitration Appeals: A Safety Valve That Is Fast, Fair, Cost-Effective and Final,” JAMS ADR Insights, October 2021
• Contributor, JAMS Global Construction Solutions, Fall 2021
• Author, "To Arbitrate or Not to Arbitrate - That is the Question", Pearlman Surety and Construction Conference, Sept. 9-10, 2021
• Author, “Eight Tips for Mediating High-Profile Construction Disputes,” JAMS ADR Insights, September 2021
• Co-author, “Private Adjudication — A Solution to Justice Delayed by Coronavirus Disruptions,” Daily Business Review, April 2020
• Co-author, “Demystifying the Surety Industry's Expedited Dispute Resolution Bond,” Construction Executive, March 2020
• Author, “An Indispensable Resource for Construction Arbitration: The College of Commercial Arbitrators Guide to Best Practices in Commercial Arbitration” (4th ed. 2018) American Bar Association: Under Construction, Vol. 20, No. 1, Summer 2018
• Author, “The Key to Saving Time and Money in Dispute Resolution: Staying Out of Court,” Daily Business Review, November 2017
• Co-author, “Effective Use of Arbitration,” ARBITRATION AND THE SURETY, (ABA 2020)
• Contributor, "PropertyCasualtyFocus," Carlton Fields (October 2016)
• Co-Author, "Court Holds Insured vs. Insured Exclusion Unambiguous, Precluding Coverage," D&O Diary (April 2016)
• Co-Author, "Drafting Disasters - Why You Need to Sharpen Your Clause," ABA Forum on Construction Midwinter Meeting (January 2015)
• Co-Author, "Claims Management and Ethical Consideration," Commercial Crime Insurance Coverage, ABA (November 2014)
• Co-Author, "The Danger of Inconsistent Choice of Law, Jurisdiction and Arbitration Clauses in Insurance Policies," Bloomberg BNA (May 2014)
• Co-Author, "Is it time to include mandatory arbitration clauses in all reinsurance policies?," Global Reinsurance (March 2014)
• Co-Author, "When One Size Does Not Fit All – Manuscript Endorsements," ABA program materials for ABA, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee Midwinter 2014 meetings (January 2014)

Lectures

• Panelist, “Hallmarks of an Effective Arbitration: Best Practices”, Miami-Dade Bar Association’s Florida Law Con, March 31, 2023
• Panelist, “Toolbox Talk Series: Improving Arbitration: In-House Counsel’s Perspective”, ABA Forum on Construction Law and Division 1, March 23, 2023
• Presenter, “Arbitration Myth Busting, Eliminating Misconceptions and Bias Towards Arbitration”, Florida Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee, February 15, 2023
• Panelist, “The Invisible Divide: Domestic and International Arbitration Compared”, American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law, November 10, 2022
• Presenter, “Toolbox Talk Series: Ethical Conduct for Advocates and Neutrals (Rules and Remedies for Mediation Misconduct)”, American Bar Association, September 22, 2022
• Panelist, “Aggressive Advocacy or Unethical Bullying?” ABA, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Fidelity and Surety Law Midwinter Conference, August 17-19, 2022
• Panelist, “Anatomy of a Mediation”, Miami-Dade Bar Association’s Miami Law Con, April 22, 2022
• Presenter, “Women in ADR Global Gala Event”, International Institute of Construction Arbitrators, March 22, 2022
• Panelist, “Advanced Ethical Considerations in Construction ADR”, American College of Construction Lawyers Annual Meeting, February 24-27, 2022
• Presenter, “Busting the Myth: The Right to Fast, Fair & Cost-Effective Appeals in Arbitration,” Toolbox Talk Series by D1 Construction Litigation & Dispute Resolution, ABA Forum on Construction Law, December 2021
• Panelist, “The More The Merrier: Trials and Tribulations of Presenting and Defending Construction Claims involving Class Actions, Multi-Plaintiff and Multi-Defendant Jury and Bench Trials,” Construction Super Conference, December 6-8, 2021
• Panelist, “Construction Arbitration: Fact vs. Fallacy – A Debate,” Pearlman Surety and Construction Conference, September 9-10, 2021
• Moderator, “Mediation of High-Profile Construction Disputes,” International Association of Lawyers, June 2021
• Panelist, “Thinking Differently about Commercial ADR” CLE Program, JAMS, December 2018
• Panelist, “Lessons from the Battlefield,” Miami, November 2018

Background and Education

• Shareholder, Carlton Fields, 1997-2016
• Shareholder at Popham Haik Schnobrich & Kaufman, 1990-1997
• Shareholder at Kimbrell & Hamann, 1982-1990
• Associate at Kimbrell & Hamann from, 1976-1982
• J.D., Vanderbilt University Law School, 1976
• B.A., magna cum laude, St. Olaf College, 1973