Timothy Ray

Timothy Ray is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Chicago office and concentrates his practice in the areas of antitrust, class action defense and complex commercial litigation. He has worked as a leading trial lawyer for more than 20 years and tried over 40 jury trials to verdict in complex civil litigation matters. Mr. Ray has represented clients in a broad range of disputes, including antitrust, cross-border distribution and joint venture agreements alleging anticompetitive behavior, significant breach of contract disputes, and domestic and international arbitration.

Since 2019, Mr. Ray has served as lead trial counsel for a leading real estate franchise company in four antitrust consumer class actions involving the United States real estate industry and real estate agent commissions. The cases involving home sellers are in the U.S. District Courts for Northern District of Illinois, Western District of Missouri and District of Massachusetts. The case involving homebuyers is in the Northern District of Illinois. On behalf of this same client, Mr. Ray was successful in obtaining a dismissal of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case that was brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

Mr. Ray has represented clients based in Doha, Qatar, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in various commercial disputes, in excess of $250 million, against U.S. companies. In doing so, he has developed a deep understanding of the legal issues that are involved in competition and commercial dealings via joint venture agreements with Middle Eastern companies.

Among his breadth of representation, Mr. Ray currently serves as trial counsel for a German consumer products company in benzene litigation. He has also defended several original equipment manufacturers (OEM), including a German company, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in RICO, design defect, breach of warranty, and consumer fraud allegations concerning a sensor housing that was responsible for the release of airbags in various automobiles. All counts were dismissed at the pleading stage.

Mr. Ray successfully defended a national retail chain engaged in the sale of pet products and services in four putative class actions involving fraud and false advertising allegations. These allegations included claims concerning the term "all natural" and the purported health benefits claimed by certain products. He was one of the first lawyers to have dismissed, at the pleading stage, a false advertising case against a national retail chain in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He defended several middle-market manufacturers of health and wellness products in multiple false advertising cases. He also has represented online travel agents before the National Advertising Division (NAD) concerning the accuracy of published fares.

As part of his practice, Mr. Ray has represented high-net-worth families involved in significant trust disputes with beneficiaries.

In the community, Mr. Ray provides pro bono representation to indigent clients in cases in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, including on matters involving employment discrimination.