PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Ty Thompson joined Mills Paskert Divers in 2002. Ty is a board certified construction specialist with almost ten years of commercial litigation experience in matters primarily devoted to complex commercial litigation, including construction, fidelity and suretyship, and collection matters.

Ty graduated from the University of Florida in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in building construction. Before enrolling in law school, Ty worked for a national construction company, where he served as a project coordinator and participated in the overall management of multi-million dollar construction projects throughout the country. As a result, he has considerable technical knowledge that is helpful in his construction litigation practice. Ty earned his juris doctorate from Stetson University's College of Law in 2002. While in law school, Ty also earned his masters degree in business administration from Stetson University.

Ty's litigation practice involves a variety of business-related disputes. These disputes deal with corporate fraud or theft, negotiable instruments, relationships between a bank and its customer, and copyright infringement. In his construction and surety practice, Ty handles construction claims as well as contract and commercial surety claims on both public and private projects, including apartment complexes, assisted living facilities, condominium complexes, homes, schools, and public road work. In connection with payment disputes, Ty has resolved numerous payment and performance bond claims. He has also handled claims against indemnitors to recover losses suffered by sureties. Ty's practice also includes a variety of fidelity matters ranging from employee dishonesty to forgery.

Ty is Chair of the Surety & Insurance Subcommittee of the Florida’s Bar’s Construction Law Committee, which is a part of the Florida Bar’s Real Estate, Property, Trust and Litigation Section. He is Co-Chair of the Young Professionals Subcommittee of Fidelity & Surety Law Committee of the ABA's Tort and Insurance Practice Section. He is a member of the Litigation Section of the ABA and the ABA's Forum on the Construction Industry. He is a member of the Trial Lawyers Section and Construction Law Section of the Hillsborough County Bar Association and a member of the Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute.

In 2007, Ty was named to the Florida Trend Magazine's prestigious listing of Up & Comers. This distinction is reserved for the top 1.8% of all attorneys practicing within Florida and is the result of an extensive attorney peer voting and review process by this publication. In 2010 and 2011, Ty was named in Law & Politics' publication of Florida's SuperLawyers as a Rising Star. Ty has been awarded the “AV” rating by Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest designation by the leading lawyer rating service

Ty is an active member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association's Committee on the Construction Industry and Young Lawyers Division. Ty is also an active member of the Pinellas and Hillsborough County Gator Clubs, and enjoys spending his leisure time with his wife, Tara, and two boys, Gray and Camp.

MEMBERSHIPS AND CERTIFICATIONS

Admitted to Practice in all state courts in Florida and the U.S. District Court for the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

The American Bar Association

• Forum on the Construction Industry
• Fidelity and Surety Law Committee
• Co-Chair, Young Professional’s Subcommittee

Young Professional’s Subcommittee Technology Co-Chair (2010 – present)

American Business Institute

• Business Law Section

The Florida Bar

• Trial Lawyers Section
• Chair, Surety & Insurance Subcommittee of the Florida’s Bar’s Construction Law Committee, the Florida Bar’s Real Estate, Property, Trust and Litigation Section

The Hillsborough County Bar Association

• Trial Lawyers Section
• Construction Law Section

Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Institute

Stetson Lawyers Association

University of Florida Alumni Association

• Hillsborough County Building Construction Alumni Association

Florida Trend's Florida Legal Elite (2007).

Florida Super Lawyers Rising Stars (2010 – 2011).

AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell

SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS

Frequent author and/or speaker regarding current topics affecting the construction and surety industries.

The Rising Clamor of Successor Obligees: Contenders or Pretenders?, Gulfcoast Fidelity and Surety Conference, June, 2011.

Fundamentals for a Lifelong Partnership: The Lifecycle Approach to Infrastructure Delivery, Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Midwinter Meeting (January, 2009, New York City, NY).

"Construction Delay Claims: A Surety and its Principal's Perspective," Lorman Education Centers, April 2006.

"Including Amounts Not Due Under Contract In Claim Of Lien May Render Lien Fraudulent And Unenforceable," Insights, Winter 2005.

"Claims and Defenses Involving the Surety," Hillsborough County Bar Association, Construction Law Committee, October, 2004.

"Critical Contract Clauses in Public Construction Contracts," Construction Management Association of America, June 2004.

Material Distinction Between Warranty Obligation and Indemnity Obligation? Insights, Summer, 2003.