Jim Davidson is an attorney at Ice Miller and focuses his practice on commercial and employment litigation. Jim is a trial lawyer concentrating on significant, "bet-the-business" employment disputes and has been lead counsel in more than 70 jury trials including cases tried in state and federal court in Ohio and across the country. Among other things, on behalf of a public company, Jim has also successfully tried a collective action involving approximately 1,000 plaintiffs.

While many of Jim's notable engagements involve trial work, he is frequently called upon before problems occur to provide counseling to clients seeking to avoid litigation. In that regard, Jim often works with in-house counsel and other executives to devise front-end business solutions and strategies for litigation avoidance. Over the course of his career, Jim's trial experience has proved helpful in assisting clients in understanding the risks associated with litigation and evaluating other options for solving challenging employment problems.

Jim also has an active practice in the collective/class action area. That practice centers around the defense of employers in FLSA and state law claims for overtime on alleged off-the-clock work. Jim's class action defense practice involves the representation of significant employers in multiple jurisdictions, including California. Presently, Jim is representing two different employers in ongoing litigation in state and federal courts in California.

Notably, Jim led a team of lawyers in the successful representation of a public company in a FLSA collective action filed in Louisiana. That case is one of the very few private enforcement actions involving the question of whether retail assistant store managers may be properly classified as exempt from overtime pay. Following trial, the Federal District Court Judge issued a lengthy decision decertifying the proposed class of assistant store managers. The decision has been widely reported and cited as authoritative by other federal courts.

Jim also provides representation to companies in connection with the enforcement or defense of non-compete agreements. In that regard, Jim has tried many cases in state and federal courts concerning post-employment restrictions and ancillary trade secret issues.

Jim has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers® in America, Labor and Employment Law, since 2005. Separately, he has also been included in The Best Lawyers in America®, Commercial Litigation, since 2006. Jim has been recognized by Ohio Super Lawyers each year since 2004 and was profiled in Ohio Lawyer's Weekly as a Top Ten Ohio Lawyer of the Year. Jim is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.  Previously, Jim served as the deputy managing partner for Ice Miller, and as the former President of Schottenstein Zox and Dunn for over a decade.

In his free time, Jim enjoys golf, skiing and being ridiculed by his wife and three children. He lives in Dublin, Ohio with his wife, Janis.