Clarence A. Wilbon

Financial Services

Clarence Wilbon represents financial services clients and companies across the country on a multitude of business and commercial litigation matters. Clarence's practice areas span financial services, special assets/workouts, and commercial litigation.

Clarence advises financial services clients, including institutions and companies in state and federal cases, in a wide array of commercial litigation matters, loan workouts and restructures, as well as disputes involving lender liability, loan practices, fraudulent transfers, breach of contract and fiduciary duty, fraud and misrepresentation, mergers and acquisitions, and class actions.

Within his financial services practice, Clarence also serves as a court-appointed receiver over various businesses and entities.

Litigation

Clarence's litigation practice covers businesses' concerns across multiple industries, including representation of health care and life sciences companies concerning risk management, products liability, contract disputes, employment, restrictive covenants, and a full range of business disputes. His products liability practice centers on representing pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in state and federal court product liability actions, handling cases involving a variety of products, including medicines and medical devices.

In the labor and employment arena, Clarence counsels and represents clients on a variety of issues including restrictive covenants, race, gender, age, and disability discrimination; sexual harassment; defamation; wrongful termination; and retaliation.

Clarence helped launch Adams & Reese's newly formed HBCU and Minority Serving Institutions Practice Team, addressing the full range of legal issues facing these institutions, including financial issues, technology matters, employment disputes, employee benefits and compensation, and issues related to athletics programs. Clarence also advises on business law matters unique to the education sector, including public bidding, bond issues, grant acquisition, and finance.

Admitted to practice in Tennessee and Kentucky, Clarence has taken cases to trial and verdict, in state and federal court, in bench and jury trials, and in appellate actions before state courts in Tennessee and Kentucky and the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Circuit Courts of Appeal.

Diversity

During his tenure as Diversity Committee Chair, Clarence led the charge for the firm to achieve Mansfield Certification, a structured certification process designed to ensure all talent at participating law firms and legal departments has a fair and equal opportunity to advance into leadership.

Clarence worked with Diversity Committee members by introducing programs that support law students and younger students to consider law careers, such as the National Association for Law Placement/Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline, and the Memphis Bar Association Summer Law Internship program.

Professional Involvement and Community

A Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, Clarence is a member of both the LCA Trial Law Institute and Diversity Law Institute. Also, he is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute, Trial Attorneys of America, and The Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inn of Court.

Clarence was a former co-chair of the Banking and Lender Liability Litigation Subcommittee for the American Bar Association.

An active member of the Memphis, Tennessee and Kentucky bar associations, Clarence graduated from the Tennessee Bar Association Law Leadership Class and Memphis Bar Association Leadership Forum.

He is a former adjunct professor of law with the University of Louisville. Clarence also received the University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law Distinguished Alumnus award.

In the community, Clarence serves on the board of directors of Germantown Baseball Club. He was a former board of trustees member for Grace St. Luke's Episcopal School.