John Thornton

A 1992 graduate of Harvard Law School, John Thornton has 15 years of experience representing and advising corporations and individuals in complex litigation.

He has earned a reputation as an innovator and strategist.  He has pioneered successful theories of pre-judgment relief and jurisdiction in international human rights cases.   Through his work, he has brought relief to victims of torture and the survivors of a massacre. 

And, he has proven that a company doing business with Fidel Castro's Cuba can be held accountable for human rights abuses it commits in concert with that regime in courts in the United States.  For his work in this matter, the Daily Business Review named him to its 2008 Most Effective Lawyers list in the field of International Law.

He brings the same spirit for justice that has taken him around the world fighting despots to his smaller cases fighting for the legal rights of his clients.  Mr. Thornton represents corporations and individuals in litigation matters of all sizes.  As a small businessman himself, he knows that the problems of small companies and individuals are every bit as important to them as are large companies' problems.

Mr. Thornton acts as lead or co-counsel on numerous multi-plaintiff actions.  He has co-counseled or worked with such law firms as Holland & Knight, Grossman Roth and Motley Rice.

Prior to co-founding do Campo & Thornton, Mr. Thornton helped organize and was an investigator for a study commissioned by the U.S. Department of State to assess the violence in Darfur.  The study resulted in the declaration of genocide by then Secretary of State Colin Powell.  Mr. Thornton served as Adjunct Professor of Law at St. Thomas University School of Law.  Prior to that, he worked with Mr. do Campo at the law firm Zuckerman Spaeder.

Mr. Thornton is free to provide a unique value to hourly clients.  He is the rare attorney with a Harvard Law education, prestigious firm experience, and relationships with leaders in the legal community who is not dependent on a business model that requires high hourly rates or multiple levels of billing.  Mr. Thornton works directly on his clients' cases with a commitment to winning.

Mr. Thornton's practice areas include Alien Tort Statute, Accidents, Complex Business Litigation, Contract Disputes, False Claims Act, Fraud, Human Rights (Trafficking, Torture), International Law and Litigation, Qui Tam Whistleblower lawsuits, Torts and USERRA.  

Mr. Thornton is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and Florida. He has achieved numerous victories representing both plaintiffs and defendants in complex litigation matters in state and federal courts in Florida and elsewhere, including the Eastern District of Virginia and the District of Columbia.  Mr. Thornton speaks Spanish.