Jay Evans is a partner in the Firm’s Litigation Department. His practice encompasses a wide array of litigation and appellate matters. He regularly counsels clients on complex issues including management of national case inventories, products liability, contracts, real estate, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, and other business disputes.
Mr. Evans’ practice includes serving as national coordinating and local counsel for companies, particularly automotive and vehicle equipment manufacturers, facing significant litigation matters in the realm of product liability and toxic torts. Jay has represented companies in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and across the United States in these complex toxic tort matters. Jay assists companies and individuals in internal investigations and analysis to prepare for or avoid civil or criminal matters. Jay also guides nonprofit organizations through a range of issues, including governance and compliance matters as well as crafting, revising, and implementing contracts and releases.
In his representations, he has handled all aspects of preparing for and litigating various matters, from pleadings and depositions, Frye/Daubert challenges, trials, and appeals. A key element of Jay’s practice is his thorough understanding of his clients’ products, businesses, and goals. Jay collaborates with his clients to design cost-effective, efficient strategies that will suit their legal and financial objectives. Whether litigating a serious product defect case, negotiating and interpreting contracts, or providing lease advice, he strives to help clients better position themselves in the legal arena and global marketplace by avoiding unnecessary litigation and comprehensively preparing for necessary or inevitable litigation.
News & Publications
- Schnader Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America
- Schnader Attorneys Named to The Best Lawyers in America
- Developing Alternative Skills with a Purpose
- Jay Evans Honored with 2020 Earl G. Harrison Community Service Award
- The Potential Impact of Smartphones, Wearable Tech in Personal Injury Cases
- Jay Evans and Michael Williams Named to Schnader Partnership
- NJ Confirms the Court’s Gatekeeper Function and Joins the Slow March Toward State-Court Acceptance of Daubert
- Jay Evans Appointed as Board President for Arcade Comedy Theater
- “North Hills Community Outreach expands presence in Bellevue facility”
- Schnader Helps Secure Victory for Pro Se Incarcerated Defendants
- Third Circuit Appellate Practice Manual (Third Edition)
- Rost May Change the Toxic Tort Landscape
- “The Third Circuit, Notice and Access for Pro Se Prisoners”
- “A View from the Sidelines 2: Oral Arguments and the New Supreme Court”
- Schnader Receives Pennsylvania Youth Court Champion Award
- “Showing and Not Telling in Appellate Advocacy”
- “Rebuttal, Reply, Riposte: A Detailed Discussion”
- Pittsburgh Attorneys Lead Constitution and Youth Court Projects at Local Charter School
- Suggestions for Effective Appellate Oral Argument
- Alice Sacks Johnston and Jay Evans Join Schnader’s Pittsburgh Office
- “The Difficulty of Consistent Application of Supreme Court Precedent”
- “Crafting Arguments With Your Audience in Mind”
- “Despite New Ruling, Discovery of Expert Communication Remains Unclear”
- “Handling an Appeal in a ‘Case in a Box”‘
- “Avoiding a Nightmare – Creating a Record to be Proud of”
- “Questioning the Balance Between Dicta and Holding”
- “Predicting the Application of the Restatement (Third) of Torts”
- “Losing One’s Appeal (Before It Starts)”
Community & Pro Bono
Mr. Evans’ community and pro bono focus is on education, outreach, youth, and the proper application of justice. Jay works as a volunteer puppy raiser for Canine Companions, guiding puppies from 8 weeks to 18 months before they enter professional service dog training. Canine Companions leads the service dog industry so its clients can live with greater independence.
Jay works with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project to increase awareness of the resources available to those facing wrongful convictions and facing re-entry after an exoneration. Jay has worked on addressing wrongful conviction claims and filing appellate briefs on issues of general interest to all exonerees and the wrongfully convicted.
Jay is also active as a part of his church community, and as President Emeritus of the Arcade Comedy Theater’s nonprofit efforts to expand inclusive educational opportunities in comedy and the performing arts, in line with Arcade’s goal to provide Laughs for All.
Pro-Bono
- Sought DNA testing for prisoners maintaining their innocence in decades-old sexual assault and murder cases
- Authored amicus briefs in support of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project’s positions regarding prisoners’ access to public records and filings in light of prisoners’ lack of access to the courthouses or use of the Internet; presumption of such access was struck down by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and rights of unrepresented prisoners were expanded
- Represented a criminal defendant whose private and privileged counseling sessions were divulged to a third party without consent
- Represented a wrongfully convicted man in a malicious prosecution matter regarding the six years he spent in prison before being exonerated in a second trial
Community Activities
- Canine Companions, Volunteer Puppy Raiser, Pittsburgh Volunteer Chapter
- Majority Inspector of Elections, Ross Township Ward 3 District 4
- Arcade Comedy Theater, President Emeritus (2022-present), Board of Directors (2015- 2021), President (2018- 2021)
- Pennsylvania Innocence Project
- Garden City Church
Education
- University of Notre Dame, J.D., 1998, magna cum laude
- Harvard College, A.B., 1995, cum laude
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Professional Affiliations
- Pennsylvania Bar Association, Appellate Advocacy Committee
- International Association of Defense Counsel
-
Defense Research Institute
-
Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Arbitration Division, Court-Appointed
Arbitrator and Housing Mediator
- Certified by the LUMA Institute as a Practitioner of Human-Centered Design
Other Distinctions
- Recipient of Schnader’s Harrison Award for Community Service, 2020
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, 2022-2023
- Rated AV® Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell®
Representative Matters
- Managing nationwide toxic tort litigation for a heavy equipment manufacturer, including coordinating all discovery and expert preparation for trial testimony.
- Defended lease-related suits on behalf of a retailer that was forced to close because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Conducted a comprehensive internal investigation to aid with a recommendation to senior management regarding the conduct of new employees. The client was informed that its new hires were allegedly violating their covenants with a former employer. Included extensive interviews of employees and their supervisors, as well as reviewing images of computers, USB devices, drives, phones, text messages, voicemails, and company and personal email boxes. Client was able to make selective decisions regarding termination and retention of the employees.
- Drafted amicus brief to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on behalf of an automotive company regarding the proper standard for assessing expert testimony regarding disease causation in the Pennsylvania courts.
- Assisted several automotive and heavy equipment clients in preparing for and trying toxic exposure cases, including several jury verdicts
- Prepared and delivered arguments for a client accused of discovery violations and facing significant sanctions in a matter pending in Illinois. Persuaded a judge inclined to rule unfavorably that no sanctions or adverse order of any type were warranted.
- Defended dozens of lease-related suits on behalf of a retailer that made a strategic decision to exit the Pennsylvania marketplace.
Related Events
- “When Justice Fails” – A Virtual Event of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project
- No Seriously – Using Nontraditional Methods Such as Comedy for Skills and Balance
- Building the Capacity of Nonprofit Arts Organizations Through Board Engagement
- Jay Evans Spoke at DRI Conference
- Jay Evans Participates in Mock Oral Argument to Panel of Pennsylvania Judges
