Gregg D. Thomas, Partner/Shareholder

Gregg D. Thomas is a well-seasoned trial and appellate attorney.  Gregg has handled multi-million dollar commercial disputes, trademark infrigement litigation, arbitration matters and sensitive internal investigations throughout his years of practice. Gregg has represented newspapers and television stations in more than one hundred defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and intellectual property matters.

Gregg has argued media matters-including reporter subpoenas; access to judicial proceedings, public records, and Government in the Sunshine Law proceedings; and defamation cases-in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout Florida. He achieved positive results in three substantial Florida Supreme Court cases involving reporter subpoenas, access to public records and misappropriation of likeness.

In 2005, Gregg argued and won the Perfect Storm case (Tyne v. Warner Brothers) in the Florida Supreme Court. The case definitively interpreted Florida's misappropriation of name or likeness statute to apply only to the use of name or likeness when attached to an advertisement or commercial product.

In 1990, he successfully argued a United States Supreme Court case (Butterworth v. Smith) about the First Amendment rights of a reporter who was subpoenaed before a Florida grand jury and then silenced for life about his testimony. The Court's unanimous decision ensures that the government cannot silence reporters.

In 1988, Gregg led the media team in seeking injunctive relief against the banning of the film The Last Temptation of Christ in Pensacola, Florida. Within 24 hours of being retained, Gregg persuaded a federal judge to rule that the county ordinance was unconstitutional and enter a permanent injunction against its enforcement. Legal fees were recovered from the local government as a result of the First Amendment infringement.

Gregg is a member of the American Bar Association's Section on Litigation and Forum on Communications Law. He is a founding chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association's Media Law Section. In addition, Gregg chaired The Florida Bar's annual Media Law Conference in Tampa in 1987 and co-chaired its Media and Communications Law Committee in 1988. Gregg frequently speaks to professional groups about media law issues. He is admitted to practice in Florida, all Florida federal district courts, the District of Columbia, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court. In 1991, Gregg was selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America in First Amendment law and has appeared in every edition since then. From 1976 to 1979, Gregg served as a law clerk to United States District Court Judges Ben Krentzman and George Carr of the Middle District of Florida. He has chaired The Florida Bar's local grievance committee. Gregg joined Holland & Knight in 1979 and became a partner in 1982 and formed Thomas & LoCicero in 2006.

Gregg has served as a Board Member for Tampa Crossroads, President of the Tampa Bay Business Committee for the Arts, and as a Board Member of and President of the Tampa Museum of Art. Gregg is married to Cathy Clayton, the owner of a contemporary art gallery in South Tampa. Gregg has two children: Jess, a graduate student in architecture at Columbia, and Bryan, a graduate student in visual communications at Ohio University.

Gregg received his J.D., with honors, in 1976 from the University of Florida, having served as Executive Editor of the Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University in 1972, with a B.A. in history and political science.

• Tyne v. Warner Brothers 2005

• Smith v. Butterworth 1990