Overview

Eric L. Ray is an attorney in Holland & Knight's West Palm Beach office and a member of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice.

Mr. Ray has successfully represented domestic and foreign clients in complex federal and state cases, as well as in arbitrations administered by the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) and the American Arbitration Association (AAA). He has a national practice and is well versed in advising diverse clients in commercial matters and business controversies. Mr. Ray handles matters in a variety of areas, including real estate and title insurance litigation, trust and estate litigation, contract disputes, corporate and partnership disputes, fraud and other business tort actions, trade secret and restrictive covenant disputes, as well as banking litigation, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) litigation, insurance litigation – including defending insurance carriers in fraud-related claims – commercial and residential mortgage foreclosures and commercial landlord/tenant disputes.

In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Ray has lent his skills to business and litigation issues related to the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine.

In the community, Mr. Ray is active in numerous organizations, including Take Stock in Children – where he serves on the board – United Way and Jewish Lawyers Association of Palm Beach County.

Mr. Ray is also deeply committed to providing pro bono services. He has successfully represented a father seeking the return of his child abducted into the U.S. from abroad, using the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. In addition, he has provided pro bono legal representation to children in foster care through Lawyers for Children America, juveniles in immigration court proceedings and multiple individuals seeking asylum in the U.S. Mr. Ray previously assisted the Innocence Project in successfully exonerating a wrongfully convicted man after he spent 25 years in prison.

Prior to his law career, Mr. Ray worked as a public relations executive in New York.

While in law school, Mr. Ray served as an articles and comments editor for the University of Miami Inter-American Law Review. In addition, he served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Gerald B. Cope of Florida's Third District Court of Appeal.

Credentials

Education
  • Colgate University, B.A., Political Science
  • University of Miami School of Law, J.D., cum laude
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • District of Columbia
  • Florida
  • New York
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Memberships
  • Take Stock in Children, Member, Board of Directors
Honors & Awards
  • Top Lawyers, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Palm Beach Illustrated, 2024, 2025
  • Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2020, 2021
  • Rising Star, Florida Super Lawyers magazine, 2013-2017
  • Holland & Knight Public and Charitable Service All-Star Award, 2017
  • Florida Legal Elite "Up & Comer," Florida Trend magazine, 2012