Ashleigh Bennett is Senior Counsel in Shook’s Business Litigation Practice in Miami. Her broad litigation experience spans the defense and prosecution of complex commercial, data privacy and cybersecurity, partnership, shareholder derivative, financial services, securities, employment, real estate, construction and insurance coverage disputes in state and federal courts and arbitrations nationwide. She has represented businesses of all sizes, large institutional clients, and high-net-worth individuals in high-exposure matters involving breach of contract, fraud, unfair and deceptive trade practices, statutory violations, breach of fiduciary duty, declaratory relief, malicious prosecution, indemnity, contribution and equitable claims. Before joining Shook, Ashleigh practiced at an AmLaw 20 firm in Florida.
Ashleigh brings substantial courtroom and arbitration experience, including first and second-chair trial work. As lead counsel in numerous cases, she has developed and executed litigation strategies in coordination with clients and trial teams, conducted direct and cross-examinations of fact and expert witnesses, prepared witnesses for deposition and trial and drafted and argued dispositive and pretrial motions — including summary judgment, Duabert and in limine motions. She has also managed substantial dockets from inception through resolution, overseeing complex e-discovery, preparing pleadings, advising clients on exposure and settlement strategy and delivering detailed case assessments for institutional decision-makers.
Representative Matters
Commercial Litigation. Ashleigh has represented major tobacco companies, national rental car companies, leading litigation law firms, attorneys, technology distributors and partnerships as both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes matters involving contract disputes, settlement payments under a master settlement agreement, Civil RICO claims, customs violations, tax avoidance schemes, unfair competition, shareholder derivative actions, partnership disputes, franchise licensing, asset acquisitions, malicious prosecution, defamation, alleged DNA theft, fraud, deceptive trade practices, COVID-19 pandemic disputes and force majeure clause invocations and wrongful death and other liability matters stemming from catastrophic injury cases. Ashleigh’s ability to simplify complex issues, paired with insightful litigation strategies, has played a pivotal role in securing favorable arbitration awards resulting in up to nine-figure cost savings for her clients.
Class Actions. Ashleigh defends class actions on behalf of technology companies involving data privacy and cybersecurity claims. She has also successfully prosecuted class actions on behalf of homeowners and condominium owners against national developers following association turnover, and against general contractors, engineers, architects, subcontractors and material suppliers for vertical and horizontal construction defect claims involving condominiums, townhomes and single-family residences. Ashleigh has secured multiple summary judgments and favorable settlements on behalf of her clients.
Financial Services and Securities Litigation. Ashleigh has defended hedge funds, national banks, national broker-dealer firms and registered representatives in state court and AAA and FINRA arbitrations. Her experience encompasses customer disputes involving sales practice violations, disputed credit card and debit card transactions, unauthorized ACH transactions, accredited investor claims relating to lock-up and premature redemption requests and interpleader actions to resolve family disputes over assets held in brokerage accounts maintained by decedents. Ashleigh has obtained favorable settlements on behalf of her clients, including recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs.
Employment Litigation. Ashleigh has also successfully defended employers—including real estate investment firms and national brokerage firms—against a wide range of employment disputes involving executive compensation, base pay, bonuses, commissions, deferred compensation, harassment, statutory discrimination, hostile work environment, ADA accommodations, wrongful termination, restrictive covenants (non-competes, non-solicitation, confidentiality agreements), defamation and Form U5 expungements. She has also successfully prosecuted promissory note collection claims against former employees to recover transitional compensation and recruitment loans. In this area, Ashleigh has secured favorable arbitration awards including complete defeats of claimants’ claims, damages on counterclaims and recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs.
Real Estate Litigation. Ashleigh has broad real estate litigation experience, having successfully represented global commercial real estate brokerage firms, realtors, upscale retail chains, and high net-worth individuals in the prosecution and defense of commercial landlord/tenant disputes, eminent domain, inverse condemnation, quiet title, partition, unjust enrichment, resulting and constructive trusts, equitable liens, breach of fiduciary duties, fraud and negligence claims relating to the marketing and sale of properties. She has secured key evidentiary rulings and partial summary judgments prior to trial.
Construction Litigation. Ashleigh’s significant construction litigation experience includes representing sellers, purchasers, homeowners, affordable-housing developers and national homebuilders in the prosecution and defense of construction liens, Johnson v. Davis non-disclosure claims for failing to disclose latent defects, vertical and horizontal construction defect claims, Florida Statutes Chapter 558 pre-suit notices and opportunities to repair, third-party downstream claims, and contractual and common-law indemnity claims. Ashleigh has consistently secured favorable settlements on behalf of her clients.
Insurance Recovery Litigation. Ashleigh has extensive insurance coverage and recovery litigation experience, including the analysis and prosecution of coverage and additional-insured claims under commercial general liability, umbrella and excess liability, directors & officers, errors & omissions, professional liability and property and casualty insurance policies. Her matters have involved breach of contract, duties to defend and indemnify, bad faith and declaratory judgment claims. Her attention to detail is an asset when analyzing policies, preparing coverage summaries, developing master insurance matrices and recovery strategies and advising clients on contractual risk allocation and litigation exposure.
Equine. Ashleigh’s firsthand experience as a competitive hunter/big-eq rider for over 14 years gives her a deep understanding of issues affecting the equine industry. She has represented buyers of competitive show horses against sellers, and trainers in defense of sexual harassment claims against the U.S. Center for SafeSport.
Real Estate Transactions. In addition to her litigation practice, Ashleigh has extensive experience in real estate transactions, including 1031 exchanges, lease negotiations and title closings.
Publications
Tort Reform Overhauls Florida’s Litigation Landscape (HB 837), Greenberg Traurig, GT Alert (Apr 20, 2023).
Delaware Supreme Court Explores Application of MFW's Ab Initio Requirement in Controlling Stockholder-Related Litigation, Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc, Vol. 72: Iss. 1, Art. 19 (2019).
Chancery Court Analyzes MFW’s “Ab Initio” Requirement in Controlling Stockholder Litigation, Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc, Vol. 72: Iss. 1, Art. 12 (2019)