Jay Knight

Banking and Financial Institutions - Securities, Corporate, Corporate Governance and Sarbanes-Oxley, Financing, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity, Securities and Capital Markets, Structured Finance

Jay Knight is co-chair of the Securities & Capital Markets practice group at Barnes & Thornburg, office managing partner of the firm’s Nashville office and member of the firm’s Management Committee.

Jay’s practice focuses on the representation of companies and their management and boards of directors on corporate governance and strategic matters, including strategic and tuck-in M&A, investigations, and special committee matters. Also drawing on his extensive SEC experience, Jay serves as the relationship partner with respect to the representation of numerous public company clients as their primary corporate and securities counsel, including complex SEC reporting, disclosures and securities offerings.

He counsels clients on complex disclosure issues related to deal-making and leads them through important compliance, regulatory and capital-raising specifics, including IPOs and going private transactions.

Jay serves as a Barnes & Thornburg AI Practice Champion, one of nearly 40 attorneys across the firm designated to advance the practical use of AI within their practice group and help translate the firm's AI strategy into day-to-day client work.

Prior to joining the firm, Jay was a partner with and led the capital markets practice at a Nashville-based firm. Jay returned to private practice in 2012 after serving five years in the SEC Division of Corporation Finance.

From 2022-2025, Jay served as the chair of the American Bar Association’s Federal Regulation of Securities Committee with approximately 2,500 members. He previously served as chair of its Annual Review of Securities Law Subcommittee.