Jay has been practicing in the area of employment law for over 13 years. He is a well-known member of the employment law bar who has successfully represented public and private employees, including federal government employees, in employment law cases throughout the state of South Carolina. Jay has tried federal, state, and federal EEO cases to a jury or bench verdict. Jay has also argued appeals before the South Carolina Court of Appeals, South Carolina Supreme Court, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Jay’s employment law practice involves a multitude of legal claims and theories to help secure successful resolutions for his clients, including, but not limited to, discrimination (race, gender, sex, disability, religion, national origin, etc.), retaliation, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), pregnancy discrimination, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), wage violations, defamation, and other civil torts or legal claims.

Jay can represent clients in all phases of their legal issues from pre-suit negotiations, through the litigation process and discovery, to trial, and even to appeal. Jay has trial experience in both state and federal courts, and he has won a multi-million-dollar verdict for an employee in state court along with other successful resolutions at trial or through settlement. In addition to state court, federal court, and state and federal appeals courts, Jay has successfully represented clients through administrative processes including: pursuing charges of discrimination before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or South Carolina Human Affairs Commission; representing federal employees through grievances, EEO complaints, and other administrative processes; representing state employees though the South Carolina State Employee Grievance Process; representing state licensees with licensure issues with LLR and their respective licensure board (such as the nursing or medical boards); representing teachers through grievances, licensure issues, and litigation; representing clients with matters before Office of Occupational Safety and Health, National Labor Relations Board, Merit Systems Protection Board, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other regulatory agencies; and many other state and federal administrative processes.

Originally from Orangeburg, Jay graduated from Clemson University in 2004 where he earned a degree in Computer Information Systems. Jay then graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2008. As a law student, Jay served as a staff member of the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal. Also, while in law school, Jay served as a clerk for the University of South Carolina’s Clinical Legal Studies Program, which provides free legal services to residents of South Carolina with the assistance of law students.

Jay first joined a predecessor law firm, Cromer & Mabry, LLC as a clerk in 2007 and became an associate attorney thereafter. Jay continued to work with Lewis Cromer as an Associate Attorney at J. Lewis Cromer & Associates from 2010-2016. In January 2017, Jay, Lewis Cromer, Paul Porter, and Ryan Hicks formed Cromer Babb Porter & Hicks, LLC.

Jay is married to his grade school and college classmate, Allison, and they have two daughters, a son, and a dog named Watson.

• South Carolina State Courts 
• United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
• United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

Memberships

• American Bar Association 
• South Carolina Bar Association
• Richland County Bar Association
• Lexington County Bar Association
• South Carolina Association for Justice (formerly South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association)
• South Carolina Bar – Employment and Labor Law Section (Membership Committee Chair)
• South Carolina Bar – Civil Rights Section

Awards

• Super Lawyers – South Carolina Rising Star (2021-2022)
• Legal Elite of The Midlands in Employment and Labor Law (Peer Voted) (Featured Recipient) (2018)
• Legal Elite of The Midlands in Employment and Labor Law (Peer Voted) (2019-2022)