"Nobody calls a litigator on a good day. Whether I'm in front of a jury or an appellate panel, my job is to understand what my client actually needs, find the clearest way to tell their story, and make sure they never have to wonder where things stand."
Bringing a performer’s instincts and a researcher’s rigor to every case, Jay Spring represents clients in commercial disputes from the trial court through the highest levels of appeal.
Jay’s practice covers commercial litigation from pre-suit strategy through trial and appeal. He frequently serves as appellate counsel during trial, preserving issues for review and positioning cases for any later appeal.
His appellate experience includes briefing eight cases before the Supreme Court of Texas on the taxable situs of dealer’s heavy-equipment inventory, all decided in his clients’ favor. He has also obtained mandamus relief and defended favorable judgments on appeal.
Prior to joining Condon Tobin, Jay led the appellate practice at his previous firm, and his earlier practice included complex commercial litigation, labor and employment, catastrophic personal injury, insurance coverage, and tax litigation.
Jay is particularly skilled at complex research and writing, and he focuses on developing case strategies that align with each client’s business objectives. He makes himself readily available to clients and keeps them informed at every stage.
Before practicing law, Jay worked in theater as an actor, director, fight choreographer, and casting director. That experience shapes how he tries cases: he takes complicated facts and presents them in a way judges and jurors can follow and remember.
Jay is an adjunct professor at SMU Dedman School of Law, where he teaches interviewing, client counseling, and negotiation, coaches mock trial, and regularly appears as a guest lecturer on civil procedure. He has also been an adjunct professor at the UNT Dallas College of Law, where he trained students in appellate advocacy. Jay is active in attorney mental health efforts and speaks on lawyer well-being at conferences across Texas.
Jay’s practice covers commercial litigation at the trial and appellate level in state and federal courts throughout Texas, Louisiana, and beyond. His experience includes business and contract disputes, fiduciary and trust litigation, real property and easement disputes, insurance coverage, and property tax matters.
Jay has guided clients through every phase of a dispute: early case assessment and pleadings, discovery and motion practice, jury and bench trials, and post-judgment and appellate proceedings, including mandamus. His clients have included insurers, property owners, trust beneficiaries, equipment dealers, and a national agribusiness retailer, in matters before Texas trial courts, the intermediate courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court of Texas, as well as courts outside the state.
Southern Methodist University School of Law
University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
Scuola Internazionale dell’Attore Comico, Reggio nell’Emilia
Bar Admission
Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court (2019-2022)
Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Co-Chair, Wellness Committee (2023 to present)
Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Co-Chair, CLE Committee (2022 to present)
Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Bolton Ball Committee
Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Equal Access to Justice Committee
Dallas Bar Association, Co-Vice Chair, Publications Committee (2023 to present; member since 2020).
Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Board of Directors (2025)
Texas Bar Foundation, Nominating Committee (2024)
Texas Bar College (2021 to present)
National Association of Legal Advocacy Educators (2024 to present)
Dallas Bar Association, Presidential Taskforce for Wellness Programming (2025)
Five Things to Know About the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, HEADNOTES, Dallas Bar Ass’n (Nov. 2023).
Texas Legislature Gives Property Owners Tools to Fight Back, HEADNOTES, Dallas Bar Ass’n (Dec. 2022).
Reservation of Rights, 21st Annual Adv. Insurance Law Course, TEXAS STATE BAR (Oct. 1, 2021).
The Blockchain Paradox: Almost Always Reliable, Almost Never Admissible, 72 SMU L. REV. 925 (2020).
Pilots out of Uniform—How the Sixth Circuit’s Etihad Decision Undermines the Purpose of the Montreal Convention, 84 J. AIR L. & COMM. 153 (2019).
Madame Justice: A 100-Year Lookback at Texas’ All-Female Supreme Court, HEADNOTES, Dallas Bar Ass’n (Feb. 2025).
Five Golden Rules of Preparing a Witness to Testify, HEADNOTES, Dallas Bar Ass’n (Oct. 2024).
Make it Please the Court: Tips for Successful Petitions for Review, Dallas Ass’n of Young Lawyers, DAYL BLOG (July 1, 2024).
Legal blog covering the Texas Business Court and the 15th Court of Appeals at www.strictlybusinesstexas.com
Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, Dallas, Texas – Adjunct Professor (2023 to present)
Guest Lecturer on Civil Procedure, SMU Dedman School of Law (presented annually since 2022)
Mental Health and Wellness for Young Lawyers, East Texas Joint Bar Wellness Seminar (Feb. 9, 2024; Terrell, TX).
Ethics Family Feud, 36th Annual Legal Seminar on Ad Valorem Taxation (Aug. 31, 2022; San Antonio, TX).
CEO of Your Career: Law Practice Management for Young Attorneys, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers (July 27, 2023; Dallas, TX).
For the Record: What Appellate Lawyers Wish Their Trial Counsel Knew, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers (Apr. 13, 2023; Dallas, TX).
Practicing in the Court of Public Opinion: Considerations for High-Profile Trials, Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court (Feb. 16, 2022; Dallas, TX).
Hamilton and Homemade Goodies: Unusual Exceptions and Applications of Title VII (Apr. 24, 2019; Dallas, TX).
Better Together: Tools for Identifying and Managing Depression, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers (June 4, 2024).
Strictly Business: Budgeting and Case Valuation Techniques for Civil Litigation, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers (June 25, 2024).
UNT Dallas College of Law, Dallas, Texas, Adjunct Professor (2024)
D Magazine Best Lawyers Under 40, 2026
Recognized as a Rising Star by Texas Super Lawyers®, 2024-2026
Dallas Association of Young Lawyers President’s Award, 2023–2025
Dallas Association of Young Lawyers “One to Watch,” March 2024
Texas Young Lawyers Association “Diamond of the Quarter,” Q2 2026
Texas Bar College Steven G. Condos Award for Outstanding New Member to the College, 2022
Advocacy Fellow, SMU Dedman School of Law, 2024
Order of the Coif
Order of Barristers
A: “Serving the legal community has always been a big part of my career, and that commitment runs through the culture at Condon Tobin. I’d also worked opposite the firm’s litigators and respected the caliber of their work. This is a group that cares about doing right by its clients, and I’m proud to be part of it.”