Clayton Wiggins
Clayton Wiggins is an Associate at Wilkinson Stekloff. Since joining the firm, he has been on a trial team that took a major class action antitrust case to verdict in federal court and has represented clients in a variety of high-stakes antitrust and class action matters. Clayton also represented a high-profile organization in a confidential arbitration, leading to a favorable outcome for his client. Before joining the firm, Clayton served as a prosecutor and appellate counsel in the United States Marine Corps.
As a prosecutor, Clayton tried four contested criminal cases before juries and was lead counsel on ten felony-level guilty pleas. As an appellate counsel, Clayton briefed and argued multiple cases before the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals and the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. He was named the Department of the Navy’s Military Justice Officer of the Year for 2021.
During law school, Clayton interned at the International Criminal Court with the defense team for a former Vice President of Congo. As a Student Attorney in the Appellate Litigation Clinic, Clayton secured a remand for his client in a case he briefed and argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Prior to law school, Clayton deployed for seven months with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit in support of military exercises and contingency operations in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. In college, he was a member of the 2001 NCAA Division I Men’s Outdoor Track and Field National Championship team.
Education
- Undergraduate: University of Tennessee, B.S., B.A., cum laude (2002)
- Graduate: University of Tennessee, M.A. (2006)
- Law: Vanderbilt Law School, J.D. (2016)
Notable Matters
- Member of the trial team representing the National Football League (NFL) and its 32 member clubs in an ongoing national antitrust MDL lawsuit in the Central District of California brought by putative class members challenging the League’s broadcast arrangements for its Sunday Ticket Package.
- Currently representing the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) in multiple putative class action lawsuits challenging the NCAA’s rules regarding student-athletes’ compensation, including use of their names, images, and likenesses (“NIL”) and other related matters.
- Served as lead government appellate counsel in United States v. Begani, 81 M.J. 273 (C.A.A.F. 2021), a case with strategic implications on Congress’ constitutional authority to define and regulate the military.
Other Activities
- Clayton is a Major in the United States Marine Corps Reserve