Wayne A. J. Wattley
Was born on January 5, 1974 in St. Kitts, West Indies. His mom is a lifelong educator having taught for 24 years before retiring from a second career in customer service. His dad was a construction business manager before retiring as a fast-food restaurant manager. Wayne moved with his parents and older sister to the United States in 1989. He attended Adlai E. Stevenson High School in the Bronx where he skipped the eleventh (11th) grade. He graduated from New York University magna cum laude in 1995 and New York Law School in 1998. Wayne has been a practicing attorney for twenty-seven (27) years, all representing injured plaintiffs with the exception of one (1) year at defense firm Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman and Dicker where he was an Of Counsel Partner in the General Litigation Unit.
Wayne is currently a Partner and Senior Trial Attorney at Elefterakis, Elefterakis and Panek (EEP), New York’s Premier Personal Injury, Labor Law and Civil Rights firm where he specializes in motor vehicle accidents, premises liability, civil rights and construction accidents. Wayne’s trial resume includes countless multi-million-dollar results for victims of accidents and injustice. His inaugural verdict with EEP, obtained just weeks after joining the firm, was a $3.64 million dollar verdict for a bus matron who sustained serious injuries in a motor vehicle accident. After the verdict, that case ultimately settled for $3.9 million dollars. The pretrial offer by the insurance company to settle this case was only $300,000. One of Wayne's verdicts in 2024 was for over $53.1 million dollars for a bus operator who himself was hit by a NYCTA bus on his day off of work. A few weeks later, Wayne obtained a $5.5 million dollar verdict for two brothers who were passengers in a NCYTA bus that was rear ended by another NCYTA bus.
Wayne has been published in the New York Law Journal Top Verdicts and Settlements since 2015 and featured in “Super Lawyers”, which is the annual list of Top Attorneys in the New York Metro area. In 2021 Wayne was showcased for having obtained one of the top ten (10) jury verdicts in New York State as well as the 25th highest bench award in the United States that year. Wayne has been invited to lecture other trial attorneys on jury selection and courtroom techniques.
In addition to his legal work, Wayne enjoys giving back to his community through his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He is a past Basileus/President of his Chapter and has been honored twice as Omega Man of the Year as a result of his commitment to charitable endeavors. Prior to becoming Basileus, Wayne has served his Chapter as Vice-Basileus, Parliamentarian, Keeper of Finance, Assistant House Manager and chair of numerous committees. Wayne is also a past Chairperson and President of the Bronx County Bar Association and a twice winning Coach in the Thurgood Marshall Junior Mock Trial Competition.
Wayne is married to Terryanne, his wife of twenty years, and is the proud father of Janiyah, an active 11th grader. Wayne’s favorite thing to do other than cross-examine witnesses is spend time with his family, cooking, traveling or cheering on Janiyah at her volleyball and soccer games.
