Job D. (Darby) Turner

Job D. (Darby) Turner is a Partner at Dentons, practicing in the Corporate group, specializing in Mergers and Acquisitions. He serves as outside general counsel for closely held and family businesses, advising on general corporate representation, financing, land use, real estate law, development, M&A, and litigation.

Darby provides strategic guidance on business opportunities, identifying issues and achieving desired outcomes across a broad range of matters. He has represented clients on significant real estate and zoning matters, including serving as zoning counsel for shopping center projects in Lexington, Kentucky; acting as lead counsel on an application for a zoning ordinance text amendment to permit solar farms; and leading the sale and land entitlement process for a new 85.54-acre mixed-use development in Lexington. He also works with the Lexington Housing Authority on sophisticated development matters involving low-income housing tax credits and HOPE VI grants.

He holds a J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law (1973) and a BBA from the University of Kentucky (1970). He is admitted to practice in Kentucky, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Darby has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in Corporate Law, Land Use & Zoning Law, Real Estate Law, and Mergers and Acquisitions Law (2007–2026). He has been named "Lawyer of the Year" in Lexington in Land Use and Zoning Law (2018, 2020, 2022, 2024), Real Estate Law (2009, 2024), and Corporate Law (2014, 2017). He was also named Commerce Lexington's "Public Policy Advocate of the Year" (2018) and recognized in Kentucky Super Lawyers (2007–2011).