ADMITTED

CA, NY, Washington D.C.

jonathan Harris

Founder & MANAGING PARTNER

Jonathan Harris, Founder and Managing Partner, is a distinguished trial lawyer and business advisor with extensive experience representing C-suite executives, founders, hedge fund leaders, and institutional clients. Mr. Harris is one of New York’s leading trial lawyers and regularly tries high profile cases as lead counsel.

With extensive business and financial experience, he is equally successful in the courtroom and in business negotiations.  Harris is known for his skill at resolving complex matters involving a mix of legal and business issues.   He regularly represents individuals and companies in litigations, business negotiations, internal and government investigations.

AWARDS and recognition

Mr. Harris was selected by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America for 2024 and 2025; is double ranked by Chambers in Litigation: White Collar Crime & Government Investigations and in Labor & Employment: Mainly Plaintiffs; is ranked as a Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation; and has been named a Super Lawyer for thirteen consecutive years. Mr. Harris is also ranked by Lawdragon as one of the nation's top 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment & Civil Rights Lawyers, has been named American Lawyer’s Co-Litigator of the Week, and been named by the National Law Journal to its 2021 national list of Trailblazers in Employment Law.

Notable Matters

• Malicious prosecution action against Deutsche Bank on behalf of Matt Connolly, a former trader at the Bank who was acquitted of all criminal charges related to Libor market manipulation; 

• Representing a nationally pre-eminent medical group in the sale of its practice to a prominent hospital, along with the negotiation of long term post-sale employment agreements

• Trial counsel, for a ground-breaking 2023 federal jury trial involving trademark protection for NFT’s in the Metaverse (with co-counsel); 

• Winning public recognition of Avi Dorfman as a founding team member of real estate brokerage Compass, along with a financial settlement for which Compass publicly announced a $21 million legal charge (with co-counsel);

• Winning, a record-setting $52 million defamation award in FINRA on behalf of a hedge fund portfolio manager against his former employer (with co-counsel); 

• Negotiating the exit of high profile portfolio managers from hedge funds, enabling them to launch their own successful funds;

• Defending the family of a former President of Taiwan in a forfeiture case brought by the US Department of Justice; 

• Successfully resolving a Black Friday internet gambling action brought by the Department of Justice against a world-renowned poker player and founder of Full-Tilt Poker; 

• Winning $20+ million federal jury award for a founder cut out of a partnership venture (with co-counsel); 

• Winning the complete exoneration of a prominent financial advisor on SEC charges following a month-long federal jury trial and all appeals (with co-counsel for the appeal); and

• Winning, with co-counsel, a $61 million award for a hedge fund against an international bank relating to a complex derivative transaction.

TESTIMONIALS

The team at Harris St. Laurent gave us the support we needed to litigate a contentious exit with a very difficult Fortune 300 company. They were professional, sophisticated, pragmatic, ethical and most importantly human... We trust Harris St. Laurent completely... 
— JAMIE AND KEN ROSENBLOOD

I went from being one of the largest producers at one of the largest financial institutions in the world, to having that institution and the SEC dedicated to my destruction. Jon Harris secured financial compensation for me and exonerated me from liability... His combination of advocacy skills and financial acumen is second to none. 
— FRED O’MEALLY

Their commercial awareness is very strong. Jonathan in particular always seems to have his finger on the pulse of where the law and legal profession are heading, and he stays ahead of the curve. That includes the treatment of the firm's employees as well as the types of cases and rate structures it employs. The diversity of the teams we worked with is strong. 
— THIRD PARTY, USA CHAMBERS GUIDE, 2024

Jonathan Harris is incredibly effective at making complex problems seem simple for courts and juries. Jonathan's client service and general level of service, his level of sophistication and his commercial vision are all strong. Jonathan is an incredibly talented trial lawyer who provides outstanding legal advice and representation to his clients. 
— MARKET COMMENTATOR, CHAMBERS USA GUIDE, 2024

Jonathan is very relaxed, but intentional and intense all in the same moment. That is an incredibly unique quality, and both satisfying and unnerving for the opposition. There's a unique caring quality about him, which if someone else had said then I would've asked "who cares?", but it is an exceptional client-care component. The relaxed nature is his secret weapon. He is also funny on top of that. You would never know that he is double Stanford; he plays unassuming like a fiddle or a violin. 
— CLIENT, CHAMBERS USA GUIDE, 2024

Jonathan Harris is great. When he is available, he is great. He has a very sophisticated viewpoint. He is a Stanford guy and really analyzes an issue from a strong business perspective. I think he is a very creative guy at settling cases, and if matters have a strong business asset or concern [specific matters], that's when I think of him… He is an expert with a business nose. He is a great advisor on complicated, multifaceted representations…
— THIRD PARTY, CHAMBERS USA GUIDE, 2024

PAST EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION

Mr. Harris is a 1984 Stanford graduate, Phi Beta Kappa, and a 1987 graduate of Stanford Law School, Order of the Coif. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of Stanford Law School.

Prior to founding the firm, he practiced with legendary trial lawyer Peter Fleming, Jr., and with prominent plaintiffs’ firm Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman LLP. In 2005, Mr. Harris served pro bono as lead clemency counsel for Stanley Tookie Williams.

Mr. Harris clerked for Federal Judge Thomas P. Griesa in the Southern District of New York.

Publications

• Investigations Carried Out by Private Employers May Still Be Subject to Constitutional Protections for Public Employees

• Navigating Employee Non-solicits When Recruiting Multiple Employees from a Single Employer

• Navigating Executive Compensation Negotiations: Balancing Behavior and Legality

• Navigating a Parting of Ways

• Caught in the Crossfire: Tools to Thrive — Navigating the Complex Terrain of New York Litigation