Jonathan Evan Goldberg

Partner

Jonathan Evan Goldberg is a member of SNR Denton’s Litigation and Arbitration practice, where he focuses on all aspects of complex commercial litigation, employment law and litigation, and ERISA litigation.

Jonathan, an experienced trial lawyer and frequent public speaker, has successfully represented numerous clients in federal and state courts throughout the United States in matters involving claims of retaliation, discrimination, wrongful termination, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract. Jonathan also routinely represents corporations and individuals in trade secrets and restrictive covenant litigation, assists clients in understanding and addressing the various legal issues raised in connection with the failure of Bernard L. Madoff Securities, Inc., and has defended corporate and individual clients in connection with investigations by the US Department of Labor (DOL) and the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Antitrust Division.

Jonathan also concentrates on and advises clients with respect to the following:

• Advancement and indemnification proceedings
• Civil RICO litigation
• Whistleblower litigation
• Defamation litigation
• Executive compensation litigation and arbitration
• International litigation and arbitration
• Antitrust litigation and arbitration
• Products liability litigation
• Environmental and toxic tort litigation

Prior to joining SNR Denton, Jonathan gained significant litigation and trial experience working at several major law firms, where he focused at varying times on complex commercial litigation, employment litigation, ERISA litigation, antitrust litigation, products liability litigation, environmental litigation, securities litigation, general commercial litigation, and international litigation and arbitration.

Between 1996 and 1998, Jonathan served as a federal law clerk for the Honorable Harvey E. Schlesinger, US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville, Florida.

Jonathan is also a trained and skilled mediator.

Representative Experience

Jury Trials—Lead Trial Counsel

• Riscili v. Gibson Guitar Corp., 06 Civ. 7596 (S.D.N.Y.) (in November 2009, won four-day jury trial on behalf of defendant in case involving claim for retaliatory termination).
• Ruffin v. Fuller, 99 Civ. 1679 (S.D.N.Y.) (in December 2000, obtained a new trial pursuant to Rule 59(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on behalf of plaintiff and settled case on favorable terms) (opinion granting a new trial reported at Ruffin v. Fuller, 125 F. Supp. 2d 105 (S.D.N.Y 2000); opinion considering new trial reported at Ruffin v. Fuller, 2000 WL 1480486 (S.D.N.Y., Oct. 5, 2000).

Additional Representative Matters

• Defeated plaintiff’s application seeking preliminary injunctive relief to prevent enforcement of three-year non-compete restrictive covenant preventing plaintiff from competing against the defendants throughout the US.
• Obtained a significant monetary settlement on behalf of former high-level executive/board member/major shareholder who brought various claims in arbitration against his former employer and federal securities law and state law claims in federal court in connection with a proxy fight.
• Obtained a significant monetary recoupment for one of the world’s largest multiple employer pension plans (the "plan") in connection with a US DOL investigation concerning potential violations of ERISA and the prosecution by the plan and its named fiduciaries of multimillion-dollar ERISA litigation against the plan’s former plan administrator and others alleging that they had engaged in prohibited transactions and charged the plan excessive and illegal fees in violation of ERISA.
• Served as monitoring counsel for insurance carrier in connection with federal litigation brought in the US District Court for the District of Montana by ESOP participants against officers and directors of company alleging, among other things, breach of fiduciary duties under ERISA.
• Represented property owners in litigation involving contract for sale of multimillion-dollar property and claims for breach of fiduciary duties and fraudulent inducement.
• Between 2002 and the conclusion of the matter in 2003, served as primary brief writer for plaintiffs in Abernathy, et al. v. Monsanto, et al., a consolidated state court action brought on behalf of 3,500 Alabama residents for property damage and personal injuries in connection with defendants’ decades-long PCB contamination. The case settled with a federal action for an amount constituting the then-largest toxic tort settlement in US history.
• Prosecuted multimillion-dollar arbitration on behalf of corporate clients against various domestic and foreign corporations in connection with global antitrust price-fixing conspiracy.
• Prosecuted litigation in New York State Court, Commercial Division, on behalf of investment advisor against Austrian investment bank in connection with fraudulently induced purchase of securities.
• Defended corporate clients in consolidated products liability actions brought against more than 80 defendants in which plaintiff hospital workers claimed overexposure to chemical products used to sterilize medical equipment.
• Defended multinational corporation in more than 60 federal and state civil antitrust price-fixing actions.
• Defended corporation in connection with DOJ grand jury investigation, leading to the termination of the investigation without indictment.

Honors and Awards

• NY1 New Yorker of the Week, May 23, 2008
• Legal Aid Society Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award, 2000 and 1999

Organizations

• Cherub Improv
  • President
  • Chairman of the Board of Directors
  • Co-founder
• The America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF)
  • Assistant Secretary
  • Member, Board of Directors
• Friends House
  • President
  • President of the Board of Directors
• Gilda's Club
  • Member, Board of Directors
• Litigation Advisory Board, Strafford Publications
• Trained mediator, Safe Horizon
• Actor, writer, Storahtelling

Publications

• Co-author, "Specific Corporate Compliance Challenges by Practice Area: ERISA," chapter in Corporate Compliance Practice Guide: The Next Generation of Compliance, Lexis 2009
• Co-author, "International Law Firm Network," chapter 3 in International Corporate Practice: A Strategic Plan for Success, Cross Border Versus Global Choice, Civil Versus Common Law Jurisdiction, Practising Law Institute, 2008
• Editing assistant on Schlesinger, et al., Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial, 11th Circuit, Lawyers Cooperative federal practice guide, 1998
• Reporter on Rules 704 and 705 in The Evidence Project: Proposed Revisions to the Federal Rules of Evidence, 171 F.R.D. 330, 1997
• Co-author, "Non-domestic Awards And The New York Convention," New York Law Journal, July 29, 1996
• Co-author, "Dismissal Under The Doctrine Of Forum Non Conveniens," New York Law Journal, May 31, 1996
• Co-author, "Letter Of Credit Disputes," New York Law Journal, March 29, 1996
• Co-author, "The Alien Tort Claims Act," New York Law Journal, December 29, 1995
• Co-author, "Gulf War Claims Against Iraq," New York Law Journal, November 29, 1995
• Co-author, "Defenses to Payment of Foreign Debt," New York Law Journal, October 31, 1995
• Author, "Now That The Future Has Arrived, Maybe The Law Should Take A Look: Multimedia Technology And Its Interaction With The Fair Use Doctrine," 44 AM. U. L. REV. 919, 1995

Presentations

• Faculty, "New Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act: Navigating Significant Changes to Jurisdiction and General Removal Procedures," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, May 22, 2012
• Faculty, "Expert Witnesses: Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Protection," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, April 18, 2012
• Faculty, "New Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act: Navigating Significant Changes to Jurisdiction and General Removal Procedures," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, March 28, 2012
• Faculty, "Daubert Standards for Expert Witness Testimony: Effective Strategies for Bringing and Defending Daubert Challenges," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, January 18, 2012
• Faculty, "Diversity Jurisdiction and Removal to Federal Court: Applying the Supreme Court's Nerve Center Test to Complex Corporate Structures and Navigating Nuances of Removal," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, September 27, 2011
• Faculty, "Best Practices for Discovery Related to Government Investigations," E-discovery & Social Media: Winning Techniques, Rossdale Group Teleconference, July 13, 2011
• Faculty, "Attorney—Client Privilege Challenges With Social Media and E-Communications: Effective Strategies for Preserving the Privilege and Maintaining Confidentiality," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, July 7, 2011
• Faculty, "Expert Witnesses: Attorney Client Privilege and Work-Product Protection," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, June 2, 2011
• Faculty, "Proportionality in E-Discovery/Emerging Strategies: Leveraging Proportionality Tools to Reduce E-Discovery Abuses and Expenses," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, May 11, 2011
• Faculty, "Daubert Standards for Expert Witness Testimony: Effective Strategies for Bringing and Defending Daubert Challenges," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, January 25, 2011
• Panelist, "Maximizing Your Networking Efforts," New York City Bar Association, November 15, 2010
• Faculty, "Expert Witnesses: Leveraging New Rule 26 Amendments—Preserving Work Product Immunity for Expert Opinions and Reports," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, November 10, 2010
• Faculty, "Expert Witnesses: Leveraging New Rule 26 Amendments—Preserving Work Product Immunity for Expert Opinions and Reports," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, September 28, 2010
• Faculty, "Skills Training—Closing Arguments," Seyfarth Shaw Video Conference, June 1, 2010
• Faculty, "Preliminary Injunctions and TROs in Commercial Litigation: Strategies to Obtain or Oppose Emergency Motions," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, April 1, 2010
• Faculty, "ERISA Fiduciary Liability Insurance: Limiting Exposure for Breach of Duty Claims Negotiating the Policy, Overcoming Coverage Challenges, and Responding to Enforcement and Litigation," Strafford Webinar/Teleconference, December 22, 2009
• Panelist, "International Law Firm Network," during International Corporate Practice: Ethical and Legal Considerations, The Penn Club, January 31, 2008
• Hundreds of improv comedy performances for senior citizens, veterans, adults and children living with cancer, hospital patients and various other communities

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