USA
Practice Areas
Employment; White Collar Criminal & Regulatory Defense; Commercial Litigation & Arbitration; Founder & Partner Disputes; Investigations; Insurance Recovery and Advisory
Career
Jonathan Harris is the Founder and Managing Partner of Harris St. Laurent. A distinguished trial lawyer and advisor to C-suite executives, founders, hedge fund leaders, and institutional clients, Jon is one of New York’s leading practitioners, regularly trying high profile cases as lead counsel.
Equally comfortable in the courtroom and at the negotiating table, Jon is known for his skill and success at resolving complex matters involving a wide variety of legal and business issues. He regularly represents individuals and companies in litigation and business negotiations, as well as in internal and governmental investigations.
Prior to founding the firm, Jon practiced with legendary trial lawyer Peter Fleming, Jr., and prominent plaintiffs’ firm Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman LLP. In 2005, he served pro bono as lead clemency counsel for Stanley Tookie Williams.
Jon is widely recognized by the legal and business media for his professional accomplishments. Ranked by Chambers USA for both his White Collar Crime | Government Investigations and Labor & Employment achievements; he is also one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America (Lawdragon); and ranked as a National Practice Area Star and Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation, among many other honors and accolades. In addition, he was named a national Co-Litigator of the Week by The American Lawyer and The National Law Journal recognized him as a national “Trailblazer” in Employment Law in 2021.
Jon clerked for Federal Judge Thomas P. Griesa in the Southern District of New York, serves on the Board of Visitors of Stanford Law School.
Professional Memberships
Fellow of the Litigation Counsel, Trial Lawyer Honorary Society, Order of the Coif, Board of Visitors of Stanford Law School
Work Highlights
- Pursuing 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.
- Served as trial counsel in a ground-breaking 2023 federal jury trial involving trademark protection for NFT’s in the Metaverse (with co-counsel).
- Won 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).
- Won a record-setting $52 million defamation award in FINRA on behalf of a hedge fund portfolio manager against his former employer (with co-counsel).
- Negotiated several exits for high-profile portfolio managers from their former hedge funds, enabling them to launch their own successful funds.
- Defended the family of a former President of Taiwan in a forfeiture case brought by the US Department of Justice.
- Successfully resolved a Black Friday internet gambling action brought by the Department of Justice against a world-renowned poker player and founder of Full-Tilt Poker.
- Won $20+ million federal jury award for a founder cut out of a partnership venture (with co-counsel).
Won 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).
- Won, with co-counsel, a $61 million award for a hedge fund against an international bank relating to a complex derivative transaction.
