Jonathan Youngwood is Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department and leads the Civil Securities Litigation Practice. He is also a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. Jon has more than 25 years of experience representing corporations, boards of directors, and other clients in a wide range of high-profile complex commercial litigations, arbitrations, investigations, and regulatory matters. In addition to securities matters, Jon’s practice focuses on disputes and other matters concerning corporate control, ERISA, and antitrust.
Chambers and Partners consistently recognizes Jon as a leading securities litigator (Band 1), where he is described as one of “the best pure civil securities class action litigators”; “plainly a first-tier player in the area”; a “very well-respected lawyer with a tremendous reputation, and is very good in the courtroom”; “a zealous advocate who is on top of his game”; “always prepared and fearless … he knows how to get things done”; “everything that a client would want in a difficult case”; “the best lawyer on his feet – he is incredibly comfortable before judges and panels”; and a “very effective lawyer with a keen business sense and deep knowledge of the law,” who “sees the bigger picture and picks the right battles.” Chambers also describes him as a “much-esteemed civil litigator,” “with the ability to get to the nub of an issue” who “has extensive securities knowledge”; “impeccable judgment and experience,” a “flair for written work and oral advocacy”; who “commands respect in the courtroom”; and “is highly esteemed for his distinguished securities litigation practice, with a number of major financial institutions calling upon his skills in defending class actions, derivative claims and wider disputes work.” He is recognized in the “Hall of Fame” in Financial Services Litigation and Securities Litigation: Defense; and as a “Leading Lawyer” in M&A Litigation: Defense and General Commercial Disputes; and as a “Leading Trial Lawyer” by The Legal 500, where market commentators describe him as “able to apply deep experience and substantive knowledge to very difficult problems and find the best possible outcomes”; “thoughtful and [an] effective oral advocate”; “very easy to work with under trying circumstances”; someone who has a “client-oriented approach”; “technically superb, bright and articulate”; “superior in securities litigation”; “outstanding securities litigator”; and “smart, hardworking and extremely professional.”
Jon was named a 2024 Law360 Banking “MVP," and in 2023, he was recognized by The National Law Journal as a “General Litigation Trailblazer” for his work achieving favorable litigation results on behalf of clients and for his leadership of the Firm’s Litigation Department. In 2020, Jon was named a Law360 “MVP” in Class Actions, and was recognized among Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America.” In 2017, he was named a “Distinguished Leader” by the New York Law Journal, an award that recognizes lawyers in leadership roles who have achieved impressive results in the last year; he was the recipient of the “Securities Lawyer of the Year” award by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation, an award that recognizes the country’s most distinguished litigators; and he was listed as a “Top 10 Nationwide Securities Star” by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation. Jon is also consistently recognized as a national and New York “Litigation Star” in Securities Litigation by Benchmark Litigation, where sources have described him as “one of the smartest lawyers I know. He not only is hardworking, but he has the ability to be both a big-picture thinker and also pay incredible attention to detail.”
In 2021, Jon was awarded the Federal Bar Council’s “Thurgood Marshall Award for Exceptional Pro Bono Service,” honoring his work on high-impact pro bono litigation matters that address injustices across different areas of society and fundamental rights, including police reform, voting rights, search and seizure, free speech, immigration and public education. In 2020, Jon was featured as “New York Trailblazer” by the New York Law Journal, which highlighted Jon’s and the Firm’s commitment to high-impact civil and voting rights matters, detailing pro bono work in Mississippi. Among a number of significant pro bono achievements, Jon led the Simpson Thacher team that, along with the ACLU of Mississippi and the ACLU, secured a consent decree in 2022 allowing the first mosque in northwestern Mississippi to be built following an unlawful denial of zoning approval due to anti-Muslim bias. The pro bono win was featured by Law360 as a Pro Bono Spotlight. Jon also led the Simpson Thacher team that worked with the ACLU of Mississippi and the ACLU to secure a groundbreaking consent decree in 2019 that will help to prevent Mississippi’s Madison County Sheriff’s Department from engaging in racially motivated policing practices. The Firm was also recognized for this achievement with a Benchmark Litigation Impact Case Award and was named the Benchmark Litigation Pro Bono Firm of the Year in recognition of its commitment to public service. Jon received the Judge Simon H. Rifkind Award in 2020 from The Jewish Theological Seminary in recognition of his dedication to public service, professional accomplishments and deep commitment to the Jewish community. Early in his career, Jon served on the Simpson Thacher team that achieved a finding (after a seven-month trial) that the New York City public schools fail to provide a constitutionally adequate education.
Jon has also received the Burton Award for Achievement in Legal Writing. He edits the Securities Law Alert, a monthly newsletter published by the Firm, and is the Co-Chair of PLI’s annual program entitled “Securities Litigation: from Investigation to Trial.” Jon received his B.A. with honors from Brown University in 1990. He received his J.D. in 1994 with honors from the University of Chicago, where he served as Comments Editor of The University of Chicago Law Review. He also holds a Master of Public Policy from The University of Chicago (1992).
Jon joined Simpson Thacher in 1995 following a one-year clerkship with Hon. Dennis G. Jacobs of United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He became a Partner in 2003, head of the Civil Securities Litigation Practice in 2015, and Global Co-Chair of the Litigation Department in 2016.