Jonathan Youngwood is Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department, leads the Civil Securities Litigation Practice and is a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. He 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 and M&A related litigation, Jon’s practice focuses on disputes concerning corporate control, ERISA, and antitrust and bankruptcy.
Jon is also an experienced appellate lawyer, having argued more than 25 appeals, including cases in the majority of the federal circuit courts. Jon has successfully achieved headline-making appellate reversals and affirmations on behalf of clients in the financial services, hospitality, media and entertainment, e-commerce, and public interest industries, among others. In 2024, Jon obtained an appellate reversal in New York state court nullifying certain due diligence requirements for underwriters involved in offerings from Paramount Global. The result was considered a significant win for the underwriter and banking community, and Jon was subsequently named a Law360 Banking “MVP” for 2024.
Jon’s representative matters include:
- Alibaba in securities class actions related to disclosures about Ant Group’s announced $34 billion IPO; and separately, Alibaba in a multibillion-dollar securities class action related to its historic $25 billion IPO;
- Twitter in resolving multiple securities class actions and derivative lawsuits;
- SeaWorld in a securities class action; individual actions; shareholder derivative suit; and government investigations;
- Fourteen investment banks as underwriter defendants in winning a major appellate reversal of a securities class action related to pair of offerings by ViacomCBS;
- Paramount Global in litigation related to its merger with Skydance Media;
- Bumble in winning summary judgment in a securities class action and shareholder derivative suits related to its secondary public stock offering;
- Micron in dismissal of securities class actions and shareholder derivative suits related to DRAM price-fixing conspiracy; and separately, Micron and its directors in a DEI shareholder derivative lawsuit;
- Underwriters in Ninth Circuit victory affirming dismissal of a securities class action stemming from Eargo's IPO;
- Valeant Pharmaceuticals in securities and RICO class actions;
- Deutsche Bank in dismissal of proposed class action alleging collusion in Mexican bond market; and in dismissal from class actions alleging manipulation of the $12.5 trillion market for U.S. Treasury securities;
- Pacific Gas and Electric Company in shareholder derivative lawsuits and investigations related to the 2017 and 2018 California wildfires;
- Sirius XM in litigation arising out of its $3.5 billion acquisition of Pandora, and separately, in litigation challenging the company’s $16 billion stock repurchase program;
- BOC International in appellate victory affirming dismissal of crude oil treasure trading class action;
- JPMorgan in dismissal of derivative action relating to SEC Document retention investigation;
- Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in dismissal of claim seeking a master account;
- M&T Bank in defeating class certification in post-closing litigation related to their acquisition of Hudson City Bank;
- Underwriters of Etsy’s IPO in appellate victory affirming the dismissal of a securities class action;
- JPMorgan in Seventh Circuit appellate affirmance dismissing a securities class action;
- UBS in obtaining a denial of class certification in a putative class action alleging breach of contract and fiduciary duty in connection with certain closed-end mutual funds;
- La Quinta Holdings in Second Circuit victory affirming the District Court’s dismissal with prejudice in a securities class action;
- Lehman Brothers’ Benefits Committee in Second Circuit victory in ERISA stock drop litigation arising from its collapse;
- Warner Music in defeating class certification in a long-running price-fixing case against Warner Music and other record companies related to Apple’s iTunes;
- Blackstone in M&A litigation arising out of multiple transactions, including its $6.1 billion acquisition of TeamHealth; and its $8 billion acquisition of BioMed Realty Trust; and
- Gramercy Property Trust in dismissal in securities litigation related to its acquisition by a Blackstone affiliate.
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”; "incredibly practical, pragmatic and thoughtful, and highly responsive,” “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”; “smart, hardworking and extremely professional,” and note that he represents a “new breed of whip smart lawyers” and that “his word is gold.”
In 2024, Jon was featured in Variety’s Legal Impact Report, which recognizes the top dealmakers and litigators working in the media and entertainment industry, 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.”
Jon maintains an active pro bono practice and is at the forefront of significant legal decisions throughout the country. He has represented pro bono clients in numerous matters, including:
- Obtaining a preliminary injunction challenging a Louisiana law mandating public school posting of Ten Commandments, together with ACLU and other civil rights groups;
- Securing a win, together with the ACLU, following a week long trial in a First Amendment case regarding permitting policies in Oxford, Mississippi;
- Securing a First Amendment victory, along with Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and Kansas attorney Mark Johnson, on behalf of Voter Participation Center, advancing the ability of Kansas citizens to vote by mail;
- Securing a consent decree, together with the ACLU and ACLU of Mississippi, mandating the approval of the construction of the first mosque in northwestern Mississippi to be built following an unlawful denial of zoning approval due to anti-Muslim bias;
- Teaming with ACLU, ACLU of Mississippi and SPLC in a lawsuit challenging Mississippi Supreme Court districts that dilute Black votes;
- Overturning Mississippi’s felony disenfranchisement law on behalf of a class of Mississippi citizens in an en banc hearing before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, along with SPLC;
- Securing a win overturning an unconstitutional North Carolina law criminalizing voting along with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice;
- Securing a groundbreaking consent decree, along with the ACLU of Mississippi and the ACLU, helping to prevent Mississippi’s Madison County Sheriff’s Department from engaging in racially motivated policing practices; and
- Achieving a finding after a seven-month trial that the New York City public schools fail to provide a constitutionally adequate education.
In 2024, Jon was named “Litigator of the Week” by The Am Law Litigation Daily alongside Heather Weaver of the ACLU, in recognition of their success obtaining a broad victory through a preliminary injunction from the federal district court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which determined (in two decisions, spanning a collective 210 pages) that a state law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools violates the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. 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. The Firm was also recognized for its work, along with ACLU of Mississippi and the ACLU, in securing a groundbreaking consent decree in 2019 that helped to prevent Mississippi’s Madison County Sheriff’s Department from engaging in a racially motivated policing practices 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.
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” and the Co-Editor of the third edition of PLI’s treatise, Securities Litigation: A Practitioner’s Guide (2024).
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.