Jonathan Youngwood is a Partner in the Firm’s Litigation Department. He serves as the Firm’s Co-Administrative Partner and is a member of the Executive Committee. He has represented financial institutions and other clients in a wide range of high-profile complex commercial litigation matters, including securities, corporate control, antitrust and ERISA disputes. Jonathan has been involved in litigations associated with Blackstone, Bank of Montreal, Enron, Focus Media, Goldman Sachs, HCA, JPMorgan Chase, KKR, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, PXRE, and UBS, among many others.
Chambers and Partners has recognized Jonathan as a leading securities litigator, describing him as “the best lawyer on his feet - he is incredibly comfortable before judges and panels”; a “smart, focused and creative lawyer who brings the required intensity to the job.” Chambers also recognizes him as “a detail-oriented litigator with the ability to get to the nub of an issue” who “has extensive securities knowledge” and “flair for written work and oral advocacy.” The Legal 500 has called him “technically superb, bright and articulate”; an “outstanding securities litigator”; and “smart, hardworking and extremely professional.” He is also recognized by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation and he was featured in Securities Law360’s 2007 “10 under 40” series. Jonathan is a frequent contributor to legal publications and speaker at the Practising Law Institute and other events. He is the Co-Chair of PLI’s annual program entitled “Handling a Securities Case: From Investigation to Trial and Everything in Between.” In 2011, he received the Burton Award for Achievement in Legal Writing for his article “New Plausibility Standard Impacts Pleading in Employee Benefits Cases,” which was published in BNA, Inc.’s Pension & Benefits Daily in April 2010. Among a number of significant pro bono achievements, Jonathan 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.
Jonathan 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 Masters Degree (1992) from the University of Chicago in Public Policy. Jonathan 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 was elected a partner in 2002.
