Jonathan Sherman

Partner
Washington, DC

t: 202 237 9605
f: 202 237 6131

jsherman@bsfllp.com

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Areas of Practice

Litigation

Class Actions

Constitutional Law and First Amendment / Mass Media

Investigations / Corporate Governance

Securities Litigation

Education

Stanford Law School, J.D., 1991; Articles Editor, Stanford Law Review; Law Review Board of Editors' Award for Outstanding Editorial Contributions, Vol. 42; Hilmer Ohelman, Jr. Award for Excellence in First Year Research and Writing

Yale University, M.A., History, 1989; Yale Fellowship

University of Rochester, B.A., magna cum laude, History, 1984; Phi Beta Kappa; Highest Distinction in Major

Admissions

District of Columbia and New York

United States Supreme Court

United States Courts of Appeals: First, Second, Third, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits

United States District Courts: Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York

Jonathan Sherman is a specialist in complex commercial litigation, and media defense and First Amendment matters. He is the Administrative Partner of the Washington, D.C. office.

Mr. Sherman has represented clients in litigation, arbitrations and internal investigations, with emphasis on securities litigation (both in the United States and Europe), class actions, corporate governance and compliance-related investigations, employment-related disputes and general commercial dispute resolution. Mr. Sherman regularly represents both plaintiffs and defendants. His recent experience includes:

advising one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds about potential U.S. and European litigation arising out of the liquidity crisis in the credit markets;
defending Qwest Communications International Inc. in connection with securities, accounting and commercial contract matters arising out of its investment in a Dutch telecommunications joint venture (Among other matters, Mr. Sherman successfully argued before the Third Circuit, which recently affirmed dismissal on ground of forum non conveniens a $9 billion claim made by Dutch bankruptcy trustees. Windt v. Qwest, 512 F.3d 183 (3rd Cir. 2008));
leading defense of large commercial bank in putative class action brought against it, an investment bank, and two rating agencies arising out of allegations that defendants failed to disclose risks of structured investment vehicle alleged to have consisted of pooled mortgage backed securities;
representing hedge and private equity funds as plaintiffs in actions in the United States and in Europe in connection with stock redemptions and other securities-related matter, including, for example, securing summary judgment, before commencement of discovery, for plaintiff funds to recover value of redeemed dividend on compounded rather than simple basis. D.E. Shaw Laminar Portfolios. v. Archon Corp., 570 F.Supp.2d 1262 (D. Nev. 2008) (argued);
representing hedge and private equity funds as plaintiffs in actions in the United States and in Europe in connection with stock redemptions and other securities-related matters;
acting as lead counsel on behalf of a certified class of shareholders of Genzyme Corporation challenging the propriety under the federal securities laws of its elimination of the so-called "tracking stock" of one of its divisions (the case settled in August 2007 with Genzyme agreeing to pay $64 million to the class);
leading an internal investigation for a national financial institution;
representing the designer Joseph Abboud in a dispute with the company that manufactured and licensed his work;
representing DuPont in a litigation concerning the use of genetic technology;
representing Calvin Klein, Inc. in a highly publicized contract and trademark dispute.

Mr. Sherman has represented clients in numerous other commercial matters, including involving employee benefits disputes, alleged bid-rigging and price fixing, and reinsurance collection.

Mr. Sherman has more than sixteen years' worth of experience defending and counseling clients (both media and non-media) in matters involving defamation, access to government and judicial proceedings, copyright and privacy rights, government funding of speech, Internet-related access disputes, and international free speech rights. In the First Amendment area, Mr. Sherman was lead counsel on behalf of Court TV in litigation challenging the constitutionality of New York's statutory ban on television cameras in that State's courtrooms. He currently represents Courtroom View Network, which provides streaming Internet transmissions of judicial proceedings, in its attempts to cover federal court proceedings. Among other high profile matters: He recently assisted CBS Corp. in its defense to the FCC’s indecency fine for the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show; in 2005, he represented a large media company in connection with an investigation of a leak of information from a highly publicized grand jury proceeding; in 2003, he defended Viacom Inc. in litigation brought by the filmmaker Spike Lee to prevent the launch of a television network.

Mr. Sherman was an Adjunct Associate Professor of Law at Fordham between 1998 and 2001, where he taught courses on the intersection of antitrust, intellectual property and First Amendment law. Mr. Sherman was also a Visiting Lecturer at Yale College in 1993, teaching freedom of expression.

Selected Professional Awards and Associations

American Bar Association

Selected Publications and Presentations

Lecturer, "The Media in Court," Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics and the Media, Syracuse University, February 2, 2009 (view a video of Mr. Sherman's presentation at http://jpm.syr.edu/events.cfm?type=1~on=2)

Panel Member, "International Class Actions," presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association Section of International Law, Brussels, Belgium, September 2008.

Thoughts on the Constitutionality of Televised Trials in the Age of Information and the Era of Infotainment, MLRC Bulletin (Jan. 2005)

New York Judge Issues Watershed Ruling Declaring Constitutional Right to Televise Trials (LDRC Libelletter, Feb. 2000)

Lifting the Veil, Legal Backgrounder (Nov. 1, 1996)

In Trusts We Trust, Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal (Nov. 1996)

Pictures at an Execution, New York Times, Op-Ed page (May 3, 1991)