S Jonathan Silverman

OF COUNSEL

vCard

Massey & Gail LLP
50 East Washington Street
Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60602

Direct: 312.970.0357
Fax: 312.506.8673

Jonathan Silverman is an experienced litigator who has defended and prosecuted complex cases in numerous federal and state courts and in a variety of arbitral forums. He has represented clients in litigation involving securities and financial markets, toxic torts, insurance coverage, antitrust and intellectual property disputes, securities fraud and consumer class actions, as well as mass tort and industry-wide market liability cases.

Jonathan also served as general counsel, on a transitional basis, for a client in the financial services industry, where his duties included contract review, risk management, drafting agreements with key business partners and consumers, and managing outside counsel in a variety of litigation and regulatory matters.

Jonathan’s practice encompasses trial work and related counseling for financial services firms, manufacturers and government contractors. He has significant experience litigating employment disputes involving trade secrets and non-competition claims and has counseled clients in the securities industry on employee defection and recruitment matters involving various state trade secrets and unfair competition statutes.

Jonathan has a demonstrated ability to lead internal teams and codefendant groups towards creative solutions to tactical and strategic problems.

Jonathan received his J.D. cum laude from The University of Chicago in 1992, his A.M. in Economics from The University of Chicago in 1989 and his B.A. from Yale University in 1986. He has an expert understanding of finance, statistics, accounting, and economics with in-depth knowledge about a wide variety of industries.

Significant aspects of Jonathan’s career have been at the intersection of law and economics. He has deep experience synthesizing legal arguments with scientific evidence and preparing expert-driven cases for trial. He is proficient in several statistical packages and programming languages.

  • University of Chicago Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1992
  • University of Chicago, A.M., Economics, 1989
  • Yale University, B.A., History, 1983

  • Illinois

  • Honorary Trustee and former Vice President of the Board of Trustees of The Ancona School Society

  • French

  • Financial Services and Regulatory
    • Developed evidence that defeated class-certification, supported successful motions for summary judgment, or resulted in favorable settlement in cases involving allegations of securities fraud and accounting malpractice by big four accounting firm.
    • Assisted securities broker-dealers in the development and implementation of procedures that comply with new state and federal privacy regulations.
    • Successfully appealed trial court’s denial of motion to compel arbitration of securities industry dispute in Texas Court of Appeals.
    • Counseled clients in the securities industry on employee defection and recruitment matters involving statutory issues under the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act and various state secrets and unfair competition statutes.
  • Toxic Tort and Product Liability
    • Developed economic, statistical and other expert testimony to defend government contractors in a class action brought by area property owners who alleged that releases of plutonium reduced property values. Led team responsible for key areas of case to develop a coherent affirmative case and prepare methodological challenges to plaintiff’s expert testimony, driving strategy for Daubert motions and trial of damages and causation issues.
    • Responsible for key portions of multi-billion dollar products liability case brought by asbestos manufacturer against tobacco-industry client, aligning expert case with legal strategy to win summary judgment for client in Mississippi and California state courts.
  • Employment and ERISA
    • First-chaired bench trial in employment dispute between real estate brokerage and former sales manager.
    • First-chaired several arbitrations for national securities broker-dealers before the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in cases involving employment matters, sales practices and commercial disputes.
    • Successfully argued motions before numerous federal and state courts in cases involving covenants not to compete, trade secrets, fiduciary duties and similar claims arising from the movement of employees between competing firms.
    • Conducted internal investigation of alleged illegal conduct and stock manipulation involving an Employee Stock Option Program leading to successful negotiation and settlement of class action.
  • Antitrust and Competition
    • Intervened on behalf of client in an anti-dumping case brought by a supplier of a critical input in client’s manufacturing process. Department of Commerce imposed only minimal tariffs.
    • Presented testimony to staff of Federal Trade Commission, successfully arguing that client’s advertising policy did not violate federal anti-trust laws.
    • Counseled clients on a range of antitrust issues, including distribution agreements, dealer termination, merger analysis and agreements among security industry competitors.
  • Insurance Coverage
    • Lead effort to develop defenses for Bermuda excess insurer in coverage dispute with medical device manufacturer.
    • Prosecuted client’s claims against errors and omissions insurance carrier for denying coverage of a putative class action against client.
  • Other Commercial Litigation
    • Defeated motion for TRO and obtained summary judgment for real estate developer in litigation against condominium board.
    • Developed expert testimony on business valuation in defense of electronics manufacturer charged with patent infringement and theft of trade secrets.
    • Took lead role in all aspects of trial preparation in lawsuit alleging client real-estate developer of fraudulently inducing investment in residential development.