Jonathan Youngwood is Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department and leads the Civil Securities Litigation Practice. 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 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), describing him as “plainly a first-tier player in the area”; a “very well-respected lawyer with a tremendous reputation, and is very good in the courtroom”; “always prepared and fearless … he knows how to get things done”; everything that a client would want in a difficult case”; and “the best lawyer on his feet – he is incredibly comfortable before judges and panels.” 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”; and “technically superb, bright and articulate.” One market commentator noted, “I work with the top litigation teams at all of the big firms and Youngwood stands out. He represents a new breed of whip smart lawyers: a statesman, smarter than the next lawyer but also willing to be direct at all times. His word is gold.” In 2020, Jon was named a Law360 “MVP” in Class Actions, and was recognized among Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America.” Jon is consistently recognized as a national and New York “Litigation Star” in Securities Litigation by Benchmark Litigation.
Among a number of significant pro bono achievements, in 2024, Jon and the Simpson Thacher team, along with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, secured a win overturning a racially discriminatory North Carolina law criminalizing voting. In 2022, Jon and the Simpson Thacher team, along with the ACLU of Mississippi and the ACLU, secured a consent decree 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. In 2021, Jon was awarded the Federal Bar Council’s Thurgood Marshall Award for Exceptional Pro Bono Service, and in 2020 Jon received the Judge Simon H. Rifkind Award from The Jewish Theological Seminary in recognition of his dedication to public service, professional accomplishments and deep commitment to the Jewish community. He has also received the Burton Award for Achievement in Legal Writing. Jon was featured as a “New York Trailblazer” in 2020 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. He also 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 holds a B.A. with honors from Brown University, a J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago, and a Master of Public Policy from The University of Chicago. 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.
Updated Oct 2024
