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Jonathan M. Sperling

Partner

New York +1 212 841 1153

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Jonathan Sperling is a trial lawyer with twenty-five years of experience handling complex business disputes, including contract disputes, securities and M&A litigation, derivative lawsuits and other claims for breach of fiduciary duty, and disputes over corporate control. His trial experience includes victories in federal court, before regulatory agencies, and in arbitration, and his piercing cross-examination style once led an adversary’s CEO to settle the case in the middle of Jonathan’s deposition of him rather than allow the examination to continue.

     

    Repeatedly named by Billboard to its list of the nation’s Top Music Lawyers, Jonathan heads the firm’s Music Industry practice and has represented record companies and publishers in some of the most significant disputes over distribution of content through new media. He also has substantial experience handling investigations and advising boards on crisis management, and is a regular advisor to multiple family offices with assets of a billion dollars or more.

    Jonathan has been named a New York Super Lawyer for ten consecutive years, and in 2018 was named a Client Service All-Star by BTI Consulting.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters

    Trials

    • Lead trial counsel to an $8 billion hedge fund in an eight-day breach of contract trial.
    • Lead trial counsel representing the former head of the New York office of a consulting firm in a dispute with his former employer. The trial lasted twelve days and resulted in dismissal of nearly all claims against our client.
    • Co-trial counsel in GSN v. Cablevision, which resulted in a significant victory for our client GSN in a carriage claim against Cablevision after a two-week bench trial.

    Music Industry

    • Represent the major record labels and music publishers in copyright infringement litigation against various ISPs. 
    • Represented a major record label in litigation over streaming royalties owed in connection with recordings by Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, and other stars from the television program American Idol.
    • Represented Sony Music Entertainment in litigation brought by producer Quincy Jones over royalties due from the Estate of Michael Jackson.
    • Lead counsel to several major record labels in litigation over streaming royalties due to session musicians and background vocalists.

     

    Other Matters 

    • Led an investigation for the World Anti-Doping Agency into claims of harassment.  
    • Lead counsel to the Special Litigation Committee of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. in shareholder derivative lawsuits alleging breach of fiduciary duty by its majority shareholder.
    • Lead counsel to Chiquita Brands International, Inc. in a Special Litigation Committee investigation arising out of a corporate criminal plea 
    • Lead counsel in the definitive Second Circuit case on market manipulation claims under the federal securities laws.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Harvard Law School, J.D.
        • cum laude
    • Brandeis University, B.A.
        • summa cum laude
        • Phi Beta Kappa
    Bar Admissions
    • Massachusetts
    • New York
    Judicial Clerkship
    • Hon. J. Edward Lumbard, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
    Accolades

    Areas of Expertise

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