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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 and boardroom adviser with nearly thirty years of experience solving clients’ most difficult problems. His experience spans the gamut of complex business disputes, including contract claims, securities and M&A litigation, derivative lawsuits and other claims for breach of fiduciary duty, and disputes over corporate control. His trial record includes victories in federal court, before regulatory agencies, and in arbitration.

    Jonathan regularly advises clients in the music, entertainment, and media industries, and has repeatedly been named by Variety in its Legal Impact Report, and by both Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter to their lists of the nation’s Top Music Lawyers. 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 Client Service All-Star by BTI Consulting, and a New York Super Lawyer for more than ten consecutive years.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters

    Trials

    • Trial counsel to a major pension fund asserting fiduciary duty claims against its former investment advisor, resulting in a nine-figure award.
    • Trial counsel to an $8 billion hedge fund in an eight-day breach of contract trial.
    • Trial counsel representing the former head of the New York office of an economic 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.
    • Trial counsel in a successful two-week bench trial of claims under the Communications Act.

    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 

    • Represented a private equity fund and its principals in multi-jurisdictional proceedings including obtaining dismissal of federal securities claims, securing a temporary restraining order in Delaware Chancery Court, and successfully resolving threatened adversary claims in bankruptcy court.
    • Lead counsel in the definitive Second Circuit case on market manipulation claims under the federal securities laws.
    • 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.
    • Led an investigation for the World Anti-Doping Agency into claims of harassment.

    Areas of Expertise

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

    Areas of Expertise

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