Jonathan is a partner in the Century City office of Gibson Dunn and member of the Firm’s Mass Torts and Product Liability Group. He represents major pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies and consumer electronic companies, and other innovative companies in their most complex and high-stakes product liability litigations, mass torts, class actions, and civil actions filed by state attorneys general.
Jonathan has been repeatedly recognized for his litigation and trial achievements in some of the most high-profile product liability and mass tort litigations. Lawdragon recognized Jonathan in 2026 as one of “500 Leading Litigators in America.” The American Lawyer named Jonathan a “Young Lawyer of the Year” litigation finalist in the publication’s 2022 Industry Awards, which recognizes lawyers who have made an impact that goes “above and beyond” in their area of legal practice. Law360 named Jonathan a 2022 “Rising Star” in Product Liability, the Daily Journalnamed him to its “Top 40 Under 40” list in 2022, and The Recorder recognized him as a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” in its 2022 California Legal Awards. Jonathan has also been recognized in 2025 by Legal 500 in both the “Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action – Defense: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices” (US) category and the “Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action – Defense: Consumer Products” (US) category.
Jonathan has significant experience litigating complex cases in federal and state courts nationwide, including at trial and on appeal, with a focus on high-stakes mass tort and product liability litigations. He has particular experience litigating the admissibility of expert testimony, winning key motions excluding plaintiffs’ experts’ causation testimony that led to summary judgment in several major products liability litigations.
Representative Experience:
- Counsel for Monsanto in a two-and-a-half-month consolidated trial in which 15 plaintiffs alleged injuries from exposure to PCBs at the Sky Valley Education Center, securing complete defense verdicts as to 11 of the 15 plaintiffs.
- Represented Johnson & Johnson in product liability litigation alleging that its talc-based baby powder contained asbestos that caused plaintiffs to develop mesothelioma.
- Counsel for 3M in multibillion-dollar product liability litigation, recognized as the largest federal multidistrict litigation in history, brought by service members alleging hearing loss from a product sold to the military, securing multiple favorable verdicts. One of the trial wins was recognized by The American Lawyer in its Litigation Daily column.
- Defended Allergan in product liability cases involving novel claims that maternal use of an antidepressant during pregnancy causes autism in children, obtaining the exclusion of plaintiffs’ general causation experts and securing affirmance of the decision in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
- Counseled Pfizer in several significant litigations, including:
- a California Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding involving thousands of cases alleging that Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering medication, causes diabetes, where he obtained the exclusion of plaintiffs’ general causation expert under Sargon Enterprises, Inc. v. University of Southern California, 55 Cal. 4th 747 (2012);
- an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit involving thousands of cases alleging that Lipitor causes diabetes, where he obtained affirmance of the exclusion of plaintiffs’ general causation experts and of summary judgment for Pfizer in all cases; and
- a federal multidistrict litigation involving claims that maternal use of Zoloft, an antidepressant, during pregnancy causes birth defects, where he obtained the exclusion of plaintiffs’ general causation experts and summary judgment for the company in all cases, and secured affirmance of the decision in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
- Represented GlaxoSmithKline in several litigations, including:
- a federal multidistrict litigation and California Judicial Council Coordinated Proceeding involving thousands of claimants who allege that Zantac, an antacid medication, has carcinogenic properties; and
- a putative nationwide class action involving claims that Chapstick products were misleadingly labeled as 100% natural and as containing naturally sourced ingredients.
- Defended Purdue Pharma in multibillion dollar, nationwide litigation brought by State Attorneys general, cities, counties, municipalities and Native American tribes in state and federal courts, where it was alleged that Purdue caused the opioid abuse crisis and created a public nuisance.
- Counsel for a major global technology company in winning summary judgment on all claims based on federal preemption in a putative nationwide class action involving misleading marketing and medical monitoring claims related to consumer electronics devices.
- Represented Intuitive Surgical in the first product liability trial in the country involving Intuitive’s da Vinci robotic surgical device.
- Counsel of record for the Washington Legal Foundation on amicus briefs filed in the United States Supreme Court in product liability cases concerning Rule 702 and the admissibility of expert testimony, and the application of non-mutual, offensive collateral estoppel in multidistrict litigation.
Capabilities
- Litigation
- Appellate and Constitutional Law
- Class Actions
- Environmental
- Mass Torts and Product Liability
- Trials
Credentials
Education:
- Duke University - 2009 Juris Doctor
- University of California, Berkeley - 2004 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- California Bar
- New York Bar