Jonathan D. Polkes is one of the nation's preeminent trial lawyers and litigators. A former federal prosecutor and first-chair trial lawyer for more than three decades, Jonathan represents major corporations, financial institutions, boards and senior executives in their most consequential trials, litigation, investigations and corporate crises.

Bloomberg Law named Jonathan one of its 25 "Unrivaled" trial lawyers for 2026, recognizing leading trial lawyers from across the United States for victories in "bet-the-farm" matters. The recognition followed Jonathan's role as first-chair trial counsel for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in a complex federal antitrust trial that resulted in a $406.8 million jury verdict. Bloomberg highlighted Jonathan's approach to trial advocacy and his ability to distill extraordinarily complex legal and factual issues into a compelling narrative that matters to the jury.

Jonathan is a two-time winner of The American Lawyer's "Litigator of the Year" award and is ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA for Securities Litigation in New York. Benchmark Litigation has named him one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America every year since 2018 and has selected him three times as a "Litigator of the Year." Law360 has three times named him a nationwide Securities Litigation MVP.

Clients and fellow practitioners have described Jonathan as a "world-class litigator," an "extremely gifted trial lawyer," and "the full package for a litigator—analytically sharp, fast on his feet, persuasive, and a person with excellent judgment on the tough calls." He has also been praised as "the go-to person on the hardest issues" and for his "incredible presence in the courtroom."

Jonathan joined White & Case in 2025 as Global Co-Chair of the Firm's Litigation Practice. His move to the Firm was recognized by The American Lawyer as one of Big Law's 25 most significant lateral moves of 2025.

Throughout his career, Jonathan has been called upon to lead matters in which the legal, financial and reputational stakes are at their highest. His work has included major jury and bench trials, securities and corporate litigation, merger and transactional disputes, international arbitrations, complex cross-border disputes, government and regulatory investigations, and sensitive matters for boards and senior executives. His engagements have placed him at the center of many of the most significant business disputes and corporate crises of the past three decades.

In addition to his $406.8 million jury verdict for Regeneron, Jonathan's recent trial work includes serving as first-chair trial counsel in the Delaware Court of Chancery in a major merger dispute between two publicly traded companies. He has also secured a complete jury victory for Morgan Stanley in a rare trial of private insider-trading claims and led Carlyle Group to a significant Delaware Chancery Court victory in a landmark deal dispute arising from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jonathan has also served as lead litigation counsel to Warner Bros. Discovery in two separate series of high-profile securities and corporate disputes. He handled litigation arising from the landmark $43 billion combination of Discovery and WarnerMedia, one of the largest and most consequential media transactions of its time, including Delaware litigation and federal securities actions. The federal securities litigation ultimately resulted in the dismissal of all claims against Warner Bros. Discovery, a victory affirmed by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. More recently, Jonathan secured the dismissal with prejudice of a separate, highly publicized securities fraud action arising from Warner Bros. Discovery's loss of its longstanding NBA media rights. The court dismissed the action in its entirety at the pleading stage and denied plaintiffs any further opportunity to amend.

Jonathan has served as the global strategic architect of BSI's defense in a complex series of cross-border disputes, investigations and proceedings arising from the 1MDB scandal and other matters. His work has spanned multiple jurisdictions and legal systems, including international arbitrations in Switzerland, US Department of Justice investigations, matters arising from the FIFA bribery scandal, regulatory and other proceedings in Singapore, and civil and criminal proceedings in Switzerland. Working with local counsel across jurisdictions, Jonathan has coordinated the overall legal strategy and defense of BSI in matters involving some of the most significant international financial investigations and controversies of the past decade.

Jonathan has also been a principal architect of comprehensive legal strategies for major institutions confronting extraordinary corporate crises. He guided AIG, Washington Mutual and Lehman Brothers through US and international criminal, regulatory and civil investigations arising from the global financial crisis and has handled multibillion-dollar disputes arising from some of the largest leveraged buyouts and corporate transactions of their time.

Before entering private practice, Jonathan served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where he became Deputy Chief of the Business and Securities Fraud Unit. He conducted more than 20 trials through verdict and argued 12 appeals before the United States Court of Appeals. He received two Superior Performance Awards from the US Department of Justice and numerous commendations from federal law enforcement agencies.

Jonathan is a graduate of New York University School of Law and Haverford College, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He served as a law clerk to Justice Aharon Barak of the Supreme Court of Israel and to the Honorable William B. Bryant of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Jonathan is a Trustee of New York University School of Law and serves in leadership roles with the American Jewish Committee and the Federal Bar Council. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Advocates for Children of New York. Earlier in his career, he taught trial advocacy and evidence as an adjunct associate professor at Fordham University School of Law.