Jayme Jonat

Jayme Jonat represents clients in high-stakes commercial litigations, often touching on securities- and antitrust-related issues. She has been involved in numerous large-scale litigation efforts that, in addition to their considerable monetary stakes, have tested new legal theories and affected business practices across entire industries.

Jayme has significant experience in class actions, having defended global financial institutions against class claims of securities fraud, as well as Visa against class and individual antitrust claims brought by many of the world’s largest retailers. She has also devoted substantial time to managing internal investigations for financial institutions and other clients.

Given the size of her clients and the scope of their business activities, many of her matters have international components. In addition to advising on FCPA matters, Jayme has litigated multiple disputes arising from corporate transactions with cross-border implications.

Equally comfortable representing plaintiffs and defendants, she has led multiple boundary-pushing cases. Her critical work in a Cost of Insurance case placed her at the forefront of a new wave of litigation against the life insurance industry. She also represents female pilots and flight attendants of Frontier Airlines in cutting-edge workplace discrimination cases, alleging that the airline’s policies toward pregnant and breast-feeding employees violate the Civil Rights Act.

That civil rights action is just one component of Jayme’s active pro bono practice. She has contributed her time to a number of diverse civil and criminal matters, including the successful appeal of a client’s felony conviction that resulted in his release from state prison.

Jayme was named to the inaugural 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation, received Crain’s New York Business’ Notable Women in Law award, and has been named a Litigation Trailblazer by The National Law Journal. She has also been recognized on Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List, Euromoney’s Rising Stars – Best in Litigation shortlist, and Profiles in Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching list. Prior to joining Holwell Shuster & Goldberg, she was a litigation associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and clerked for the Honorable Arthur D. Spatt of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Noteworthy

• Received Notable Women in Law Award from Crain’s New York Business
• Named a Litigation Trailblazer by The National Law Journal
• Featured in Law.com How I Made Partner Q&A Series
• Named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 & Under Hot List
• Named to Profiles in Diversity Journal's 2018 Women Worth Watching List

Notable Cases

• Online media company in putative class action alleging violation of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).
• Affiliates of the government-owned investment fund AIMCo, and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as securities intermediary, in a $200 million litigation in the Southern District of New York against AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company arising out of AXA’s improper Cost of Insurance rate increase on a certain group of universal life insurance policies.
• Visa Inc. and its subsidiaries in various matters, including their defense against class and individual antitrust actions brought by virtually every merchant in the United States and alleging hundreds of billions in damages.
• French industrial company Alstom in litigation against GE concerning the most significant French M&A transaction of 2014. 
• XPO Logistics, Inc. in litigation with Elliot Management arising from XPO’s acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle, S.A.
• Assisting Judge Holwell in his current role as an independent monitor appointed by a major financial institution under an agreement between the institution and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. 

Writings

• “Ending the Widow Penalty: Why Are Surviving Alien Spouses of Deceased Citizens Being Deported?” Fordham Law Review (77 Fordham L. Rev. 1873 (2009))