Jonathan S. Jacobs

Jonathan S. Jacobs
Telephone: 434-977-9666 
Email: jonathan@zoblaw.com

Mr. Jacobs is an experienced trial lawyer, focused exclusively on commercial litigation. Mr. Jacobs routinely appears in courts across the country on behalf of Fortune 500 clients, smaller companies, and individuals.

Mr. Jacobs has handled over two hundred business disputes, in a broad array of subjects: trade-secret cases, real estate disputes, insurance, intellectual property litigation, commercial fraud, breach-of-contract matters, and employment disputes.

Mr. Jacobs was selected as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in the category of Business Litigation, a distinction given only to the top 2.5% of attorneys in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Jacobs’ practice has a particular focus on issues affecting hospitality companies, having represented Marriott International, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Ryman Hospitality Properties/Gaylord Entertainment Company, DiamondRock Hospitality Co., and other hospitality companies in connection with hundreds of litigation matters involving franchise litigation, employment disputes, contract breaches, and numerous other subject areas.

Mr. Jacobs is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Virginia State Bar, and numerous federal courts throughout the country.

Background

Mr. Jacobs received his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University, and his Juris Doctor with honors from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as Editor of The Georgetown Law Journal and Executive Editor of The Georgetown Law Journal’s Annual Review of Criminal Procedure.

Before joining Zobrist Law Group, Mr. Jacobs worked as a business trial lawyer at a different Washington, D.C. litigation boutique. Before practicing law, Mr. Jacobs worked as a senior consultant for a strategy consulting firm.

Sample Representations

• Prevailing in bet-the-company intellectual property litigation, by winning summary judgment on most counts and settling the remaining claims with money provided by the insurance company. Our client was particularly pleased that Plaintiff spent millions more in attorneys’ fees prosecuting the case than our client's insurance carrier paid for its defense. Details here.

• Successfully defending Marriott International, Inc. in more than a hundred civil actions across the country against claims that Marriott was liable for the actions or inactions of its franchisees.

• Winning millions from insurance companies in federal litigation across the country, forcing insurers to indemnify and defend claims where they had earlier denied coverage.

• Defending The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC from a lawsuit brought by the Association of a Ritz-Carlton-branded condominium, claiming tortious misconduct for alleged embezzlement of millions of dollars by an employee.

• Representing a former officer against the company he helped found, for breach of contract related to the buyback price for his shares. After prevailing on a motion to dismiss for forum non conveniens, our client accepted a very favorable settlement from the company.

• Serving as lead defense counsel in a Virginia civil trial involving alleged theft of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, intentional interference with contracts, and copying and deleting data in violation of the Virginia Computer Crimes Act. After four days of trial, the court entered judgment for the defense on all counts for a complete defense victory.

• Successfully representing various employers against claims for employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and other alleged adverse employment action.

• Defending a publicly-traded technology company in a California lawsuit filed by its competitor claiming intentional interference with contractual relations and unfair business practices. Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed our client after we filed our motion for summary judgment.