Jonathan D. Plaut is of counsel to RLF and is a partner in the litigation practice of Cohan Plaut LLP.  He is licensed to practice law in New York and Massachusetts.

Jonathan is an experienced litigator in nearly all facets of civil and criminal trial work and appeals. He has conducted over 200 jury trials, bench trials, arbitrations and appeals including as a criminal prosecutor in front of a wide variety of tribunals including the New York Supreme and appellate courts, various Federal District Courts and Courts of Appeals, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, courts in Tennessee, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and elsewhere, FINRA, the American Arbitration Association, JAMS, and many professional mediators.

Jonathan is the Chair of the Business Law Council of the Massachusetts Bar Association and is on the Amicus Curiae Committee. He has taught law courses at Tufts University and Boston College. Jonathan speaks fluent Japanese and represents a number of Japanese businesses in a wide variety of legal matters and practiced law at Anderson Mori Bengoshijimusho in Tokyo, Japan. He was a criminal prosecutor in Massachusetts. He is a long-time boardmember of the Jewish National Fund and has many charitable interests.

Jonathan’s practice focuses on business and litigation, including commercial litigation, entertainment cases, personal injury, attorney malpractice suits, criminal defense and governmental investigations, international litigation and intellectual property disputes. Some recent cases include:

• Tens of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements (including seven and eight figure verdicts) in personal injury, malpractice cases, products liability and banking disputes, both state and federal;
• Numerous state and federal appellate arguments in business cases, probate litigation and constitutional law cases;
• Represented members of rock supergroups Black Sabbath, Quiet Riot and Rainbow in record company contract disputes and negotiations;
• Cases involving professional sports including NFL football, WBC heavyweight boxing and horseracing;
• Represented many professionals in front of their regulatory boards including attorneys, physicians, dentists, teachers, accountants, physical therapists and chiropractors;
• Successfully won an inmate’s freedom after more than one year incarceration on constitutional grounds;
• Litigation involving the music and movie industries and “A-list” celebrity spokesperson contracts;
• Represented probate executors, administrators, legatees and beneficiaries in disputes of wills and trusts;
• Sued a major sneaker and apparel company for breach of contract arising out of hospitality services at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece;
• Real estate and zoning code disputes, business and partnership dissolution cases, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and unfair and deceptive business practices litigation;
• Criminal defense including cocaine trafficking, Federal wire fraud, immigration visa fraud, conspiracy, bribery, insurance billing fraud, assault and battery, motor vehicle offenses, breach of the public trust, and domestic violence cases.

Jonathan is a graduate of Tufts University and Boston College Law School. He plays rhythm guitar and is the lead singer for Jane’s Great Dane (www.JanesGreatDane.com). He has played at many rock venues throughout the U.S. including with John Waite, Carmine and Vinnie Appice of Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck fame, Dan Bern and Michelle Shocked. He finds inspiration in the John Holmes quotation, “This is the world, the Kingdom I was looking for” and does his best to try to make the world a better place. Jonathan lives in Boston, Massachusetts and commutes regularly to New York City.