CHAIR, STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL TEAM

Jonathan Scott Goldman is an experienced trial and appellate attorney, a creative legal and business strategist, and a trusted adviser. He represents and counsels businesses, municipalities, and individuals in general disputes and complex litigation matters in federal and state courts, as well as in administrative proceedings, across the country. Jonathan has negotiated complex settlements and taken cases through full jury trial and appeal. He leads Blank Rome’s State Attorneys General Team.

Jonathan maintains a diverse practice in such areas as commercial litigation, including contract disputes and “deals gone wrong,” as well as real estate and insurance litigation; employment litigation, including employee defection, trade secrets, restrictive covenants, and unfair competition; bankruptcy litigation on behalf of individual creditors, creditors’ committees, debtors, and trustees, including fraudulent transfers and preference claims; trusts and estate litigation, including fee disputes and will fights; and consumer financial services litigation.

In addition to his diverse trial and commercial litigation practice, Jonathan maintains an active tax practice focused on state and local tax considerations for clients.

Prior to rejoining Blank Rome, Jonathan served as Executive Deputy Attorney General (“EDAG”) at the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (“OAG”) from 2017 to mid-2019 where he ran the Civil Law Division and was a top executive to Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

As EDAG, Jonathan oversaw the Civil Litigation, Appellate Litigation, Tax Litigation, Torts Litigation, Legal Review, and Financial Enforcement Sections of the OAG, supervising approximately 130 attorneys, investigators, and other employees in multiple offices across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was instrumental in the formation and operation of the Impact Litigation Section, through which General Shapiro led and collaborated with other state attorneys general across the country on key national legal issues and engaged in multistate litigation.

At the OAG, Jonathan was actively involved in many litigation matters of state and national importance, including:

• Contraceptive Care Mandate – Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Trump, et al., 17-4540 (E.D. Pa.) – Obtained a national preliminary injunction to block the implementation of new, additional sweeping exemptions for employers with religious or moral exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s requirements that preventative services such as contraceptives for women be covered by insurance without co-payments, deductibles, or other costs.
• Golden Living Nursing Homes – Commonwealth, AG Shapiro v. Golden Gate National Senior Care LLC, et al, 16 MAP 2017 (Pa.) – Lead appellate counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in briefing and argument before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court where the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sued a chain of nursing homes for violating Pennsylvania’s Consumer Protection Law by making promises to seniors and their families that they could not and did not keep.  Won reversal of a Commonwealth Court order sustaining nursing homes’ preliminary objections to complaint. The Supreme Court found that the Commonwealth Court’s declaration that Golden Living’s statements were merely “puffery” as a matter of law was “improper,” held that the Consumer Protection Law does not only apply to advertising, and held that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a “person in interest” entitled to seek remedies including “restoration” under section 4.1 of the CPL. 
• University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC)/Highmark – Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al. v. UPMC, et al., 334 MD 2014 (Cwlth. Ct.); Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al. v. UPMC, et al., 39 MAP 2019 (Pa.); UPMC Pinnacle, et al. v. Joshua D. Shapiro, 19-0298 (M.D. Pa.); UPMC Pinnacle, et al. v. Joshua D. Shapiro, 19-2051 (3d. Cir.) Lead counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a trial before the Commonwealth Court concerning the parties’ understanding of the modification clauses contained in consent decrees among UPMC, Highmark, and the Commonwealth. The matter ended in the announcement of a new 10-year contract between UPMC and Highmark, ending a longstanding dispute and ensuring that Highmark patients will have access to UPMC’s doctors and facilities.
• 3D Printable Guns – Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al. v. Defense Distributed, et al., 18-3208 (E.D. Pa.); see also Defense Distributed, et al. v. Grewal, et al., 18-0637 (W.D. Tx.) Lead counsel representing Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Governor Tom Wolf, and the Pennsylvania State Police in an injunction matter against Defense Distributed, a company that sought to bypass established legal requirements to distribute downloadable gun files that would deliver real, operational firearms to any Pennsylvanian with an Internet connection and a 3D printer. Following an emergency hearing, the company agreed to make its websites inaccessible to Pennsylvania users and not upload any new 3D gun files.
• Gerrymandering – League of Women Voters of PA, et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al., 261 MD 2017 (Cwlth. Ct.). Lead counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a challenge to political districting and representation in Pennsylvania.

At the OAG, Jonathan worked closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and was substantively involved in tax matters, directing the chiefs of the OAG’s tax and appellate litigation sections in their representation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in tax litigation before the Commonwealth Court and Pennsylvania Supreme Court. His experience in public service has provided additional insights into Pennsylvania’s Department of Revenue and the Commonwealth’s litigation of tax matters.

He previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Rochelle S. Friedman on the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.

Outside the Firm

In addition to spending time with his family, Jonathan enjoys fine art photography. Jonathan coaches his kids in soccer, through the Kehillah Fall Sunday Soccer League, and in basketball, through the Junior Jewish Basketball League. He is involved in alumni affairs with Princeton University and Gilman School and is a member of the Religious Life Committee at Beth Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.