Jonathan K. Youngwood is Co-Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department. For more than 20 years, Jon has represented financial institutions, corporations, executives and boards of directors in a wide range of high-profile litigations, arbitrations and regulatory investigations. His practice focuses on matters involving securities, antitrust and ERISA law as well as M&A litigation.

In 2017, Jon was the recipient of the “Securities Lawyer of the Year” award by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation, an award that recognizes the country’s leading litigators, and was also honored as a “Distinguished Leader” by the New York Law Journal. Chambers and Partners consistently recognizes Jon as a leading securities litigator, describing him as a “very well-respected lawyer with a tremendous reputation, and is very good in the courtroom”; “the best lawyer on his feet - he is incredibly comfortable before judges and panels”; a “smart, focused and creative lawyer who brings the required intensity to the job.” Chambers also recognizes him as “a detail-oriented litigator with the ability to get to the nub of an issue” who “has extensive securities knowledge” and “flair for written work and oral advocacy.” He is recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” by The Legal 500, where market commentators describe him as “very talented”; who has a “client-oriented approach”; “technically superb, bright and articulate”; an “outstanding securities litigator”; and “smart, hardworking and extremely professional.” Jon has also been recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “Top 10 Nationwide Securities Star”; and is consistently recognized as a national and New York “Litigation Star” in Securities Litigation, where sources have described him as “one of the smartest lawyers I know. He not only is hardworking, but he has the ability to be both a big-picture thinker and also pay incredible attention to detail.”

He edits the Securities Law Alert, a monthly newsletter published by the Firm, is the Co-Chair of PLI’s annual program entitled “Handling a Securities Case: From Investigation to Trial and Everything in Between,” and received the Burton Award for Achievement in Legal Writing.

Among a number of significant pro bono achievements, Jon served on the Simpson Thacher team that achieved a finding (after a seven-month trial) that the New York City public schools fail to provide a constitutionally adequate education. 

Jon received his B.A. with honors from Brown University in 1990. He received his J.D. in 1994 with honors from the University of Chicago, where he served as Comments Editor of The University of Chicago Law Review. He also holds a Master of Public Policy from The University of Chicago (1992). Jon joined Simpson Thacher in 1995 following a one-year clerkship with Hon. Dennis G. Jacobs of United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He became a Partner in 2003.

Markham Erickson is chair of Steptoe’s Internet, Telecom, and Technology practice group, where he counsels clients in some of the most highly visible, complex legal matters in these sectors. He successfully applies novel and creative theories, earning precedent-setting outcomes on cases of first impression. Markham has represented Internet companies since the beginning of the commercial Internet, and has been the lead counsel for Internet firms in the so-called network neutrality debate since its inception. He regularly engages the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) on investigations, complaints, rulemakings, and proposed mergers in the communications sector, and represents technology companies on questions relating to copyright and technology.

Markham is widely recognized as one of the nation’s top Internet and media lawyers. He serves as co-chair to the annual Broadband and Cable Law Seminar at the Practising Law Institute in New York City. He is ranked in The Legal 500, Super Lawyers, and Chambers USA, where he is described as being “as knowledgeable on internet matters as anyone I have ever met” and as a “first-rate lawyer.” In recognition of his authority in the field, Markham was appointed by the White House to represent the United States before the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development on Internet speech and regulatory matters.

In addition to leading the firm’s practice group, Markham is co-chair of the Steptoe’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. He also is a member of the firm’s Professional Advancement Committee and its Hiring Committee.