JONATHAN J. MARGOLIS
E-mail: jmargolis@TheEmploymentLawyers.Com           

Jon Margolis practiced in an uncommonly wide range of law before concentrating in the representation of plaintiffs in employment-related matters a decade ago. In addition to employment law, he has handled significant matters in areas as diverse as commercial, tax, real estate and personal injury litigation, as well as representing several theatrical producers.

Among his more significant cases are:

Che v. MBTA, which set standards for the law of retaliation and punitive damages, as well as returning a substantial verdict for his client, the plaintiff.

Halligan v. The Ground Round, Inc., in which four victims of age discrimination won a judgment of $6.7 million dollars. The case remains the largest single age-discrimination verdict in Massachusetts history, and received national attention.

Hickey, Trustee v. BioLease, Inc., a case involving breach of a lease and commercial fraud against a company controlled by prominent Boston developer Ted Raymond, in which Mr. Margolis's clients were awarded a judgment of $1.3 million.

Roberts v. Roberts, in which the Supreme Judicial Court clarified the use of nominee trusts, a popular method for holding commercial real estate in Massachusetts.

Board of Selectmen v. Civil Service Commission, in which he represented an officer suspended from a local police force. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the responsibility of the Civil Service Commission to determine just cause for suspension or removal of public employees.

Roumani v. Leestamper, another case involving a public employee, in which the court enjoined a public college from dismissing a non-tenured faculty member without affording him a hearing.

Jon has been named one of New England’s “Super Lawyers,” by Law and Politics, in both 2006 and 2007.

Jon received a J.D. degree from Harvard, where his experience in a contracts class on the first day of law school provided the inspiration for the famous opening scene of the popular book and film, The Paper Chase.  (He hastens to note that the rest of his law school experience was nothing like that described in the book and movie.)  He has continued his connection to the Law School by acting as an advisor to students in the school’s intensive Trial Advocacy Workshop.  He received is A.B. from Brandeis.

Jon is a member of the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal for the First and Federal Circuits, the United States District Court for Massachusetts, the United States Tax Court and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

In a varied career, Jon has also been a radio broadcaster and reporter, a writer and a theatrical producer.  He has written for legal and general-interest publications, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, the Brandeis Review, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and the Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute.

He lives in Brookline, where he is vice-chairman of the Trustees of the Public Library (an elected position), and a member of Town Meeting. When not practicing law, he writes a blog, The Old New Englander, and cares for and sails the classic 28-foot canoe yawl ROZINANTE, which was built for her designer, the famous L. Francis Herreshoff.