Jesse focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, including matters relating to real estate litigation, securities law, shareholder litigation, contract, governmental investigations, insurance, bankruptcy, and employment disputes. He has handled matters at all levels of the state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States.
In particular, Jesse has extensive experience in real estate litigation and has handled a wide range of complex real estate disputes in state and federal trial and appellate courts around the country, including but not limited to cases arising out of distressed assets and foreclosures; commercial mortgage-backed securities and trust issues; disputes between trustees, special and master servicers, lenders, and borrowers; disputes relating to purchase agreements, including options and rights of first refusal; complex landlord-tenant disputes, including the interplay between ground leases, subleases, and commercial financing; and multimillion-dollar cases involving damage and destruction to real property and its owners.
Jesse also has experience with significant shareholder and securities litigation, including actions involving breaches of fiduciary duties, squeeze outs of minority shareholders, joint venture and intra-corporate disputes, derivative lawsuits, securities fraud and 10b-5 actions, and disputes relating to convertible notes and other complex financing arrangements.
In addition, Jesse’s broad complex commercial practice ranges from constitutional law claims (including a victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck, 139 S. Ct. 1921 (2019)) to corporate and governmental investigations, board and audit committee representations, adversary proceedings and other bankruptcy-related proceedings, and all manner of commercial contract disputes.
Before joining the firm, Jesse was a litigation associate at the New York headquarters of an international law firm. While there, he engaged in all aspects of complex commercial litigation at trial and appellate level in federal and state courts.
Jesse also serves as president of the board of directors of the National LGBT Bar Association. Jesse also maintains an extensive pro bono practice serving a diverse range of clients in impact litigation, including matters relating to LGBTQ and political asylum, voting rights, women’s access to health care, and transgender rights.
Jesse gained valuable business experience before attending law school. He was co-founder and managing director of Magellan Publications, Inc. and manager of Research & Business Development for the Regina Regional Economic Development Authority (now Economic Development Regina, Inc.).
Jesse earned his undergraduate degree in Government from Harvard University, and earned his law degree, magna cum laude, from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he was head editor of the Cardozo Law Review and member of Order of the Coif. While attending law school, he was a research assistant to Professor Marci Hamilton, with whom he was a founding board member of CHILD USA, a nonprofit think tank dedicated to protecting children and preventing abuse. Jesse was also an Alexander Fellow, acting in the capacity as junior clerk, to Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.