Jonathan Braunstein

Jonathan Braunstein is a Partner in Dentons' Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice, based in the Oakland office. His primary practice area is Commercial Litigation. He advises clients in the health care, insurance, employee benefits, financial services, technology, real estate, retail, construction and defense industries, providing practical, business-driven advice on challenging issues, risks and opportunities.

Prior to joining Dentons in 2022, he worked at an AMLaw 100 firm where he developed a broad business advice, investigations and commercial litigation practice. He represents a wide array of clients, including insurers (life, health, commercial property and third-party liability), health plans, hospitals, financial services firms, tech companies, real estate and mortgage service providers, retail stores, construction project owners and contractors, global defense contractors, and businesses engaged in international shipping and commerce.

He has litigated cases of all sizes, including class actions, contract disputes, business torts, antitrust and unfair competition, labour and employment, non-compete and trade secret misappropriation, consumer protection, and data privacy and security matters. He has niche experience representing managed care systems, health plans and providers in fraud, waste and abuse investigations and litigation under state and federal law, including ERISA, RICO, the False Claims Act and the California Insurance Fraud Prevention Act.

His notable experience includes representing a large managed health care plan and a government contractor in the successful defence and involuntary dismissal of a qui tam claim for violations of California's False Claims Act arising from alleged Medi-Cal fraud; representing a medical benefit plan and employer trustees in defence of a class action by plan members and out-of-network providers, where the district court dismissed numerous claims, denied class certification and granted summary judgment in favour of defendants, with the Ninth Circuit appeal unsuccessful; and serving as a member of the litigation team that, after a 12-week jury trial, obtained a complete defence verdict and settlement on appeal for a leading provider of real estate and mortgage services in a case alleging corporate raiding and misappropriation of trade secrets.

Other matters include defence of a commercial property insurance carrier against $1.4 billion contractual and extra-contractual claims brought by a global government contractor arising from Hurricane Katrina flood damage, including a favourable Ninth Circuit published opinion reversing the lower court and granting summary judgment; and representing project owners in complex litigation arising from a multibillion-dollar public works construction and transportation project, including winning a motion to dismiss and securing involuntary dismissal of a third-party complaint seeking hundreds of millions of dollars.

He has served in the leadership of several professional organisations, including as Vice Chair and past Chair of the ABA TIPS Section Life, Health & Disability Insurance Law Committee and as a Vice Chair of the Employee Benefits Committee. He is also an active member of the American Health Lawyers Association and the California Society for Healthcare Attorneys. His recognition includes The Legal 500 for Labor and Employment – ERISA Litigation (2015–2016) and California Super Lawyers Rising Stars for Business Litigation (2009–2018).

He holds a JD from UC Davis School of Law (2003) and a BA from the University of California at Los Angeles (2000).