Jonah M. Knobler practices in the firm’s Litigation department. He has nearly two decades of experience representing clients in a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, foods and beverages, media, and technology. Mr. Knobler’s current practice centers on class-action defense, advertising and consumer-protection litigation, and copyright/trademark litigation. He also handles general commercial litigation matters and critical appeals.

Mr. Knobler has particular expertise advising and litigating on behalf of manufacturers of FDA-regulated products. He understands and appreciates the complex web of regulatory provisions governing such products and their intersection with litigation strategy. He has successfully represented food, drug, and supplement manufacturers in numerous false-advertising, consumer-protection, civil-RICO, and contractual suits, both as defendant and plaintiff.

In the IP arena, Mr. Knobler has litigated and settled numerous claims of copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and counterfeiting. He has represented major media companies, consumer-product manufacturers, not-for-profits, and individual artists. Mr. Knobler published one of the first major articles analyzing the copyright implications of Internet streaming and downloading, which has been cited in treatises and U.S. Supreme Court briefing.

Mr. Knobler also handles high-value appeals across many subject areas. Clients and colleagues recognize him as a clear and persuasive writer, able to distill complex factual records and cutting-edge legal issues into compelling appellate arguments. He has briefed and/or argued numerous appeals in both the state and federal systems, including in the U.S. Supreme Court and most federal Courts of Appeals.

Mr. Knobler’s honors include being named a “Rising Star” by the New York Law Journal, a “Future Star” by Benchmark Litigation, and one of the “Best LGBT Lawyers under 40” by the National LGBT Bar. His active pro bono practice focuses on voting rights and LGBTQ+ rights. 

From 2009 to 2010, Mr. Knobler served as a law clerk to the Honorable Danny J. Boggs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Knobler served as a law clerk to the Honorable Frederic Block of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. In 2004, Mr. Knobler held a McCleary Law Fellowship at the Human Rights Campaign.

Bar Admissions

• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Federal Circuits
• U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
• New York

Education

• Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude, 2006)
• Harvard University (B.A., cum laude, 2003)
  • Phi Beta Kappa

HONORS:

• Benchmark Litigation Future Star (2023-2026)
• Benchmark Litigation Under 40 Hotlist (2017-2021)
• Super Lawyers (2023-2025)
• Super Lawyers Rising Star (2013-2020)
• New York Law Journal Rising Star (2019)
• Premier Appellate Lawyers (2021)
• Common Cause Defender of Democracy (2019)
• National LGBT Bar’s Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40 (2018)

• Seventh Circuit Issues Strong Endorsement of Learned Intermediary Doctrine in Medical-Device MDL

  By Jonah Knobler |April 2018

• "Fresenius Ruling May Shift Anti-Kickback Enforcement," Law360 (April 22, 2026)
• "'Medical Marijuana v. Horn': High Time for RICO Reform," The National Law Journal (April 24, 2025)
• "The Supreme Court is At War With Itself On Extraterritoriality," Law360 (July 17, 2023)
• "Courts Are Right To Limit Disclosure Requirements For Cos.," Law360 (September 1, 2020)
• "How High Court TM Profits Ruling Bears On False Advertising," Law360 (May 1, 2020)
• "INSIGHT: Don't Expect High Court's Romag Ruling to Upend Trademark Litigation," Bloomberg Law (May 1, 2020)
• "Paint It Black: The Ninth Circuit OKs RICO Liability For Failure To Warn About Drug Safety Risks," Drug and Device Law Blog (December 12, 2019)
• "Merck v. Albrecht: Victories, Uncertainties & Opportunities From Supreme Court's Return to Branded-Drug Preemption," Washington Legal Foundation (June 28, 2019)
• "NY’s Legislature Should Fix Runaway Consumer Class Action Damages—Not Make Them Worse," New York Law Journal (May 17, 2019)
• Co-Author, "Frank v. Gaos: Cy Pres Gets Its Day at the Supreme Court," Bloomberg Law (June 8, 2018)
• "Seventh Circuit Issues Strong Endorsement of Learned Intermediary Doctrine in Medical-Device MDL,” Washington Legal Foundation (April 2018)
• "City Select v. BMW: Ascertainability Is Alive And Well In The Third Circuit," Bloomberg BNA’s Class Action Litigation Report (September 2017)
• "Petrobras Renounces 2nd Circ. ‘Preference’ For Class Cert.," Law360 (July 2017)
• "Petrobras Does Little To Clarify Class Ascertainability," Law360 (July 2017)
• "Town Of Chester: An Answer On Class-Member Standing?," Law360 (June 2017)
• "Tyson Foods: Victory in Defeat for Class-Action Defendants?," Bloomberg BNA’s Class Action Litigation Report (April 2016)
• "Class Actions in the Second Circuit: Do Plaintiffs Have Unfair Advantage?," New York Law Journal (March 2015)
• "Public Performance Rights in Music Downloads: United States v. ASCAP and Beyond," Journal of Internet Law  (June 2008)
• "Performance Anxiety: The Internet and Copyright's Vanishing Performance/Distribution Distinction," Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (December 2007)