Chan, Ophelia

Jonathan Cedarbaum is a partner in the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department, where he is a member of the Government and Regulatory, Appellate and Supreme Court, and Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Groups. He is also a member of the Defense, National Security and Government Contracts Practice Group, the Public Policy and Strategy Group, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Working Group. He rejoined the firm in 2011 after two years in the leadership of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, where he ultimately served as Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the office, which provides authoritative legal advice to the White House, the Attorney General, and all executive branch departments and agencies.

Practice

During his time at the OLC, Mr. Cedarbaum was deeply involved in the development and early implementation of the Dodd-Frank and Affordable Care Acts. As a member of the senior leadership of the DOJ and as a legal counselor to senior officials across the government, he was also involved in numerous other statutory and regulatory initiatives, including in the areas of cybersecurity and data privacy, economic sanctions, patent reform, procurement reform and energy development.

Mr. Cedarbaum has a diverse litigation practice, focusing especially on antitrust, False Claims Act (FCA), Federal Arbitration Act, and international cases. He also counsels clients on administrative law and constitutional issues, particularly in matters with transnational dimensions, and has particular expertise representing clients before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). In the government he worked on a wide array of sensitive national security matters.

Before re-joining WilmerHale in 2009, Mr. Cedarbaum had done two additional stints at the US Department of Justice: two-and-a-half years as an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel and a year as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General. Mr. Cedarbaum has also served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Earlier in his career, he worked as a legislative assistant for a member of Congress.

Recent Highlights

• Briefing and arguing an appeal in the Federal Circuit raising the question whether Congress can constitutionally strip the federal courts of jurisdiction over pending takings claims.
• Convincing the Supreme Court to accept the first case it has taken for review from the Guam Supreme Court and winning a 5-4 victory for the Attorney General of Guam concerning the debt ceiling established by Congress in the territory's Organic Act.
• Defending Philips Electronics, the Dutch technology company, in a series of patent and antitrust challenges to the pool licensing of patents for basic CD, DVD, and MP3 technologies in the International Trade Commission, the District Courts, and the Courts of Appeals.
•  Representing a US biotechnology company in a dispute with foreign inventors over rights to a new technology.
• Helping win a judgment for several major corporations under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.
• Helping secure an important Supreme Court victory reaffirming the constitutional prohibition on racial discrimination in jury selection.
• Representing a journalist in a government investigation of the disclosure of classified information.
• Providing advice to a business association concerned with new overseas outsourcing laws.

Professional Activities

District of Columbia Bar Association

• Administrative Law Section: Co-Chair, 2011-2012; Steering Committee Member, 2007-present.
• Litigation Section: Steering Committee Member, 2010-present.
• International Law Section: Chair, 2007-2008; Steering Committee Member, 2005-2011; Vice Chair, Intellectual Property Committee, 2011-present.
• Board on Professional Responsibility: Alternate Hearing Committee Member, 2007-present.

American Bar Association

• Administrative Law Section: Chair, Committee on Regulatory Policy
• International Law Section