They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 - Jesse Ryan Loffler of Cozen O’Connor

Please describe two of your most substantial, recent wins in practice.
My extensive involvement in the U.S. Supreme Court case Manhattan Community Access Center v. Halleck (2019) is certainly a career highlight. The question was whether a private nonprofit operating a public access channel could be considered a “state actor” and, thus, liable for alleged First Amendment violations. The court upheld longstanding public/private distinctions, agreeing that our client was not a state actor.

More recently, I won a defense verdict following a two-day unfair trade practices trial in Pennsylvania state court on behalf of Protective Life Corp., the successor corporate owner of life insurance policies sold in the late 1980s whose disclaimer language and illustrations came under belated attack. The court rejected all claims, ruling that plaintiff’s testimony lacked credibility, which likely stems any broader exposure for my client.

What is the most important lesson you learned as a first-year attorney and how does it inform your practice today?
Toward the end of my first year of practice, I sent a revised draft of a brief that was due later that day to the supervising partner for review. Some hours later, having not heard back, I learned the partner had left the office for a family emergency. It soon dawned on me that my last version of that brief was the one that would be sent to the court on our client’s behalf. From that experience, I learned a lesson that still informs my practice today: don’t send work product to colleagues that you wouldn’t be comfortable sending to clients or courts. While I believe the best briefs emerge through collaboration and working together to hone language and argumentation, I also believe that each member of the team must submit their own highest-quality contributions at every step along the way and be capable of taking full ownership of the project at a moment’s notice.

How do you define success in your practice?
Every litigator dreams of arguing and winning a precedent-setting victory before the U.S. Supreme Court—and my own experience of being part of a successful high court appellate team was deeply rewarding. But in my independent commercial litigation practice, success is not often defined by high-stakes, high-visibility appellate wins; rather, it is about striking the perfect balance between business and legal considerations. For my corporate clients, success may mean resolving a dispute without litigation, negotiating a quiet mid-range settlement, winning a quick dismissal on technical grounds, or reaching a compromise to preserve the health of a relationship. I savor the high-stakes trial and appellate opportunities when they arise, but I orient my daily practice around the central goal of helping businesses achieve lawful and lasting success in the marketplace.

What are you most proud of as a lawyer?
Litigation is all about storytelling. In my own litigation practice, I am most proud of my ability to take dry, complicated, or esoteric information and tell cohesive and compelling stories. In shareholder litigation or real estate disputes, for example, judges and juries are often required to grapple with complex fact patterns involving corporate structure, financing, and accounting methodology. In such cases, I try to tell the story chronologically to create narrative flow and dramatic turning points. I limit jargon, use analogies, and integrate evidence to drive my audience toward a natural conclusion. In my spare time, I write fiction and am currently working on a fantasy novel. I find that the creative writing and legal writing reinforce one another and have more in common than one might think; the goal in both instances is to tell a convincing tale that keeps the reader hooked to the very last page.

Who is your greatest mentor in the law and what have they taught you?
I am lucky to have several professional mentors who have deeply influenced my career along the way, but Janice Mac Avoy, [a partner with Fried Frank], has been a particularly important teacher, guide, advocate, and friend. One of the biggest lessons I have learned from working with Janice is the importance of thinking carefully and continuously about the opposition’s interests and point of view. No matter how contentious a dispute might become, Janice is able to stay open, curious, and thoughtful, and maintain a productive dialogue. This approach allows her to provide measured and realistic advice to clients, identify critical points of agreement upon which to build, and preserve and reinforce longstanding business relationships.

Just for fun, tell us your two favorite songs on your summer music playlist.
It’s very difficult to pick just two, but I’ll go with recent. “More” by Sam Ryder reminds me to seek out joy and kindness in a world where such things often feel fleeting.

And “About Damn Time” by Lizzo encourages positivity and self-acceptance in the face of our challenges because, well, life is too short to do otherwise.

Jesse Ryan Loffler leads large commercial disputes at his firm. Born in Saskatchewan and raised on a cattle ranch in Montana, he returned to Saskatchewan after graduating from Harvard University to work at an economic development nongovernmental organization. He is the immediate past president of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s foundation board of directors.