Jonathan Berry provides strategic counsel and litigates on issues at the intersection of law, politics, and public policy. He helps his clients navigate the emerging field of bureaucratic overlap in government, corporate America, and capital markets, especially in matters relating to environmental, social, and governance factors. Mr. Berry also litigates complex constitutional and administrative law issues and appeals, particularly in labor, employment, and benefits policy. His commentary has been published by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and First Things.
In government, Mr. Berry headed the regulatory office at the U.S. Department of Labor, where he oversaw the development process of dozens of proposed and final rules. As the Regulatory Policy Officer, he regularly represented the Department to the Executive Office of the President and the Office of Management and Budget. During Mr. Berry’s tenure, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs credited the Department of Labor with over ten billion dollars in deregulatory cost savings for the American public.
Mr. Berry previously served at the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy, where he assisted with the confirmations of Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch and dozens of other federal judges, and also with the development of the Sessions and Brand memos on proper use of subregulatory guidance documents. He also served as Chief Counsel to the President-Elect Trump Transition, advising on ethics and legal policy.
Before his executive branch service, Mr. Berry worked at the international law firms of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP and Jones Day, where he focused on regulatory and appellate litigation. He served on teams that brought the King v. Burwell Affordable Care Act challenge to the Supreme Court; defended Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell against a corruption prosecution that was ultimately vacated by the Court; and protected the Bladensburg WWI Veterans Memorial in Establishment Clause litigation that led to a landmark victory in the Court.
Mr. Berry graduated with Distinction in the Major from Yale College, where he was a National Merit Scholar and served as Speaker of the Yale Political Union. He later graduated from Columbia University School of Law, where he received the E.B. Convers Prize for best original legal writing, served as Executive Editor of the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems, and won National Chapter of the Year from the Federalist Society.
Mr. Berry previously served as a law clerk to Judge Jerry E. Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and to Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Education
J.D., Columbia University, 2011
B.A., Yale University, 2005
Bar Admissions
District of Columbia
Virginia (inactive)
U.S. Courts of Appeals for the
D.C. Circuit and Fourth Circuit
Memberships
Blackstone Legal Fellowship
(Winner, William Pew Religious Freedom Scholarship Competition;
E. Brandt Gustavson award for leadership)
Federalist Society
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Diversity in Corporate America after SFFA v. Harvard feat. Jonathan Berry
Atlanta Lawyers Chapter
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP1100 Peachtree Street NE Suite 2800
Atlanta, GA 30309
Wong v. NYCERS and ESG Action at the State and Local Level: A Debate on the Right
The Captiol Hill Club300 First St SE
Washington, DC 20003
Jonathan Berry - “Which Leviathan? The Growing Threat of Unaccountable Corporate Bureaucracies to American Liberty"
Evansville Lawyers Chapter
Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn Conference Center501 Main Street
Evansville, IN 47708
Plenary Session #1 Teacher Unions: Roadblocks to Education Reform or Defenders of Teacher and Student Interests?
2023 Education Law & Policy Conference
Washington Hilton1919 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Race at Work: Can Businesses Treat People Differently on the Basis of Race?
In June of last year, the Supreme Court held that consideration of applicants’ race in...
Race at Work: Can Businesses Treat People Differently on the Basis of Race?
In June of last year, the Supreme Court held that consideration of applicants’ race in...
Wong v. NYCERS and ESG Action at the State and Local Level: A Debate on the Right
In Wayne Wong et. al. v. New York City Employees’ Retirement System et. al., four...
Plenary Session #1 Teacher Unions: Roadblocks to Education Reform or Defenders of Teacher and Student Interests?
2023 Education Law & Policy Conference
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the powerful influence of teacher unions in public education. As a...
Panel 2: Corporate Power and State Power: Structural Protections for Liberty
State Power Review Conference
We recognize the dangers of public power and are familiar with how structural protections of...