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Jonathan S. Ziss

Partner

Jonathan S. Ziss

Partner

Experience

Jonathan S. Ziss is co-chair of the firm’s Management and Professional Liability practice, chair of its Aviation Litigation practice, and a member of its Commercial Litigation and Cybersecurity practices. He devotes much of his practice to the representation of professionals, including accountants, attorneys, bankers, design professionals, insurance agents/brokers, directors and officers, and fiduciaries, before administrative licensing boards and civil courts. He counsels and defends not-for-profit entities such as museums, homeowners’ associations, faith-based organizations, and others, in management liability litigation as well as non-litigated disputes. Jonathan counsels clients and litigates, arbitrates, and mediates commercial disputes in a wide range of industries, from healthcare to hospitality. In addition, as a member of the firm’s cyber incident response team, he manages compliance and loss mitigation campaigns in the aftermath of data breaches. Based on Jonathan’s extensive experience with the ethics of the accounting and legal professions, he is frequently hired to represent individual practitioners and firms in civil and administrative matters arising from ethics complaints. He chairs the firm’s Professional Guidance Committee, which addresses professional ethics across the firm’s more than 400 attorneys.

Related Areas

Management and Professional Liability Commercial Litigation and Arbitration Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

Industries

Aviation Architecture, Engineering, Surveying, and Design Accounting and Consulting Municipalities and Public Entities

Experience Highlights

Jonathan has represented many local, regional and national accounting firms in a wide variety of matters and in a number of forums, including all forms of ADR. In professional negligence matters, he has represented accountants in lawsuits brought by former clients; by purchasers or sellers in disputes arising out of business combinations; by factors, banks, and other lenders; by creditors in bankruptcy and bankruptcy trustees; and by other affiliated professionals. In addition, Jonathan is frequently called upon to represent accountants in investigations by federal, state, and local authorities, including the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI, and the Department of Labor, as well as investigations by bankruptcy trustees and creditors’ committees. He has worked with accounting firms preparing for grand jury appearances.

Jonathan has also represented lawyers and law firms in professional negligence matters, including one matter involving an alleged staged motor vehicle accident ring, for which a federal grand jury had been convened. He is also hired by law firm managing partners to handle their firm’s business and employment-related litigation.

In the field of aviation litigation, Jonathan has represented regional, national, and international air carriers, as well as under wing service providers, municipal authorities, general aviation owners and pilots, and fixed base operators, in connection with property and casualty liability litigation. He also acts as coverage counsel. In addition to handling disputed matters, he counsels commercial airlines in connection with industry-related consumer compliance and contractual matters. Jonathan’s transportation litigation experience also includes handling high-profile cases for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) involving rail and bus accidents. In addition, he has handled recreational boating and trucking claims.

Honors & Awards

Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent

Martindale-Hubbell: Philadelphia’s Top-Rated Lawyers, 2017

Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, Professional Liability: Defense, 2012–20

View peer-review methodologies at martindale.com and superlawyers.com. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Background

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey
  • U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. Tax Court

Education

  • Villanova University School of Law, J.D., 1984
    • Villanova Law Review
  • Franklin and Marshall College, B.A., cum laude, 1981
    • Phi Beta Kappa

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association: Member, Tort and Insurance Practice Section, Aviation Litigation Committee
  • Professional Liability Defense Federation (PLDF): Immediate-Past President
  • Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS): Past Chair, PLUS Mid-Atlantic Steering Committee
  • Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM): Former Chair, Professional Liability Committee
  • Defense Research Institute (DRI): Member, Aviation Law Leadership Committee
  • Aviation Insurance Association

News & Knowledge

Publications & Events

  • “Steering Clear of Conflicts of Interest,” Lorman Education Services, July 20, 2023
  • “Cybersecurity Roundtable,” New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants Convention & Expo, Atlantic City, NJ, June 15, 2023
  • “Taxation and Accounting Conflicts of Interest,” Lorman Education, November 17, 2022
  • “Professional Liability Risk Management for Tax Preparers,” PA Society of Tax and Accounting Professionals Tax Potpourri Seminar, Springfield, PA, February 1, 2019
  • “Taming the Beast—Best Practices When Defending a Not-For-Profit Board,” PLPF Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, October 3, 2018
  • “Cyber Attacks: Protecting Your Practice on the New Frontier of Professional Risk,” King of Prussia, PA, November 2, 2017
  • “Litigating the Unruly or Disruptive Passenger Lawsuit – Strategies and Tactics,” Air Law Symposium, Irving, Texas, March 31, 2017
  • “The Dawn of the Drone Age—Part 2: Emerging Developments in the UAS Insurance Market and Where Drone Insurance Underwriting Stands Today,”  American Conference Institute’s 8th National Forum on Aviation Claims & Litigation, New York, NY, June 27, 2016
  • “The Impact of Aging on Professional Liability Claims,” 10th Annual Errors & Omissions Insurance ExecuSummit, Uncasville, CT, June 7, 2016
  • “The Intersection of Social Media and Medicine, and the Latest Implications of Online Communication Between Doctor and Patient,” ACI Medical Liability Conference, New York, NY, October 26, 2015
  • Panelist, “Drones in the Construction Industry: Regulatory Compliance and Risk Mitigation,” Associated General Contractors of America IT Forum, Chicago, July 30, 2015
  • “Claims and Litigation,” ACI’s Claims and Litigation Conference, New York, NY, June 1, 2015
  • “MedPL: Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems: Do Limits Increase Claims Values?,” 2015 Medical PL Symposium, Atlanta, GA, April 29, 2015
  • Panelist, “Hot Data Breach Litigation Issues,” 4th Annual National Cyber Liabilities Insurance ExecuSummit, Uncasville, CT, April 21, 2015
  • “Recent Developments in Aviation Law,” SMU Aviation Law Symposium, March 25, 2015
  • “Managing the Ever Increasingly Regulatory Environment,” Lemme Best Practices Forum 2014, Chicago, IL., September 10-12, 2014
  • “Professional Risk Management for the Tax Practitioner,” PICPA 117th Annual Convention, Orlando, FL., June 23-25, 2014
  • Moderator, “In-House Panel: The View From the Airline Carriers and Manufacturers,” and Panelist, “The Present and Future Landscape of Drone Usage,” ACI Aviation Claims and Litigation Summit, Chicago, May 2014
  • Panelist, “Causation in Professional Liability Claims: A Sword and Shield,” 2014 Professional Liability & eDiscovery Conference, Orlando, FL., January 24, 2014
  • “Fraud Detection: That’s What CPAs Are Hired to Do, Right?” Professional Liability Defense Federation Annual Meeting and CLE/CEU Presentation, Chicago, Illinois, October 9–11, 2013
  • “Ethics and Other Issues—An Update,” National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), Edison, New Jersey, September 20, 2013
  • “Medicare Set-Asides in Personal Injury Litigation Seminar,” National Business Institute, Philadelphia, June 28, 2011
  • “Pennsylvania Supreme Court Clarifies Key Auditor Defense to Claims Based on Management Fraud,” 114th Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Lake Buena Vista, FL, June 20, 2011
  • “Professional Liability in Business Valuation Engagements,” Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 2010 Business Valuation Conference, November 1, 2010, Harrisburg, PA
  • “How to Identify and Manage Malpractice Risks in Your Role as an Expert Witness,” National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA) Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA) 2010 Annual Consultants’ Conference, Meeting of The Minds in Miami, June 2 -5, 2010, Miami Beach, FL
  • “Mock Trial: Litigation Boot Camp for Forensic Financial Experts,” National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, sponsors of the Certified Forensic Financial Analyst (CFFA) designation, Loews Hotel, Philadelphia, 2009
  • “Elder Care—Professional Liability Issues for CPAs,” Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants Greater Philadelphia Chapter in Cooperation with the Bar Committee, Philadelphia, 2008
  • “The Importance of Due Diligence for Art Collectors,” 15th Anniversary Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair (SOFA), Chicago, 2008
  • “The Rising Standard for IT Competency—Why E-Discovery Is Only the Edge of the Wedge,” Forensic and Litigation Services Committee of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Philadelphia, 2008
  • “Electronic Discovery and Data Retention Programs,” CPA Club of Greater Wilmington, Wilmington, DE, 2008
  • “Mock Trial: Beware the Not-For-Profit Executive—A Criminal Indictment,” Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants Greater Philadelphia Chapter in Cooperation with the Bar Committee, LaSalle University, Philadelphia, 2007
  • “Electronic Discovery and Data Retention Programs—New Obligations and New Exposures,” PLUS Education Event—Mid-Atlantic Chapter, Wilmington, DE, 2007
  • “Legal Issues for Pennsylvania Architects—Identifying the Standard of Care,” Half-Moon Seminars (CPE Accredited), Fort Washington, PA, January 2007
  • “Arbitration Workshop,” Forensic and Litigation Services Committee of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Philadelphia, 2001
  • “Fiduciaries’ Responsibilities With Regard to Art in Estates and Trusts,” American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Chicago, 2001

  • “Airline Passenger Rights (and Wrongs) in the Age of Expulsion,” Lawline Webinar, New York, NY, November 10, 2017
  • “Accountants’ / Tax Preparers’ Exposure to Cyber Risk (Including Identity Theft)—Defending Best Practices and Compliance,” CLM Webinar, October 26, 2017