Jonathan W. Fitch, Esq., FCIArb, FCollArb, joined JAMS after a distinguished career as an advocate and ADR professional. He is widely respected in the United States and abroad for developing and implementing multidisciplinary dispute resolution strategies designed to achieve fair, efficient and practical solutions to complicated and contentious commercial disputes.

Mr. Fitch has served as an arbitrator for various multimillion-dollar cases, some involving complex agreements and intellectual property issues, such as patents for medical technologies and international technology supply agreements. As arbitrator, he has presided over numerous arbitrations, including significant cases involving international life sciences, technology, intellectual property and high-stakes commercial disputes. He also utilized the process of mediation for resolving numerous cases that began in the courts or in arbitration.

As a litigator, Mr. Fitch tried over 50 jury and bench trials in federal and state courts and represented clients in numerous multimillion-dollar cases. His litigation experience is wide ranging. He handled matters related to technology supply and service agreements; technology licensing; manufacturing contracts; patent exhaustion; proprietary information disputes; invention assignments; software, firmware and hardware agreements; employment law; securities transactions; defective batteries; and real estate and real property law. He also has a vast amount of experience handling commercial disputes involving complex breach of contract and fiduciary duty, business dissolution, and shareholder valuations and buyouts, among others.

Mr. Fitch’s advocacy practice has included advising, negotiating, litigating, mediating and arbitrating disputes globally. He represented clients in various jurisdictions, including China, Hong Kong, Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, India and South Africa.

Mr. Fitch is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the College of Commercial Arbitrators. He holds leadership positions with the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC) and is listed on the organization's Tech List of the world’s top technology arbitrators and mediators. In 2023, he was recognized by Best Lawyers in America as the Lawyer of the Year for arbitration in Boston.

Mr. Fitch has garnered praise from clients for his “unparalleled integrity and professionalism” and for his “quiet and considered” approach—an approach in which he “listens, absorbs details and opinions, and then makes convincing recommendations and decisions that get right to the heart of the issues.”

Representative Matters

• Appellate
• Advocate: Heghnian v. Parexel International Corp., 2003 WL 25586579 (1st Cir. 2003), upholding dismissal of employment discrimination claims
• Advocate: FDIC v. Elio, 39 F.3d 1239 (1st Cir. 1994), involving appointment of trustee in fraudulent conveyance
• Advocate: Latino PAC, Inc. v. City of Boston, 716 F.2d 68 (1st Cir. 1983), stay denied, 463 U.S. 1319 (1983), involving election that was enjoined because districts violated one person, one vote principle
• Advocate: McCord v. Jet Spray International Corp., 874 F. Supp. 436 (1994), involving enforcement of foreign judgment
• Advocate: Montgomery v. Board of Selectmen of Nantucket, 95 Mass. App. Ct. 65 (2019), wherein judgment on historic district matter was vacated
• Advocate: Batischev v. Cote, 81 Mass. App. Ct. 1103 (2011), involving affirmation of Chapter 93A award
• Advocate: Conte v. Marine Lumber Co., Inc., 66 Mass. App. Ct. 505 (2006),  denied, 447 Mass. 1109 (Sept. 11, 2006), relating to claims of estoppel by deed and adverse possession, which were defeated
• Advocate: Poddell v. Lahn, 38 Mass. App. Ct. 688 (1995), involving methodology utilized in determining common area allocations
• Advocate: successfully defended the interests of the owner of a valuable parcel of land on Nantucket Island in a series of two trials and three appeals brought by an abutter unsuccessfully seeking to foreclose any development of the client's property
• Business Commercial
• Arbitrator: case involving software, firmware and hardware agreements for an electronic payment processing system for an airport’s parking operations
• Emergency arbitrator: matter involving liquidation of hedge funds
• Arbitrator: case concerning breach of stock purchase agreement
• Arbitrator: case involving service agreement among alliance of insurance companies
• Arbitrator: numerous arbitrations involving franchise agreements
• Chair arbitrator: ownership dispute regarding largest bread bakery company in New England
• Arbitrator: claims of a publisher against a payment processing system for wrongful termination of services
• Arbitrator: claims of consumer against automobile credit company for alleged excess charges on purchase option at end of lease
• Arbitrator: several cases involving financing company's purchase of receivables and alleged failure of borrower to make timely payments
• Mediator: legal and equitable compensation dispute between law firm and investors in early-stage cannabis retail operations
• Advocate: reached a multimillion-dollar settlement during a jury trial for clients who were minority investors in a hedge fund company
• Advocate: won a summary judgment award (affirmed on appeal) of approximately $2.9 million for museum against its former president, who had stolen assets of the museum by means of a sophisticated, fraudulent scheme
• Advocate: obtained state court jury verdict on multiple counts on behalf of individuals who had been defrauded in the purchase of a home; judgments against all defendants exceeded $4 million
• Advocate: representation of FDIC as receiver in over 50 cases relating to the bank failures in New England
• Advocate: recovered multimillion-dollar amounts due to client from excess insurers on settlement of class action claims
• Employment Law

• Arbitrator: dispute concerning severance benefits owed senior executive under employment agreement
• Arbitrator: matter involving commission payments due under a manufacturing sales representative agreement
• Arbitrator: claims regarding stock purchase rights of individual upon death of business partner
• Arbitrator: arbitration of employer's claim against a departing group of employees under noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreement
• Arbitrator: employee's claim of entitlement to compensation and benefits under an employment agreement upon his resignation
• Arbitrator: matter involving commissions due under an employment agreement for enterprise software sales
• Advocate: arbitration award in favor of client technology company regarding claims that it illegally terminated an executive on the basis of color, religion and national origin
• Advocate: recovery of severance benefits for client upon termination by biomedical research company
• Advocate: defended a hospital service corporation and medical service corporation in a wrongful termination action
• International & Cross Border
• Arbitrator: matter involving international sales and distribution agreements for U.S. audio technologies in Latin America
• Arbitrator: breach of contract for sales of a U.S. company's shipments of chemical analyzers to a broker in Saudi Arabia
• Arbitrator: breach of agreement case brought by a Mexican franchisee against a U.S. food services franchisor
• Arbitrator: dispute between a U.S. film producer and a Chinese company regarding film distribution rights in the People's Republic of China
• Arbitrator: breach of agreement between a distributor of chemicals in Mexico and a U.S. manufacturer
• Arbitrator: dispute between a U.S. law firm providing immigration services regarding cooperation agreement with a law firm in India
• Arbitrator: claims of a food processor against a company in Germany for providing and installing defective filling and packaging technology
• Arbitrator: dispute between a supplier of liquid beverages in Mexico and a U.S. manufacturer of containers
• Arbitrator: dispute between a Canadian company and a U.S. seller of cannabis products and retail sales business and transfer of related regulatory permitting
• Advocate: obtained a settlement of approximately $20 million in an international arbitration for wrongful termination of an agreement for the exclusive right to create and operate a telematics technology in the People’s Republic of China
• Advocate: represented a South African technology company in an international arbitration and obtained an award of over $6 million
• Advocate: successfully defended a Brazilian technology company in an international arbitration where plaintiff claimed over $100 million in damages for unfair trade practices
• Advocate: reached a favorable settlement in an arbitration involving CEO of a London-based international investment company
• Advocate: reached a favorable judgment for the owner of a wind turbine with UCC claims against the manufacturer based in the Netherlands
• Advocate: reached a favorable judgment for a South African technology services company in a dispute with its American supplier under a long-term technology supply, patent and licensing agreement
• Advocate: represented interests of a Swedish credit union in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) action pending in federal court in Florida
• Advocate: in mediation, successfully settled a multifaceted estate dispute involving over $20 million in assets held in trusts, limited partnerships and a corporation in Central America
• Advocate: won a temporary restraining order in federal court, which led to an outstanding settlement for the client, a foreign exchange trading company, for its liquidated damages under a software license agreement with a Massachusetts technology company
• Personal Injury
• Advocate: as defense counsel, resolved thousands of asbestos-related claims for personal injuries and property damage in negotiated settlements, mediations or jury trials for the manufacturer of an asbestos-containing cement
• Advocate: as defense counsel for electric utilities, handled numerous personal injury cases
• Real Property
• Advocate: negotiated a favorable settlement of zoning violation claims brought against a client, a private club, by a neighbor who had constructed a house next to the club's tennis courts and then complained about noise and obstruction of views
• Advocate: at trial, defeated a neighbor's claim that it had acquired title to client's undeveloped property by reason of adverse possession
• Advocate: at trial, a federal judge awarded substantial damages for the partial taking of a client's property by the FAA for runway improvements
• Advocate: at the trial of an eminent domain case against the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, the jury verdict included an award for the diminution in value of client's property caused by noxious odors associated with the MWRA's public improvements
• Advocate: successfully challenged the Nantucket Historic District Commission's refusal to issue a certificate of appropriateness based upon the location of the driveway and curb cut
• Advocate: extensive experience in complex land use matters on Nantucket Island requiring, for instance, the effective resolution of problems concerning realty trusts, wetlands, endangered species, the presence of toxic materials, historic district commission approvals and zoning disputes
• Advocate: representing 65 condominium owners, won at trial and in the Massachusetts Appeals Court, defeating the claims of several other condominium unit owners that the common area interests of the development were unlawfully established
• Advocate: represented a general contractor in a dispute with investors in the construction of a surgical center
• Advocate: represented a homeowner in a contract dispute with a building contractor concerning the construction of a luxury home
• Advocate: represented a building company in a contract dispute with a homeowner concerning alleged engineering defects in the construction of a luxury home
• Mediator: mediated with landlords and tenants in multiple eviction lawsuits
• Technology, Intellectual Property and Life Sciences
• Emergency arbitrator: matter involving patent territories and applications for sensor technology use in sports
• Chair arbitrator: case involving a dispute among partners in a venture capital firm investing in pre-seed stage startups developing hardware and software technologies
• Arbitrator: case involving noncompetition and misappropriation of confidential information pertaining to a patented ozone generation technology
• Arbitrator: case arising out of an engineering development, license and partnership agreement for mobile wallet and other payment applications
• Arbitrator: case arising out of a patent license agreement involving 2G and 3G mobile communications technologies
• Arbitrator: dispute involving copyright and trademark infringement claims upon the termination of license and operating agreements between two online education companies
• Arbitrator: contract dispute between an Internet of Things healthcare solutions provider and a provider of wireless telephone and data services
• Arbitrator: claims of a residential solar panel installer against a company providing financing for residential solar panel installations throughout the U.S.
• Mediator: dispute between a technology company and a manufacturer regarding a computer security services agreement
• Mediator: contract dispute between an mRNA therapeutics company and a pharmaceutical supply corporation
• Advocate: patent litigations involving voice recognition and siRNA technologies
• Advocate: reached a multimillion-dollar settlement for a client-inventor in a federal misappropriation of trade secrets case against a Fortune 500 toy company
• Arbitrator: claims for royalties due on sales of 1XRTT modems under a product license agreement to an acquiring entity upon a merger with licensee
• Arbitrator: case involving an agreement to provide development services and to manufacture and supply a sterile liquid pharmaceutical
• Arbitrator: case regarding a consultant agreement and patents for a cranio-maxillofacial fixation system
• Arbitrator: pharmaceutical company's claim for data compensation owed by a chemical company under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
• Advocate: represented a hospital service corporation and a medical service corporation in a dispute under a group primary care and specialty care physician agreement
• Advocate: represented a global healthcare company in a dispute with hospital regarding a custom software license agreement

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Background and Education

• Founder and Managing Partner, Fitch Law Partners LLP (and as a named partner in predecessor firms), Boston, 1984–2024
• Chief Executive Officer (2024–2024) and Director (2020–2024), Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center
• Arbitrator, International Centre for Dispute Resolution, 2012–2024
• Arbitrator, Large and Complex Cases, American Arbitration Association, 2013–2024
• Arbitrator, CPR Panels of Distinguished Neutrals, International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, 2022–2024
• Director (2023–2024) and Co-Chair of Education Committee (2020–2024), College of Commercial Arbitrators
• Certificate of Mediating Disputes, Executive Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, 2022
• Certificate of Mediation and Conflict Management, Executive Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, 2022
• Litigation Associate, Bingham, Dana & Gould, 1982–1984
• D., Boston College Law School, 1982
• M.P.P.M., Yale University, School of Management, 1978
• B.A., cum laude, Williams College, 1974
  
  

Bar Admissions

• Massachusetts State Bar
• Rhode Island State Bar
• United States District Court, District of Massachusetts
• United States District Court, Rhode Island
• United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• United States Supreme Court

Background and Education

Selected Awards and Honors

• Fellow, College of Commercial Arbitrators, 2020–2024
• Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 2017–2024
• Lawyer of the Year (for Arbitration in Boston), Best Lawyers in America, 2023
• Lawyer of the Year (for Litigation-Trusts and Estates in Boston), Best Lawyers in America, 2021 and 2023
• Top Lawyer, Boston Magazine, 2022-2025
• Tech List, Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center, List of the World’s Leading Technology Neutrals, 2015–2024
• Top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2011–2012
• Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2004–2024
• Best Lawyer in America, Best Lawyers in America, 2015–2024
  • Arbitration
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Litigation – Trusts and Estates
• Lawyer of the Year, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 2009
• Ranked AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, 1984–2024
  
  

Selected Publications

• “Arbitration: Spotlight on the Preliminary Conference,” MBA Lawyers Journal, 2017
• “Basic Planning for International Arbitration and Emerging Practices,” MCLE, 2016
• “Foreign Judgments Law Due for Update,” Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 2012
• “The Enforcement of Foreign Money Judgments in Massachusetts,” 81 Mass. Law Review 65, 1996
  
  

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, “Intriguing Issues in Tech and International Arbitration,” Silicon Valley Mediation & Arbitration Center, New York Arbitration Week, 2024
• Moderator, “Pharma & Life Sciences Disputes,” Schiefelbein Global Dispute Resolution Conference, 2023
• Speaker, “Positive Psychology for Lawyers,” Suffolk University Law School, 2018–2023
• Moderator, “The Arbitration of Cybersecurity Breach Disputes: Focus on Lawyers,” Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center Webinar, 2021
• Moderator, “Data, Privacy, and Cybersecurity Issues in International Arbitration,” SVAMC/Orrick Webinar, 2021
• Speaker, “Positioning Complex Intellectual Property Disputes for Successful ADR Resolution,” Boston Bar Association Webinar, 2021
• Speaker, “Top 10 Things Practitioners Should Know About International Arbitration,” Boston Bar Association Webinar, 2021
• Moderator, “Ensuring Efficiency in Complex Technology Arbitrations,” SVAMC/AAA-ICDR/Foley Hoag Webinar, 2020
• Speaker, “Use and Limitations of Discovery in Arbitration,” Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Webinar, 2020
• Panelist, “Arbitrating Domestic and International Life Science Disputes,” AAA/ICDR, Philadelphia and Boston, 2019
• Moderator, “Insider Views on International Disputes,” Boston Bar Association, 2018
• Speaker, “International Issues in Litigation,” Massachusetts Bar Association, 2017
• “The Golden Age of International Arbitration,” Boston Bar Association, 2017
• Moderator, “ESI Discovery in Arbitration,” Annual Dispute Resolution Symposium of Massachusetts Bar Association, 2017
• Moderator, “Spotlight on Evidence in Arbitration,” Massachusetts Bar Association, Dispute Resolution Section Program, 2017
• Moderator, “Best Practices in Arbitration: The Role of the Arbitrator,” Dispute Resolution Committee, Massachusetts Bar Association, 2016
• Speaker, “Best Practices in International Arbitration and Recent Developments,” ICDR Y&I Program, Harvard Law School, 2016
• Moderator, “International Arbitration: Hot Topics and Smart Contract Terms,” New England Legal Foundation, 2015
• Panelist, “Arbitration Basics,” Massachusetts Bar Association, 2015
  
  

Memberships and Affiliations 

• Founding Director, Boston International Arbitration Council, Inc., 2018–2023
• Co-Chair, Disputes Committee, International Law Section, Boston Bar Association, 2017–2019
• Member, Town of Sherborn Zoning Board of Appeals, 2016–2024
• Director, Alumni Advisory Board, Yale University, School of Management, 2016–2019
• Member, International Bar Association, Reporter for United States on the Rules/Guidelines Subcommittee of the Arbitration Committee, 2015–2016
• Member, American Bar Association, 1984–2024
  • International Law Section
  • Litigation Section
  • Dispute Resolution Section