Burt, Jason R.

Jason R. Burt

Partner

jason.burt@lw.com
    Burt, Jason R.

    Jason R. Burt

    Partner

    jason.burt@lw.com
    Chief’s Recognition Award

    IRS – Criminal Investigation Division

    Profile

    Jason Burt, an experienced first-chair trial lawyer and former federal prosecutor, represents clients in bet-the-company business litigation, complex class action defense, government investigations, and strategic counseling on all aspects of litigation strategy and risk management.

    Jason draws on extensive courtroom experience in civil and criminal matters in US federal and state courts to represent and succeed for clients at all stages of litigation, including in cases involving claims of:

    • Product liability
    • Consumer fraud
    • Deceptive and unfair business practices
    • Violations of state consumer protection statutes
    • Breach of contract
    • Trade secret misappropriation
    • Healthcare fraud
    • Violations of the False Claims Act

    Leveraging his long track record of litigation success and his sophisticated understanding of emerging technology, class action defense, and business-to-business disputes, Jason serves as a trusted advisor to clients across numerous industries, including the automotive, healthcare, financial, communications, and technology industries. He regularly engages in counseling and negotiation to assist clients in their contracting to mitigate liability and risk exposure, particularly in automotive supplier relationships. He approaches each matter from a global perspective, and has extensive experience counseling Asian clients and helping Asian companies navigate the US litigation landscape.

    As an Assistant US Attorney for the Department of Justice (DOJ), Jason prosecuted white-collar frauds and first-chaired more than 21 weeks of federal jury trials, obtaining guilty verdicts in every case that went to jury. His prosecutions recouped tens of millions of dollars for victims of financial crimes across the nation. Jason also served as the Deputy Chief of the White Collar and Economic Crime Section within the United States Attorneys’ Office for the District of Utah.

    Prior to joining the DOJ, Jason worked in Latham’s Washington, D.C. office. Before that, Jason was a clerk for Judge Carlos T. Bea in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

    Experience

    Jason’s experience includes representing:

    Class Action Defense

    • A religious organization in proceedings before the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation defending against fraud-based claims relating to cutting-edge First Amendment issues
    • A payments-sector tech company in defending against fraud-based and consumer protection claims in federal district court
    • A leading producer of electric vehicle batteries in a first-of-its-kind class action involving product liability and consumer protection claims against an upstream component part manufacturer in the automobile industry; to date, Jason has successfully argued a motion to compel arbitration and motion to dismiss, which resulted in half of the named plaintiffs being compelled to arbitration and a majority of claims dismissed in the case, fundamentally altering the state of the case
    • A leading software company providing in the automobile and insurance industries, in numerous class actions; in the bellwether case, Jason defeated class certification at the district court level, which was affirmed in the 9th Circuit and led to the settlement of numerous similar class actions on an individual non-class basis and for nominal amounts; Jason continues to represent this client in follow-on class action litigation and strategic counseling — to date, not a single class has been certified against the client and no findings of liability have ever been found
    • A leading internet service provider against:
      • Claims of consumer fraud and deceptive business practices in class action litigation in federal court; successfully defeated all claims on a motion to dismiss
      • Similar claims of consumer fraud and deceptive business practices in claims asserted by the New York Attorney General on behalf of all New York customers; successfully defeated most of the claims in the case, which led to settlement on extremely favorable terms
    • A leading technology company against claims of fraud and deceptive practices in class action litigation in federal court

    Complex Commercial Litigation

    • UBS in long-running litigation arising out of the 2008 financial crisis, including obtaining recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars in post-judgment litigation
    • A leading SaaS fintech unicorn startup in trade secret misappropriation and founders’ dispute, and successfully arguing and obtaining dismissal of all trade secret and partnership claims
    • A technology company in defeating claims of trade secret misappropriation
    • A leading healthcare provider in litigation involving claims of breach of contract and deceptive practice
    • A leading hospital chain in qui tam/False Claims Act litigation
    • Numerous payments system companies in disputes involving fraud allegation before the FTC
    • Nationwide hospital company in a billion-dollar trial that resulted in a complete victory at trial
    • Trade groups in state trial proceedings that resulted in complete victory
    • Healthcare company in federal district court litigation that resulted in favorable settlement following trial

    Qualifications

    Bar Qualification

    • District of Columbia
    • Utah

    Education

    • JD, Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School, 2006
      summa cum laude, Order of the Coif
    • BS, Brigham Young University, 2003
      cum laude, Phi Kappa Phi

    Practices

    Industries

    Recognition

    News & Insights