Overview
Jordan Connors is a trusted litigator with a nationwide practice serving clients in high-stakes matters in both state and federal court. Connors has successfully represented plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of commercial cases, including precedent-setting disputes involving artificial intelligence, environmental disasters, class actions, intellectual property, trusts and estates, securities fraud, and false advertising. He has secured landmark victories for clients ranging from industry leaders to small businesses and individuals against some of the world’s largest companies and institutions—from Big Tech and major financial institutions to leading telecommunications companies and the United States Government.
LANDMARK LITIGATION
Connors is frequently called on to litigate some of the nation’s most cutting-edge cases.
In a historic copyright infringement action, Connors and a team from Susman Godfrey secure a court-approved $1.5 billion settlement for rightsholders whose books were downloaded by Anthropic from pirated databases. This is the largest reported settlement in copyright history. Connors led efforts on the offensive discovery in this massive action, he obtained written discovery, took depositions, and helped in briefing a successful motion for class certification and opposition to summary judgment, which led to the watershed settlement. When preliminarily approving the settlement, Judge William Alsup said, “We have some of the best lawyers in America in the courtroom right now.” Read more in the New York Times, Bloomberg, and Law.com.
Connors is also litigating actions related to copyright infringement and artificial intelligence in In re OpenAI Inc. Copyright Infringement Litigation, where he represents a group of prominent writers—including the John Grisham, David Baldacci, Jonathan Franzen, and Pulitzer Prize winners Stacy Schiff and Kai Bird—against OpenAI and Microsoft.
In the nationally followed environmental matter, In re Flint Water Crisis Litigation, Connors represents a class of tens of thousands of Flint residents impacted by the Flint water crisis. Connors has served as a leader on the case from drafting the initial complaint to coordinating and overseeing the strategic planning and efforts among the nine law firms litigating the case on behalf of the class. Connors’s team recently secured preliminary approval of a $641 million settlement with multiple government defendants. Connors continues to pursue claims against the remaining defendants on behalf of certain residents in the City of Flint harmed by the water crisis.
Connors also served as second chair in a multi-forum dispute, spanning an arbitration, two state court actions, and litigation abroad concerning a business dispute among a set of Chinese companies and investors. Connors client, Gang Yuan, achieved a complete victory at the final arbitration hearing and in related disputes in Washington State and the People’s Republic of China.
Connors served as counsel to the largest political subdivisions in the largest state in the nation—including the University of California system, the California State University System, and the County of Los Angeles—in a landmark suit against the “Big 4” wireless carriers, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile for fraudulently over-billing the government. Connors’ clients secured record settlements valued at $175 million. Read more about the case on Law Street Media and Law360 (subscription required).
Connors also secured a $16.5 million settlement one month before trial (net settlement of $11.7 million) in a securities fraud class action arising from alleged misrepresentations by a biotechnology executive in a conference call with investors.
RECOGNITION AND BACKGROUND
Law & Politics Magazine, published by Thomson Reuters, has named Mr. Connors a “Rising Star” every year since 2013, an honor bestowed on 2.5 percent of attorneys in the state of Washington for “demonstrated excellence in the practice of law.”
Connors is an active member of the Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Washington where he represents the Seattle Community Police Commission in its effort to provide community input on reforms for the Seattle Police Department. Before joining Susman Godfrey Connors served as Law Clerk to The Honorable Vaughn R. Walker, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Notable Representations
- Bartz et al. v. Anthropic PBC (N.D. Cal) Secured a court-approved$1.5 billion settlement in a “historic” deal for rightsholders whose books were downloaded by Anthropic from the pirated databases “Library Genesis” and “Pirate Library Mirror.” This settlement is the largest publicly reported recovery in the history of U.S. copyright litigation. When preliminarily approving the settlement, Judge Alsup said, “We have some of the best lawyers in America in the courtroom right now.” Read more in Bloomberg and com.
- In Re OpenAI Inc. Copyright Infringement Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) Represents a putative classes of book authors bringing copyright infringement claims against OpenAI and Microsoft. Class plaintiffs are best-selling authors who allege their books were illegally pirated and used to develop OpenAI and Microsoft’s Large Language Models, including the models used in ChatGPT.
- Nazemian et al. v. NVIDIA Corporation (N.D. Cal.) Representing copyright holders in copyright infringement litigation against Nvidia regarding allegations of unlawful use of copyrighted works to train its NeMO Megatron and other large language models. Connors secured a favorable ruling on behalf of a group of authors after a California federal court denied in part NVIDIA’s motion to dismiss. Read more.
- In re: Mosaic LLM Litigation (N.D. Cal.) Representing putative classes of book authors bringing copyright infringement claims against Databricks and Mosaic ML. Class plaintiffs are best-selling authors who allege their books were illegally pirated and used to develop Databrick’s and Mosaic’s large language models.
- Genus Lifesciences, Inc. v. Lannett Company, Inc. (N.D. Cal.). Lead trial counsel for Genus Lifesciences, Inc. in a Lanham Act false advertising lawsuit against Lannett Corporation, Inc. involving Lannett’s alleged false advertising of its C-Topical product (cocaine hydrochloride 4% solution).
- Flint Water Crisis Litigation(E.D. Mich.) Secured $641 million in relief to date on behalf of a class of tens of thousands of plaintiffs in complex litigation stemming from the contamination of the Flint, Michigan water distribution system with highly corrosive water following the 2014 switch to a new water supply. Connors has led many of the key depositions, obtaining critical information. He has also led efforts to shape the legal strategy for challenging the conduct of private engineering firms and government officials and continues to seek out compensation for the injuries resulting from lead poisoning, property damage, and other harm resulting from the highly corrosive water. The case remains ongoing against remaining defendants. Read more.
- Nix v. Chemours Carey v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and the Chemours Company FC, LLC. (E.D.N.C.) Representing a certified class of residents and property-holders suing DuPont and Chemours for contaminating their homes and drinking water supplies with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS (known as “forever chemicals”). Seigel has successfully briefed and argued critical motions, including class certification, class appointment, motions to dismiss, and frequent discovery disputes. Connors team previously succeeded before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which unanimously rejected DuPont’s and Chemours’ petition to appeal the District court’s order granting Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, as reported by Bloomberg. The case has attracted national media attention and received write-ups in Law360, Reuters, WECT, the Triangle Business Journal, com, and StarNews.
- Whidbey Island/OLF Coupevlle Naval Airflight Operations (Fed. Cl.). Representing a class of residents of Whidbey Island, Washington pursuing a class action filed against the United States government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims based on the U.S. Navy’s substantial increase in EA18-G Growler flight operations from a small airstrip on the island and the impact on residents’ properties.
- State of California, et al., On The Go Wireless, LLC, v. CELLCO Partnership, et al(CA Superior Ct.). Represented the whistleblower and over 30 local government entities in the state of California, (including the CSU system, UC system, and Los Angeles County) against the nation’s largest wireless providers for a fraudulent overcharging scheme. Read more about the case on Law Street Media and Law360 (subscription required) or here.
- Clark v. AdvanceMe, Inc., (C.D. Cal.). Secured a $23.4 million settlement (set settlement of $19 million) on behalf of businesses in a class action alleging they had been injured by financial arrangements in violation of California usury laws.
- McGuire v. Dendreon(W.D. Wash.). Secured a $16.5 million settlement one month before trial (net settlement of $11.7 million) in a securities fraud class action arising from alleged misrepresentations by a biotechnology executive in a conference call with investors. Read more.
Honors & Distinctions
Honors and Awards
- Rising Star, Washington Super Lawyers (2013 – Present, Thomson Reuters)
- Whitney North Seymour Medal for Columbia Law student who shows greatest promise of becoming a distinguished trial advocate (2007)
- Senior Editor, Columbia Law Review (2007-2008)
- Harlan Fiske Stone Moot Court Finalist (2008)
- Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar (2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008)
- Ann C. Seminara Award in Public Policy (2003)
Clerkships
- Honorable Vaughn R. Walker, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 2008-2009
Education
Education
- Stanford University (B.A., Public Policy, 2003)
- Columbia Law School (J.D., 2008)
Admissions
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- Washington
Court Admissions
- Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Washington
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit
Publications
- “Treating Like Subdecisions Alike: The Scope of Stare Decisis as Applied to Judicial Methodology,” 108Colum. L. Rev. 681 (2008)
- “Of All the Arms, of All the Men, of All the Teams That Play,” Seattle Times, July 24, 2009
Leadership & Professional Memberships
Associations
- Federal Bar Association for the Western District of Washington
