Jonathan M. Petrakis
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
30 South 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-4196
USA
Phone: +1 215 979 1115
Fax: +1 215 827 5566
Email:
JPetrakis@duanemorris.com
Jon Petrakis is a partner in the firm's Trial Practice Group. Mr. Petrakis brings over two and a half decades of litigation and transactional experience to his clients. He has established long term relationships, and clients repeatedly turn to him for resolution with respect to their legal needs because of his blend of experience and dedication to their service. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Mr. Petrakis was the President of the firm of Deeb Petrakis, which he founded in 1989.
Mr. Petrakis focuses his practice on representation of financial institutions in asset recovery and creditors' rights matters, litigation involving breach of contract and fraud, including check-kiting and other check fraud, lender liability claims, and other commercial litigation in state courts and bankruptcy venues. He also assists lenders in debt restructures and commercial loan documentation. Further, Mr. Petrakis routinely counsels a variety of other business clients in matters involving employment law issues, commercial real estate sales and leases, employment agreements and other issues that businesses and entrepreneurs regularly encounter. In doing so, Mr. Petrakis has handled work as varied as the relocation of a national eyewear manufacturer and retailer from Texas to New Jersey, resolution of claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other anti-discrimination laws, the preparation and revision of clients' employee handbooks and policies, and the financing of businesses from golf courses to software companies.
Areas of Practice
- Employment Law and Litigation
- Creditors' Rights
- Commercial Lending Services
- Financial Institution Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
Representative Matters
- Obtained an arbitration award of $3.6 million, the full amount requested, in a case before a former California Superior Court Judge in San Francisco concerning valuation of the client's 50% interest in a company that provides network and data management services.
- Successfully defeated three Motions for Temporary Restraining Order and a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction for enforcement of restrictive covenants in an employment agreement, as sought by a former employer against a senior sales manager who had resigned from the company and joined a competitor.
- Representing multiple banks in Pennsylvania in defense of putative class action claims brought against them for alleged failure to comply with ADA Standards for access to ATMs.
- Represented a national retailer in defense and resolution of potential class action regarding alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, specifically that the company failed to reasonably accommodate disabled persons by failing to provide readily achievable means of access to eye examinations in their stores nationwide.
- In re TH Properties, Inc., et al. (Bankr. E.D. Pa.) – Represented a pre-petition secured lender and debtor-in-possession lender in the bankruptcy of a large regional construction company.
- In re Oskar Huber Furniture and Design, et al. (Bankr. D.N.J.) – Represented senior secured lender in bankruptcy proceedings of a furniture company.
- In re Solomon Dwek, et al. (Bankr. D.N.J.) – Represented a lender in defense of an action brought by the U.S. trustee for fraudulent conveyance and deepening insolvency.
- Obtained on behalf of a New Jersey bank the dismissal of class action counterclaims for breach of good faith and fair dealing, fraudulent misrepresentation and violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, as asserted by a defaulted commercial borrower.
- Represented lender in purchase and restructure of $56 million debt on high-rise condominium in Philadelphia.
- Represented lender in documentation and closing of $24 million term loan/revolving credit facility.
- Assisted in representation of borrower in documentation and closing of a $55 million acquisition-financing transaction.
- Representing employer in defense of wage-and-hour class action litigation in California.
Professional Activities
- Philadelphia Bar Association
- Turnaround Management Association
Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Education
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law, J.D., 1983
- University of Pittsburgh, B.A., 1980
Experience
- Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2011-present - Deeb Petrakis
- Founder and President, 1989-2011 - Saul Ewing
- Associate, 1986-1989 - Harvey Pennington
- Associate, 1983-1985
Civic and Charitable Activities
- Living Beyond Breast Cancer, Board of Directors
Honors and Awards
- Recognized by The Legal Intelligencer as one of the "Top Ten Lateral Hires in Pennsylvania in 2011"
- AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Selected Publications
- Co-author, "First ATM Accessibility Class Action Lawsuit, Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, Is Filed in Philadelphia," Duane Morris Alert, August 9, 2012
Selected Speaking Engagements
- Speaker, "ADA Awareness for Retail Employees," Client's National Meeting, February 2013
