Jon R. Fetterolf litigates tough cases, defending clients in criminal matters and fighting for their best interests in complex commercial litigation and investigations.
Jon represents companies and individuals under criminal investigation for antitrust violations, bribery, money laundering, and a variety of other types of financial fraud, including tax, securities, accounting, and government contract fraud. And in his civil practice, Jon focuses on complex commercial matters, with a particular emphasis on antitrust litigation. He has represented corporations and individuals in multidistrict litigation, class action proceedings, and other complex litigation matters in numerous state and federal courts, as well as in international and domestic arbitration proceedings.
In private practice, he has developed a particular niche as a go-to lawyer for sports industry clients. As a certified agent with the Major League Baseball Players Association and founder and head of ZS Sports, the firm’s full service baseball agency, Jon maintains a thriving sports law practice, representing athletes and sports agencies in contract negotiations, salary arbitrations, and free agency, negotiates endorsement and marketing contracts, advised numerous players and their families regarding their selection in the MLB first year player draft, including a number of high-round selections; and advised amateur athletes and their families on NCAA eligibility issues.
As a litigator, Jon handles a variety of sports litigation matters for athletes and agencies having clients in arbitration matters stemming from the governing bodies of their respective sports including baseball, football, basketball and tennis. Such matters include contract and fee disputes, enforcement of restrictive covenants, potential suspension issues and a variety of other types of litigation. Prominently, he is best known for his work in representing athletes in “crisis litigation,” where the underlying matters garner not only significant media attention, but also scrutiny by the relevant league governing body as well as sponsors and others interested parties. Jon has represented players appearing before congressional committees; represented players under investigation by Major League Baseball (MLB) as well as other league bodies.
Jon regularly speaks on panels relating to baseball salary arbitration, as well as other issues regarding major league baseball. He has regularly served as a judge and panelist at the Tulane Law School National Baseball Arbitration Competition, and he has been a speaker at sports law events organized by Michigan Law School, Harvard Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, Northwestern Law School, Fordham Law School, the Penn State Dickinson School of Law, and the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. He also spoke as a panelist before the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
Prior to joining Zuckerman Spaeder, Jon was a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC.
