Jon Epstein practices primarily on civil litigation and media law matters. He handles all types of civil litigation matters and has significant experience in media and publication tort litigation as well as insurance, trade secrets, professional liability, commercial, products liability and securities litigation matters.
Jon has successfully defended insurance companies and insurance agents, realtors, journalists, securities brokers and other professionals in professional liability litigation. His media clients include television stations, radio stations, newspapers, book publishers and websites developers. Mr. Epstein regularly handles a variety of insurance defense matters including pharmaceutical product, privacy, publication tort, general commercial, securities and childcare liability. He also has experience with directors and officers liability litigation, foreclosures, lender liability and other civil litigation matters.
He has an individual AV rating through Martindale-Hubbell. He has also been selected a Best Lawyer in America for Litigation-First Amendment and in 2020 was named the Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year Litigation-First Amendment Oklahoma City. He is recognized as an Oklahoma Super Lawyer in First Amendment/Media/Advertising Law. He was the recipient of the 2010 Leadership in Law award presented by the Oklahoma Bar Association and the Journal Record. Jon is also a certified mediator and an adjunct professor at OCU law school where he teaches Media Law.
In addition, he is a frequent speaker and author regarding Media Law issues, including:
- Iciss Tillis and Jon Epstein - Compensating NCAA Student Athletes: How to Navigate Name, Image and Likeness Laws, New England Board of Higher Education, March 9, 2022
- November 29 & 30, 2021-- lectured at the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass Communication on media law issues.
- Oklahoma Media Attorney Jon Epstein Breaks Down the President's May 2020 Social Media Executive Order
- Speaker at January 2013 Leadership Oklahoma City panel entitled “What Does the Public Have the Right to Know?”
- Panelist at the "Impacts of Social Media" session during the 2012 Brownfields Conference hosted by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality in Oklahoma City
- Speaker "How Social Media Impacts Your Business" Nov. 2011
- Panel Member, "Working with the Media, Tips for the Practicing Attorney and Ethical Issues When Your Client is a Newsmaker" Oklahoma Bar Association annual convention, Nov. 2010
- Speaker, "The Importance of the First Amendment and the Reporter's Privilege," Oklahoma Scholastic Media/Oklahoma Interscholastic Press Association Fall Media Conference, 2007
- Co-Author, "Recent Developments in Media, Privacy and Defamation Law," ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal (Vol. 41/Issue 2-Winter 2006)
Jon has also assisted clients in several well-publicized matters including:
- Serving on a team of litigators in successfully obtaining declaratory and injunctive relief protecting the Constitutional and statutory rights of major mainstream video distributors from unlawful interference by government officials with their distribution of a controversial Academy Award winning movie.
- Served on a team of litigators in successfully defending claims against John Grisham and his publisher arising from the book The Innocent Man, as well as claims arising against the author and publisher of the book The Dreams of Ada.
Education
- University of Oklahoma College of Law (J.D., 1988)
- University of Texas (B.A. in Psychology, 1985)
Admissions
- Oklahoma, 1988
- U.S. District Court of the Northern, Eastern and Western Districts of Oklahoma
- United States Claims Court
- United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- United States Supreme Court
- Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
- Appellate
- Complex Commercial Issues
- Internet & Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance Law & Tort Litigation
- Media
- Products Liability
- Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
- Right of Publicity
- Securities
- Trade Secrets
- Professional Malpractice & Liability
- Name, Image & Likeness (NIL)
- Leadership Oklahoma City (Class XVI)
- Former Executive Board Member and Chair of Make A Wish Oklahoma
- 1992 - Present Hall Estill
- 1988 - 1992 Watson & McKenzie
- American Bar Association
- Oklahoma Bar Association
- Oklahoma County Bar Association
- Media Law Resource Center Media Law Letter Committee
- Approved securities arbitrator for the New York Stock Exchange
- Certified Mediator
- Communications Committee - Oklahoma Bar Association
- November 29 & 30, 2021 lectured at the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass Communication on media law issues.
- Adjunct Professor at OCU Law School where he teaches Media Law
- On September 19, 2018, Jon Epstein gave a lecture and led a discussion about “HISTORICAL ATTEMPTS TO DELEGITIMIZE THE PRESS: MUZZLING THE WATCHDOG”
- Co-author: "Recent Developments in Media Law and Defamation Torts" for the Winter 2001 issue of Torts & Insurance Law Journal
- Co-author: "Recent Developments in Media, Privacy, and Defamation Law" for the Winter 2003 issue of Torts Trial and Insurance Practice Law Journal
- Co-Author, "Recent Developments in Media, Privacy and Defamation Law," ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal (Vol. 41/Issue 2-Winter 2006)
- Speaker, "The Importance of the First Amendment and the Reporter's Privilege," Oklahoma Scholastic Media/Oklahoma Interscholastic Press Association Fall Media Conference, 2007
- Panelist 2010 OBA annual meeting "Working with the Media - Tips for the Practicing Attorney and Ethical Issues When Your Client is a Newsmaker"
- 2016 Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year - First Amendment - Oklahoma City
- 2010 Leadership in Law Award presented by the OBA and Journal Record
- Seattle ruling may make journalists’ jobs even tougher
- Oklahoma Media Attorney Jon Epstein Breaks Down the Social Media Executive Order
- Media Attorney Jon Epstein Information Age Australia -Trump signs social media executive order
- Media Attorney Jon Epstein ITWeb South Africa - Social media companies exercising ‘dangerous power’, says Trump
- Media Attorney Jon Epstein ITEdge Nigeria - Breaking Down Trump’s Executive Order Targeting Social Media Companies
- Media Attorney Jon Epstein Ameyaw Debrah - Ghana - Trump signs order that could punish social media companies over their content
- OKC Attorney Jon Epstein: Debate on Public Issues Should be Uninhibited
- Oklahoman Q&A with Jon Epstein: Free speech, press guarantees protect the public
- OKC Media Law Attorney Jon Epstein: Libel Laws offer Important Protections
- Jon Epstein - Case to decide whether the President's Twitter account public forum
- Jon Epstein discusses Netflix, Facebook and the Video Privacy Protection Act
- Jon Epstein speaks about harassment via Twitter
- Jon Epstein interviewed by NPR regarding Twitter