Jason M. St. John

Jason St. John
Primary Office
Overview

Jason M. St. John is managing partner of Saul Ewing. As the chief executive officer, Jason oversees the firm's daily operations, client relations, strategic planning, business development and growth strategies. In leading Saul Ewing's national practice of 425 attorneys through its 18 offices located down the East Coast from Boston to Miami and West to Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Orange County, Jason draws on his previous leadership experiences serving on the firm's Executive Committee as well as its chair and vice chair of the Litigation Practice, hiring partner, integration partner, Baltimore vice office managing partner, and a member of the attorney evaluation committee.

When he served as integration partner, Jason played a crucial role in developing a combined firm following a 2017 merger. Chief among his priorities during that transition was cultivating a culture that puts clients first and encourages collaboration among attorneys across offices, practice areas, and industry groups in support of client needs.

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Holding this array of leadership roles has helped Jason to develop a keen understanding of the intricacies of law firm economics and the business savvy necessary to lead the firm in a constantly evolving legal landscape. Saul Ewing's 2023 combination with Freeman Freeman & Smiley is an example of his dedication to smart, strategic growth that enhances the firm's reputation for representing sophisticated clients in industries and practice areas in which the firm is known for being go-to legal advisors. To support this approach, he is leading the firm to invest in programs designed to attract, train, promote and retain talented colleagues at all levels. 

Jason is also devoted to enhancing the firm's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. During his time on the Executive Committee, he served as liaison to the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. He also participated in the Spring 2018 Diversity in Law Hackathon organized by Diversity Lab in partnership with Harvard Law School Executive Education. In addition, he is a key champion for Saul Ewing's pursuit of Mansfield Certification, a program encouraging law firms and corporations to build pipelines of historically underrepresented lawyers for consideration for key roles. The firm has received this recognition for five consecutive years and is pursuing Mansfield Certification again in 2024 – a commitment that illustrates Jason's continued support for the movement of more women and lawyers from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ lawyers and/or lawyers with disabilities into significant leadership positions, lateral openings, inclusion on pitch teams, and promotions.

Before Jason moved into the firm's top executive role, he maintained an active legal practice focused on litigating complex, high-stakes commercial, contract, insurance and real estate disputes for business, insurance, and governmental entity clients in courts and arbitrations throughout the United States.

His representation of clients in commercial and contract disputes ranged from matters involving breach of contract, business fraud and shareholder disputes to assorted business torts such as claims for unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, misappropriation of trade secrets and tortious interference with contracts.

In addition to his law practice, Jason was an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law where he taught courses in pre-trial civil litigation and appellate advocacy.

Jason currently serves as the chair of the Board of Trustees of The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, chair of the Industry-Specific Committee of the Baltimore Economic Development Advisory Board focused on customizing economic development strategies for key industry sectors with high-wage job potential, and is a director on the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Board of Visitors.

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