Jack Rutherford

Jack Rutherford (he/him) founded Rutherford Law in April 2017 with one goal in mind, finding a way to be a lawyer that helps people.  

 

Hopeful that a lawyer could lead with empathy and still be successful, Jack aspired to leverage his big law training and top-ranked legal education for the benefit of the greater good. With a focus on civil rights and criminal justice, Jack began taking on cases for inmates trapped in solitary confinement, non-violent offenders seeking release after decades, and others who had been injured by the system, an employer, or a defective drug. 

 

Always fighting for the underdog and never one to back down from a bully, Jack led the charge against Gilead Sciences, Inc., for withholding a safer version of their blockbuster HIV prevention and treatment drug, Truvada. With a small team of non-profit lawyers, Jack filed the first personal injury cases against Gilead in May 2018. Jack was appointed to the Plaintiff’s Steering and Executive Committees and co-chairs the Science Committee in that litigation, which now has close to 25,000 plaintiffs. Jack speaks regularly on the litigation at conferences and CLEs.

 

Previously a member of the defense bar, Mr. Rutherford learned to try cases from the best trial lawyers in the country. A member of trial teams that secured numerous defense verdicts, Jack now uses his skills to hold bad actors, companies, and individuals accountable. Mr. Rutherford has tried three criminal cases to acquittal in the past three years and has been honored to serve as counsel for almost a dozen men in parole, post-conviction, and re-sentencing proceedings in Louisiana and California.

 

A 2008 graduate of Columbia Law School, Mr. Rutherford was a member of the Environmental Law Clinic, Human Rights Law Review, Outlaws, for which he served as President, and interned for the New York State Attorney General's Office in the Labor Bureau. A Harlan Fisk Stone Scholar and recipient of the Sovern Scholarship, after law school, Mr. Rutherford had the privilege of clerking for Justice Barbara J. Madsen, former Chief Justice of the Washington State Supreme Court.

 

Jack loves nature, hiking, spending time with his dogs, Nola and Willie, and his cats, Huey, Gus, and Ranger.