Personal Counsel

Matters That Do Not Tolerate Exposure

Certain matters cannot be handled through ordinary channels. They involve personal exposure, reputational risk, and situations where visibility creates additional harm. They require judgment, discretion, and the ability to act without drawing attention.

Role
Trusted Operator

Snyder serves as personal counsel to senior executives, principals, and family offices in circumstances where privacy, judgment, and control are paramount.

Engagements are ongoing, limited in number, and structured to ensure responsiveness, continuity, and trust.

The common feature is not the category of problem. It is the need for control without visibility.
Scope

Sensitive personal or professional disputes. Situations involving reputational or confidentiality risk. Matters clients prefer not to route through large firms.

Issues requiring quiet resolution rather than formal escalation. Cross-border matters requiring a trusted presence in New York.

How We Operate

Direct relationship with the principal or family office. No unnecessary personnel or process. Careful management of information flow. Selective use of outside counsel or specialists when required.

Continuous alignment with the client’s broader personal and business objectives. Work is conducted with an emphasis on containment, clarity, and resolution.

Role in New York

For clients based outside the United States, Snyder often serves as a local operator in New York — coordinating legal, business, and personal matters, managing third parties and advisors, and acting as a point of control in time-sensitive situations.

This role combines legal judgment with practical execution.

Relationship to Formal Legal Work

Not all matters require litigation. Where formal legal action is necessary, it is pursued deliberately and in alignment with the client’s broader objectives.

In many cases, resolution is achieved without escalation.

Discreet counsel for situations where privacy, judgment, and control are paramount.
Engagement

Engagements are ongoing and limited in number. They are structured to ensure responsiveness, continuity, and trust.

Initial conversations are conducted privately and on a confidential basis.

Fee Structure
Initial strategy: $25,000, flat fee. Full engagement: $100,000–$500,000, negotiated flat fee.
Ongoing engagements structured for responsiveness, continuity, and trust.
Fees are always negotiated based on the particular circumstances. Quoted rates are guidance.
Principal
John H. Snyder

25+ years of federal trial practice. Former Proskauer Rose litigator. Federal judicial clerk. Brown University (Phi Beta Kappa), Harvard Law School.

Founder of Agnes Intelligence, which placed 4th of 1,000+ entries in the 2018 IBM Watson Build competition. Co-Managing Principal of Junto Opportunity Fund I LP, a Manhattan distressed multifamily real estate fund. Founder and Chairman of Junto Club USA LLC.

The Firm
John H. Snyder PLLC is an independent litigation and strategic advisory practice based in Manhattan. The firm serves a select roster of principals, family offices, and institutional clients in matters requiring senior judgment, discretion, and direct execution.
Contact inquiry@jhs.nyc
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