First-Chair Trial Counsel — John H. Snyder PLLC
For high-stakes litigation where the outcome turns on who leads the room.

Trial execution, strategic pressure, and control of the surrounding system — by the person who designed the strategy.

Snyder steps in as first-chair trial counsel when prior strategy has not produced resolution and the case is heading to verdict. He integrates jury strategy, witness execution, and settlement dynamics under a single command.

Role
First Chair
Lead strategist and trial counsel.
Timing
Pre-Trial or Mid-Engagement
Immediate integration.

When the case is at the moment of decision.

Some cases are decided long before trial. Others are decided in the final weeks — and sometimes the final days. In high-stakes matters, the outcome turns on performance under pressure and the ability to control both the courtroom and the surrounding environment.

Snyder is brought in when prior strategy has failed to produce resolution, when settlement dynamics are intensifying under trial pressure, and when multiple dimensions — legal, financial, and human — must be managed simultaneously.

Trial is not isolated from the rest of the situation. It is the point where everything converges.

Three integrated functions. Separating them is how outcomes are lost.

Phase I
Pre-Trial
  • Full record immersion and decisive issue identification
  • Jury strategy and narrative architecture
  • Witness preparation built for cross-examination pressure
  • Motions in limine and evidentiary positioning
  • Settlement leverage calibration
Phase II
At Trial
  • Opening statement and narrative control
  • Direct and cross-examination execution
  • Real-time adaptation as facts develop
  • Jury reading and argument calibration
  • Closing with precision, not theatrics
Phase III
Surrounding System
  • Client and board communication under pressure
  • Settlement dynamics managed alongside trial posture
  • Capital, corporate, and regulatory coordination
  • Post-verdict enforcement or appeal positioning

What Snyder controls at each stage.

Record & Posture
Immediate immersion into the case
Rapid absorption of the full record. Identification of the decisive issues. Clear prioritization of what matters and what does not.
Narrative Control
Jury strategy from day one
The case is built backward from the verdict. Every decision — evidence, witnesses, argument — is made with the jury in view.
Witness & Cross
Preparation that holds under pressure
Witness preparation built for cross-examination. Cross-examination built to control. Precision over theatrics.
Settlement Dynamics
Trial pressure as leverage
Trial readiness is its own form of leverage. Settlement dynamics are managed in coordination with trial posture, not in isolation.

First-chair execution by the person who designed the strategy.

John H. Snyder
Founding Principal · First-Chair Trial Lawyer
John H. Snyder
Harvard Law School
Brown University · Phi Beta Kappa
Federal Clerkship · Proskauer Rose
Founder, Agnes Intelligence

25+ years of federal trial practice. Former Proskauer Rose litigator. Federal judicial clerk. Known for command presence, unusual clarity under pressure, and sustained force in situations that would overwhelm most teams.

Founder and CEO of Agnes Intelligence, which placed 4th among more than 1,000 entries in the IBM Watson Build competition.

Corporate & Structural Counsel
Thomas C. Sima
Duke Law (J.D. & LL.M., cum laude) · Shearman & Sterling, NY & HK · NY · FL · SDNY · EDNY
Admitted to the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. 20+ years in commercial litigation, securities matters, and business disputes. When a trial implicates corporate governance, securities law, or institutional architecture, Sima provides the structural and regulatory depth that first-chair execution requires.

Selective engagements. Based on where intervention will materially change the result.

Initial discussions focus on trial posture, timeline, and whether engagement at this stage changes what is possible. Engagement begins immediately upon confirmation. There is no onboarding period.

An Early Conversation
Costs Nothing.

We engage selectively in matters where first-chair intervention will materially affect the outcome. Briefly describe the case, the current posture, and the timeline to trial. Do not send privileged or confidential information.

Email inquiry@jhs.nyc
We Are a Fit When
The case is going to trial and the outcome turns on who is standing at the front of the room. Prior strategy has not produced resolution.
We Are Not a Fit When
The matter is pre-dispute, the timeline is open-ended, or first-chair counsel is already engaged and performing.
The Engagement
Flat fee, success-based, or hybrid. Structured by trial posture, timeline, and scope.