JONATHAN GOLDEN

Attorney Jonathan Golden is the founder and senior partner at Golden & Jernigan PC. He has been a lawyer since June of 1979 and has practiced in Grand Rapids since 1983. Jonathan specializes in immigration law (with an emphasis on defense of deportation cases), social security disability appeals, and criminal defense.

Jonathan graduated with high distinction from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1979. Before attending law school, he was a Pi Sigma Alpha political science honor student at Washington University in St. Louis, and graduated from the prestigious University of Chicago Laboratory School. He was also a U.S. congressional intern, and worked for Volunteers in Service to America, where he helped migrants understand their legal rights and responsibilities.

Jonathan spent four years as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Iowa, representing the state in prison-related civil rights litigation. He and three other lawyers handled over twenty-five percent of the federal docket for the entire state of Iowa.

Jonathan came to Grand Rapids in 1983, where he lives with his wife Christine and their two sons, Simon and Nathan. He is active in his community, where he has recently served as President of his synagogue, and was previously a long-time member of the New Branches Charter Academy Board of Directors.

As an immigration, social security and criminal defense attorney today, Jonathan regularly argues before the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals, United States Immigration Court, Social Security Office of Disability Adjudication and Review, and numerous state circuit, district and appellate courts. He has been lead or sole counsel in published precedent-setting decisions by the U.S. Sixth and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeals. He is proficient at Spanish, and, whether through negotiation, written application or trial, works to find the best solution for his client.