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Jonathan Rabin thrives at the intersections between disciplines. By the time he applied to college, he was already envisioning a double major that would allow him to tap into his diverse interests in economics and mechanical engineering. During an event for accepted students at Bucknell University, however, it was a presentation by a professor in an entirely different field that caught his attention.
“That’s how I stumbled into environmental studies,” Rabin says of listening to the professor speak. “It was a good blend of science and policy, and it built on and related to the economics as well. A theme throughout my entire career has been finding the connections and using those connections to move forward.”
Rabin sees a parallel to his own career journey in the story of Natera Inc., an organization that has introduced a fresh perspective into the clinical genetics space by using signal processing technology to distinguish between different sources of cell-free DNA. For Rabin, who has been at Natera since 2013 and who currently serves as lead counsel for litigation and regulatory compliance, the company’s life-changing mission remains a major draw—as does the passion for that mission that guides the work of all members of the Natera team.
“A theme throughout my entire career has been finding the connections and using those connections to move forward.”
Jonathan Rabin
Before going in-house at Natera, Rabin developed a wide-ranging expertise by seeking out areas of overlap in each of his educational and professional experiences. “I carried my environmental studies background into NYU Law, which has a strong environmental program,” he says. “While I was at NYU, I also took an insurance law course that I found to be quite interesting. That’s what led me to Foley Hoag in Boston, as Foley is one of the few large firms that have a strong environmental insurance practice.”
Rabin continued learning on the job at Foley, where he found his perfect fit in the litigation department. He had the opportunity to explore a variety of things, including environmental and employment issues, product liability, and securities matters. “In one of my favorite cases there, an insurance company was arguing that they shouldn’t have to pay because a product had been used in an off-label manner. We argued that the insurance company couldn’t step in and make a regulatory determination that the FDA hadn’t,” he says. “That case was great because it combined insurance and product liability, all with an FDA aspect.”
Rabin often thinks about cases like that one—cases, in other words, that required him to use multiple skill sets—during his day-to-day dealings at Natera. He had known about the company for some time before coming on board, having connected with now-secretary and chief legal officer Daniel Rabinowitz while still at Foley. Their relationship took a turn when Rabin came to Rabinowitz for advice about potentially joining a different startup.
“We got to talking, and he said, ‘You know, if you have some availability, I could use an extra set of hands on this project we’ve got going,’” Rabin says. “So I started work at Natera in that capacity. My first big project here was actually a financing [project], which was not something I had done at Foley. It’s another example of trying to weave in experience and finding ways to apply whatever you’ve done or learned in the past to the current challenge.”
From his earliest involvement with Natera, Rabin couldn’t help but notice the passion of its employees. Their passion not only sparked his own, but also made him an eager student of both the science and the personal history behind the company’s products.
“It’s hard to find someone who is more passionate about the company than Matt Rabinowitz, who was CEO when I met him and who is now executive chairman,” he says. “He had a family member who had a pregnancy with an undiagnosed genetic condition, and he couldn’t believe that there wasn’t a better test for genetic conditions prenatally. So, he got together a team, did some groundbreaking science, and actually built one.”
The result is Panorama, a prenatal blood test that can identify chromosomal and sub-chromosomal anomalies as early as nine weeks into a pregnancy. Natera has since extended its cell-free DNA technology into other medical specialties, such as cancer and organ transplant monitoring.
“My first big project here was actually a financing [project], which was not something I had done at Foley. It’s another example of trying to weave in experience and finding ways to apply whatever you’ve done or learned in the past to the current challenge.”
Jonathan Rabin
“It all stems from applying Matt’s signal processing expertise to the genetics field and then applying this technology that we’ve built in women’s health to other areas where there’s a mixed signal of cell-free DNA,” says Rabin. “That’s at the core of the company—how we can take these seemingly disparate disciplines and combine them to create something that really helps people.”
As Natera and its product portfolio have expanded, Rabin has worked with Dan Rabinowitz to build out the legal team. His role has become more specialized as a result, but he maintains close contact with his colleagues in legal and beyond to ensure cohesion across the organization. He takes the same approach with outside counsel, with the bonus of getting to teach them about the great work happening at Natera.
Hope S. Foster, a member of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., speaks highly of Rabin and his leadership. “Jonathan’s outstanding litigation capabilities, creative problem solving, and strategic leadership of Natera’s litigation and regulatory compliance team help the company harness the value of its pioneering DNA testing technology. Mintz is honored to partner with Jonathan on high-stakes cases and to support his pivotal role at Natera.”
Rabin’s leadership stands out to Bruce Vanyo, partner and chair of securities litigation and enforcement at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. “Jon reminds me of the captain of an old sailing ship encountering multiple storms. He remains calm and steady at the helm; makes quick and wise decisions in maneuvering the ship; and knows his ship and its limits extremely well. All the while, he is amicable to and patient with his crew.”
Rabin talks further on his collaboration with outside counsel. “When we have litigations, we take a really active role in [both] educating outside counsel about the science and the products and working with them to come up with the best arguments and theories for the case,” he says.
Whether he’s learning about new technologies or sharing his knowledge with others, Rabin hasn’t stopped finding inspiration in Natera’s mission—or the incredible people who bring that mission to life.
“There’s a strong team ethos and flow, where it’s all about how we can help each other to get done what we need to get done,” says Rabin.
“The mission that launched the company was to find new and better ways to do things that have a real impact on people’s lives,” he continues, “and the most I can hope—as an employee, as a shareholder, and as someone who has actually used Natera’s services—is for the company to continue expanding into new areas and applying our high level of scientific advancement, quality, and precision as broadly as we can.”
