Meet JW

W. J. J. Smith set up his practice in Dallas and formed the foundation of what would become Jackson Walker.

The practice grew when brothers George and John C. Robertson brought their legal practices to Dallas and partnered with W. J. J. Smith.

Founding partner John C. Robertson became general counsel for the Dallas Times Herald.

Smith, Robertson, & Robertson represented key Dallas institutions such as the Dallas Times Herald, Dallas Gas Company (present day TXU Energy), and the Southern Pacific Railroad.

Fort Worth attorney John L. Lancaster Jr. joined the Firm, solidifying a legacy of excellence in railroad law.

The Firm became Robertson, Leachman, Payne, Gardere & Lancaster after Neth Leachman and George Gardere joined the practice.

Small & Arney, an Austin firm that would later become Small, Craig & Werkenthin, formed and eventually joined with Jackson Walker in 2000.

J. Paul Jackson and Sam Winstead join the firm.

A.W. “Jess” Walker resigned from the University of Texas at Austin law faculty and joined Robertson, Jackson, Payne, Lancaster and Walker as a name partner.

  Bryan Birkeland on Sam Winstead

Cases and Materials on Oil and Gas Law by Jess Walker is published, which served as a primer for oil and gas law in Texas.

The Firm obtained an FCC license for KRLD-TV, now known as KDFW-TV, in Dallas.

J. Paul Jackson served on the American Institute Tax Project. His work helped shape important tax legislation in the mid-20th century.

Dallas attorneys Conan Cantwell and J. Howard Lennon joined the Firm, changing the name to Jackson, Walker, Winstead, Cantwell & Miller.

The Firm hired the first summer clerk, Larry Bean, who went on to spend his entire legal career at Jackson Walker.

Jess Walker and Ben West represented the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case City of Atlus, Oklahoma v. Carr. The rule became a landmark in the area of water rights and state boundaries.

The Firm was retained by a Alaska Native tribe, the Inupiaq, to negotiate its oil leases on the North Slope after the discovery of the Greater Prudhow Bay Field.

Attorney J. Howard Lennon opened an office for the Firm in Anchorage, Alaska.

  Mike Wilson on Jackson Walker in Alaska

In Electronic Data Systems v. The Social Security Organization of the Government of Iran, the Firm agreed to represent Iran against a breach of contract claim by Ross Perot’s EDS. Despite significant critique, Don Case was adamant on continuing representation. Partner Charles L. “Chip” Babcock stated, “He signed on to defend his client before the outpouring of severe public pressure and disapproval, and he was going to keep his word.”

The Firm helped incorporate the Dallas Mavericks.

The Firm successfully represented Edwin Hamilton against Texas-based Page Airways in an antitrust disagreement.

The Firm installed its first Wang computer, ending the era in which all bookkeeping was done in pencil by staff accountant Marilyn Larson.

The Firm succeeded in securing the dismissal of an injunction filed by the City of Irving against the FAA. The injunction, filed on a late Friday, involved a new runway at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. This win narrowly avoided the runway’s shutdown.

  Mark Josephs on the runway shutdown

The Firm successfully represented LTV Securities against a plaintiff shareholder class on a matter of retaining privilege between co-defendants and their attorneys in a civil proceeding.

Firm attorneys successfully argued Herman & MacLean v. Huddleston before the U.S. Supreme Court, a key case in securities regulation.

After outgrowing its Dallas quarters, the Firm moved from the First National Bank tower to Bank of America Plaza. The Firm represented Canadian developer Bramalea Ltd. in the building’s development. Standing at 921 feet and 72 stories, Bank of America Plaza is the tallest building in the Dallas skyline.

The Firm hired 13 first-year lawyers, the largest class to date in the Firm’s history.

Dallas attorney Mary Emma Karam became the first woman promoted to partner at Jackson Walker.

The Firm represented lenders of Kendavis Industries International Inc., an energy conglomerate, in a reorganization that repaid $916.6 million of debt—one of the biggest bankruptcy cases of that time.

Our Fort Worth office opened with five attorneys and grew to 13 attorneys within one year.

The Firm’s name changed to Jackson & Walker, L.L.P. and later became Jackson Walker LLP.

The Firm handled over 2,000 collection and lender liability defense matters, making Jackson Walker the most frequently used outside counsel by the purchasers of the failed First Republic banks and MBanks.

In one of the largest and longest litigation actions in Texas history, spanning from 1985 to 1990, the Firm successfully defended Texas Utilities (present day TXU Energy).

The Firm expanded to Houston upon joining with Dotson & Scofield, making Jackson Walker one of the 10 largest Texas-based firms at the time.

Jackson Walker opened its San Antonio office.

Jackson Walker became a founding member of Globalaw, a worldwide network of independent law firms providing clients with international resources.

Jackson Walker represented Crescent Real Estate Equities in its $500 million initial public offering—one of the largest IPOs in REIT history.

Jackson Walker opened an office in Austin, setting the foundation for a highly regarded legislative and governmental affairs practice in the state’s capital.

Partners Chip Babcock and Robert P. “Bob” Latham appeared live on Court TV for seven weeks in the Turner v. KTRK Television Inc. trial. The final judgment was in favor of Jackson Walker’s client, KTRK Television.

Partners Chip Babcock and Nancy Hamilton successfully defended Oprah Winfrey and Harpo Productions in a libel suit brought by two Texas cattlemen.

The trial team of Gordon M. Shapiro, James L. “Rocky” Walker, and Retta A. Miller secured a take-nothing judgment in the Kaepa, Inc. v. Achilles Corporation case. The verdict was later named one of the top team defense wins in the country by National Law Journal.

Jackson Walker joined with Austin-based Small, Craig & Werkenthin to grow the Firm to 235 attorneys, 6 offices, and 17 practice areas.

In the aftermath of the dot-com bubble burst, Jackson Walker is involved in a number of high-profile dot-com workouts and insolvencies.

Jackson Walker joined with Gresham, Davis, Gregory, Worthy & Moore, one of San Antonio’s oldest law firms, strengthening the Firm’s experience in business transactions, bankruptcy, and real estate.

The Book of Lists recognized Jackson Walker as the only law firm with a top 10 ranking in four major Texas cities: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio.

Jackson Walker joined with Dallas-based Cohan, Simpson, Cowlishaw & Wulff.

Jackson Walker attorneys participated in a multi-firm negotiating team that concluded a settlement of almost $500 million and an agreed injunction between a Fortune 100 financial institution and the 50-state attorneys general relating to alleged predatory mortgage lending practices.

President George W. Bush appointed San Antonio partner Robert A. Junell the U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas.

Jackson Walker was the first participant in the American Bar Association’s media internship for minority attorneys.

The San Antonio office expanded with the addition of 10 attorneys from Jenkens & Gilchrist.

San Antonio attorney Charles L. Smith was honored as one of State Bar of Texas President Harper Estes’ “Legal Legends”

Dallas partner Robert F. Ruckman served as lead counsel for a product defendant in litigation raised from the 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447.

Jackson Walker successfully defended Texas Clinical Labs, Inc., in a case against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The case took 25 years and three trips to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Firm partnered with UTSA’s Center for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship (CITE) to host the Jackson Walker Technology Entrepreneurship Boot Camp. The purpose of the program was to educate students on the commercialization and start-up of new technology companies.

Jackson Walker received the prestigious Thomas L. Sager Award for the South Region from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association for demonstrating an ongoing commitment to hiring a diverse workforce.

The Firm landed at No. 129 on Law360’s “The Law360 400” list of the largest law firms in the nation.

The Firm earned a spot on Law360‘s list of Texas Powerhouses through its national trial and transactional practices and precedent-setting wins for high-profile clients such as Oprah Winfrey, Google Inc., and Hyundai Corporation.

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Austin partner Kent Sullivan, a former justice on the Fourteenth Court of appeals and first assistant attorney general for the Texas Office of the Attorney General, as Commissioner of Insurance.

Jackson Walker’s Real Estate practice successfully represented the buyer of Cielo Vista Ranch, an 83,000-acre stretch of land in Southern Colorado. This transaction marked the largest ranch sale in the United States for 2017.

The Human Rights Campaign’s 2018 Corporate Equality Index scored Jackson Walker in the top 25 of Dallas-Fort Worth’s major employers in terms of hiring a diverse workforce and including specific nondiscrimination provisions for LGBTQ employees in HR policies.

The Firm obtained a significant victory in a Medicare reimbursement appeal in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court ruled in favor of our reimbursement consultant client and over 270 client hospitals that are part of four national hospital systems. Notably, the D.C. Circuit panel that heard and decided the case consisted of former U.S. Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, newly appointed Judge Gregory Katsas on his first day hearing cases for the D.C. Circuit, and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Julia W. Mann was appointed the first female managing partner of the San Antonio office.

Jackson Walker advised iconic Texas fast-food chain Whataburger in the sale of a majority interest to Chicago merchant bank BDT Capital Partners.

Jackson Walker appointed Priya Coffey and Mike Taten as managing partners of the Houston and Dallas offices, respectively. Priya is the third woman—and the first woman of color—to serve as an office managing partner in the Firm’s history.