Services & Industries

Jackson Walker’s administrative and regulatory attorneys represent clients in matters before a wide range of local, state, and federal government agencies. We have a deep knowledge of the steps involved with successfully navigating the administrative process, whether it involves appearing before local planning or zoning commissions, handling contested case hearings before the State Office of Administrative Hearings, or managing complex environmental hearings before the TCEQ or EPA. Several of our attorneys previously served as in-house attorneys with governmental agencies, including a team member who was an Administrative Law Judge with the State Office of Administrative Hearings for almost 19 years and who teaches Texas Administrative Law at the University of Texas and Baylor Law Schools. The combination of their experience offers clients a unique perspective into the steps involved with effectively appearing before state and federal agencies, city councils, municipal boards and commissions, and the courts.

Jackson Walker’s Labor and Employment group is experienced in evaluating and counseling clients on diversity and affirmative action initiatives and practices. We tailor affirmative action plans to our clients’ business and objectives, and we stay abreast of current “hot spots” and trends in order to manage risk and help prevent litigation throughout affirmative action plan development, implementation, and revision.

Our attorneys provide a wide range of legal services to members of the agricultural industry. Our team has experience in regulatory, business transactions, litigation, real estate, environmental, labor and employment, tax, and oil and gas. Additionally, they are prominent members of the Texas Agricultural Council. Their collective experience is unparalleled, and in conjunction with the geographic scope and attorney depth offered by Jackson Walker, the Agriculture Practice Group is prepared to handle matters of any size which arise for a client in agriculture.

Whether it is working with regulatory agencies to implement common-sense policies or obtaining the permits necessary to keep our clients’ facilities operating, Jackson Walker gets the job done. Our attorneys represent clients before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Railroad Commission, the Public Utility Commission, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Jackson Walker has long-standing working relationships with these regulators and knows how to navigate each phase of the regulatory process–from developing policy and legislation, to rule implementation, to day-to-day compliance.

Jackson Walker has extensive experience advising its clients on aircraft purchase, sale, and repossession transactions as well as ownership and operating structures that comply with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) rules and various federal and state tax regimes. Our multidisciplinary team of attorneys combines experience from a variety of practice areas, including tax, corporate, aviation, and finance, with an in-depth understanding of the aviation industry to provide efficient solutions to clients in this complex area of law.

As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. At Jackson Walker, we help employers implement policies that will keep workplace issues from arising. When workplace issues arise, we focus on helping employers find informal, effective means of resolving them. By guiding clients through mediation and arbitration proceedings, we can help them avoid the time and cost involved in court litigation.

Jackson Walker is uniquely positioned to support animal and veterinary health businesses of all sizes both in Texas and nationwide. The team has extensive experience supporting regulatory, compliance, operational issues and general corporate matters across animal and veterinary health products and services, especially at the intersection of digital health and veterinary care.

Over the last century, antitrust law has exerted an ever-increasing influence on critical aspects of corporate and commercial strategy. Successful representation requires not only a keen understanding of antitrust laws, but a unique combination of business acumen and litigation experience. At Jackson Walker, we offer both litigation and advisory services regarding antitrust matters to businesses of all sizes across a variety of industries.

Experience

Jackson Walker’s appellate team includes top-rated lawyers with exceptional depth and breadth of knowledge of this area of law, obtained from years spent in private practice, the judiciary, and government service. This unique experience provides a deep understanding of the appellate process and the nuances of each court, allowing our attorneys to effectively advocate for clients before all appellate courts.

Increasingly, clients are turning to arbitration rather than the courthouse to resolve disputes. If properly managed, arbitration can be an effective alternative to traditional litigation. Jackson Walker’s lawyers maintain comprehensive databases regarding potential arbitrators and are skilled in selecting arbitrators– perhaps the most important task in an arbitration. They are also skilled in managing pre-trial discovery and motions to ensure that arbitration truly is more cost-effective than litigation.

Artificial intelligence and cognitive science will transform and disrupt our global economy and create new competitive advantages for businesses that can harness the technology effectively.

Asset protection is an important component of wealth planning for anyone with personal or professional holdings—especially those with a public presence or in professions with elevated risks of personal liability, such as physicians, attorneys, and business owners. The ultimate goal of asset protection is to shield the client and his or her family members from unknown potential claims and lawsuits, both from inside and outside the family.

Jackson Walker’s aviation attorneys have experience in handling a diverse range of aviation litigation matters. Jackson Walker’s aviation litigation group is recognized for their success and experience in representing clients in all types of litigation from a straightforward negligence or commercial claim to a complex and high profile lawsuit.

When an employer uses background information to make an employment decision, it must be sure that it complies with federal, state, and local discrimination and privacy laws. Navigating through the various requirements can be tricky; therefore, a “simple” background check can lead to perilous implications for an employer.

Jackson Walker represents banks, thrifts, directors, holding companies, and institution-affiliated parties in connection with a variety of banking regulatory matters. This representation includes advice concerning compliance with regulatory operating requirements, responses to regulatory examinations and criticisms, and representation in connection with enforcement actions.

Jackson Walker recognizes there is no substitute for experience and training in focused fields of litigation. JW’s Banking Litigation Group spans the Firm’s statewide presence and decades of experience representing all sizes and types of financial institutions through bet-the-company lawsuits, receiverships, and early-resolution consumer disputes alike. With a deep, working knowledge of state and federal banking and consumer laws and Jackson Walker’s hallmark pragmatism, the Banking Litigation Group prides itself on providing efficient and effective advocacy to financial institutions.

Jackson Walker attorneys have considerable experience representing trustees appointed in Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. We also regularly represent trustees designated in plans of reorganization and receivers appointed by state and federal courts over assets and corporations, as well as assignments for benefit of creditors. Our goal is to assist and advise the trustee to efficiently maximize estate value for the benefit of creditors.

Companies engaged in biotechnology, medical technology, and the life sciences and healthcare information technology have unique challenges and sophisticated needs. The industry is experiencing explosive growth and faced with rapidly evolving regulations. At the same time, the discovery, development, and commercialization of new biotech and med tech products can be a long and complicated process that requires skilled negotiation and careful planning.

Jackson Walker’s blockchain practice brings together lawyers from a variety of specialties to service our client’s legal needs across the rapidly developing blockchain, digital assets, and smart contract landscape.

From shareholder derivative suits to breach of contract actions to subprime mortgage litigation, our Business Litigation practice is as diverse and vital as the commercial marketplace itself. Every day in cases filed in courthouses and arbitration forums throughout Texas and across the country, our trial attorneys help clients resolve business disputes of all sizes and varieties.

We handle litigation and trials for national and regional banks, securities issuers, underwriters and broker-dealers, real estate developers and investors, private equity firms, hedge funds and investors, energy companies and royalty owners, tech giants and start-ups, and a myriad of firms engaged in today’s ever-evolving and increasingly complex business and commercial marketplace. Our trial lawyers prosecute and defend contract, securities, finance, employment, IP, media, insurance, class actions, antitrust, defamation, unfair competition, and a variety of other types of commercial litigation.

Proper business succession planning is vital for privately-held business owners, especially owners of family-owned businesses, to ensure the business survives the death or incapacity of the current owners. Jackson Walker’s Trusts & Estates attorneys work with owners of privately-held businesses of all sizes and in many different industries. There are multiple issues for owners to consider in developing a plan, including future leadership, family dynamics, fairness among family members, estate taxes, liquidity, and provisions for key employees. Professionals who advise privately-held business owners must factor all such issues into their advice.

Whether our clients are raising funds for new or existing ventures or are looking for investment opportunities, we have the knowledge and experience to represent both issuers and investors in a wide variety capital markets transactions, from large public offerings to small private placements of debt and equity securities. Working on both sides of these transactions gives us a unique perspective that allows us to help our clients achieve the growth they seek—whether they’re raising capital or deploying it.

Charitable planning can play an integral role in a client’s overall estate plan. Whether a client is primarily motivated by potential tax savings or has purely philanthropic goals, Jackson Walker’s Trusts & Estates attorneys can assist in the development of a sophisticated strategy that will fulfill the client’s charitable objectives while leveraging and maximizing the tax benefits. We also offer clients comprehensive advice on the planning, organizational compliance, governance, and tax issues relating to tax-exempt organizations so that the organization may operate successfully in the increasingly complicated, regulated, and competitive environment facing such organizations today.

We have a deep bench of attorneys with decades of experience in important class actions across the nation. The breadth of our group includes more than 50 attorneys experienced in high stakes class actions. The types of matters we are retained on are wide-ranging, including banking, energy, mobile phones, industrial waste, insurance, online advertising, electronic communications practices and countless more. Our substantive reach includes almost all areas of the law, including multistate state and federal antitrust MDLs, multistate insurance practices, trademark, federal and state law privacy actions, state and federal securities claims, ERISA, healthcare, employment, transportation and numerous others.

In recent years, the federal government’s approach to addressing carbon emissions has shifted dramatically and culminated in one of the largest expansions of environmental regulations in our nation’s history. Jackson Walker attorneys are helping our clients withstand this regulatory uncertainty by challenging unwarranted rules in the federal court system, developing projects that capture and utilize carbon emissions, and obtaining the necessary permits for project operation.

Jackson Walker is uniquely positioned to support clients engaged in clinical research activities both in Texas and nationwide. The team has extensive experience supporting regulatory, compliance, privacy, contractual, and ethics matters for clinical investigators, research institutions, clinical research organizations (CROs), and sponsors.

Jackson Walker regularly advises public and private institutions with assets such as student housing, parking, athletic facilities, academic buildings, and real estate investments. We help ensure timely development and construction, which is essential to a school’s financial and educational success.

At Jackson Walker, we view commercial finance as a partnership. Our Finance attorneys combine decades of transactional experience with the flexibility to create solutions tailored to each client’s individual needs in the most effective and efficient manner possible. That means providing exactly the level of service they need – no more, and no less.

Our attorneys have considerable experience representing Committees and individual members appointed to Committees in complex Chapter 11 cases. We provide insightful lien review and a skilled analysis that best positions Committees to maximize recoveries for general unsecured creditors.

Jackson Walker represents a broad spectrum of market participants on both the “sell” and “buy” sides, including dealers and end users on transactional, regulatory, tax, litigation, and bankruptcy matters. We advise clients on physically and financially settled energy commodity transactions, ranging from “plain vanilla” trades to multibillion-dollar structured transactions. Our experienced team of lawyers has decades of problem-solving experience negotiating standard industry contracts, including industry-standard ISDA, NAESB, and EEI agreements, as well as wholesale purchase power agreements, netting agreements, tolling agreements, asset management agreements, capacity and storage agreements, and other risk mitigation and credit support agreements.

A small but experienced group of Jackson Walker lawyers have devoted a majority of their careers to helping condemnors acquire the property interests they need to construct public projects. This team is led by Robert Neblett, one of the most experienced and successful trial lawyers in the State. These lawyers have worked together on some of the largest projects in the State, including a 325-mile transmission line and 1,800-acre rail yard.

A small but experienced group of Jackson Walker lawyers have devoted a majority of their careers to helping condemnors acquire the property interests they need to construct public projects. This team is led by Robert Neblett, one of the most experienced and successful trial lawyers in the State. These lawyers have worked together on some of the largest projects in Texas, including a 325-mile transmission line and 1,800-acre rail yard. As a result, within the condemnation bar, this team possesses unparalleled project management experience and skills that are absolutely necessary to insure success. Because they have a reputation as tenacious, fearless, knowledgeable, and prepared litigators, they often deliver great results before trial – by negotiating or mediating a settlement.

Land and natural resource conservation has become an increasingly important issue for Texas, and our conservation practice group is very experienced in assisting clients with a variety of conservation and resource related matters, including conservation easements, water rights, endangered species issues, mineral issues, environmental permitting, and renewable energy development.

From the beginning of projects through final completion and from the negotiation of contracts and preparation of bids to the resolution of construction disputes, Jackson Walker represents clients in all aspects of commercial and public construction projects. Our domestic and international construction and procurement law practice takes our attorneys across the United States and around the globe.

From the beginning of projects through final completion, from the negotiation of contracts and preparation of bids to the resolution of construction disputes, Jackson Walker represents clients in all aspects of commercial and public construction projects. Jackson Walker represents developers, owners (both private and public), homebuilders, commercial builders, construction managers, general contractors, subcontractors, vendors, construction lenders, architects, engineers, and sureties. The breadth of our experience enables us to represent clients with a thorough knowledge of the legal relationships among the various parties in construction projects, and provides us with sensitivity to the professional and technical capabilities and positions of the disciplines participating in completion of those projects.

The ways in which content is created, consumed, and shared continue to transform, complicating the issues and implications involved with protecting music, films, photographs, visual artwork, software, and other works of authorship. Jackson Walker attorneys help clients ranging from individuals and small startups to Fortune 500 companies navigate all types of copyright-related issues, from the identification and registration of rights to the handling and resolution of disputes.

Our Corporate & Securities Litigation practice is made up of seasoned trial attorneys who understand the way the business world works today. Our approach begins with a thorough understanding of our clients’ priorities and objectives, which enables us to provide effective representation in court as well as smart strategies to minimize litigation risk.

Today, clients are faced with unprecedented challenges as new laws and regulations are changing the way business entities, including corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships (general, limited and LLP), are selected, formed and governed. Jackson Walker has one of the preeminent corporate governance practices in the country, drawing upon the experience of our corporate, securities, governance, litigation, and compensation specialists to provide our clients with the information and analysis needed to respond to a rapidly changing regulatory environment.

The importance of data privacy and cybersecurity has been highlighted by the almost-daily news reports of data breaches.

As the information age continues, there is rising demand for reliable and secure data storage. With the number of cloud management platforms increasing throughout the world, along with the migration of data from private servers to cloud-based solutions, the data center industry continues to grow. Jackson Walker assists its clients in this industry with the complex management, infrastructure, regulatory, and compliance issues that face their business.

Jackson Walker has one of the premier Chapter 11 debtor practices in Texas. Over the last several years we have been counsel or co-counsel to debtors in some of the largest and most complex Chapter 11 cases in Texas.

Jackson Walker represents companies through the twists and turns of acquiring, distributing, protecting, marketing, and monetizing their content in the digital realm. The adage “content is king” is truer now more than ever with the advent of “new media” (or as we like to call it, “digital”). Our attorneys help assess, create, and implement winning legal solutions for clients in furtherance of their online, e-commerce, social media, digital marketing, digital distribution, and digital rights management strategies.

Avoiding discrimination and harassment claims requires three equally important actions. First, the employer must institute proper policies and procedures. Second, they must give proper training on these policies and procedures. Third, the employer should assess whether the policies and procedures are consistently followed. Our experienced employment attorneys assist employers in meeting all three of these claim-preventative objectives.

The debtor’s or trustee’s authority to “use, sell or lease, other than in the ordinary course of business, property of the estate,” is one of the most beneficial powers created under the Bankruptcy Code (11 U.S.C. 363(b)). This provision gives the debtor and creditors the power to convert some or all of the assets of the estate into cash in an expedited manner, often in a matter of only days. It also provides opportunities for interested third-parties, usually unrelated to the debtor’s case, to purchase certain assets or even the entire business of the debtor in an expedited process.

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is an essential component of every company’s business. Organizations are being held accountable to report on the diversity of their organizations as a metric for overall business health.

With increasing volumes of electronically stored information, the automation of legal processes, rapidly evolving e‐discovery case law, and the risk of judicial sanctions, employers must pay more attention than ever to the handling of electronic documents. Employers must have competent, technologically savvy counsel experienced with e‐discovery and document retention to see them through the complexities of e-discovery, the shifting legal landscape, and the technicalities required to properly retain, collect, process, and review electronic data. Jackson Walker provides what clients need.

At Jackson Walker, EB-5 stakeholders have access, within a single firm, to the full scope of legal advisory services required to navigate the complexities of the investment and compliance processes, including immigration, corporate, tax, real estate, and finance.

Election and campaign finance laws are often complex, highly regulated areas of law. Virtually every action taken to engage the political process is open to legal scrutiny. To that end, numerous statutes, regulations, and rules have been created to oversee the interactions between the public and policymakers at the local, state, and federal level.

Texas both produces and consumes more electricity than any other state, and as its population continues to grow, the need to generate more power will only intensify. At the same time, the debate over climate change and other environmental issues have often made the development of new or expanded power generation projects controversial.

We help our electric industry clients protect themselves and seize opportunities as we work close at hand with them through a wide array of energy and regulatory matters. Whether the setting is a contested case hearing room, a project finance negotiation, or a private business planning consultation, we excel at assisting clients navigate the uncharted technical and economic complexities that continue to present themselves before the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) as our markets mature and change.

Retaliation claims against employers are on the rise as new legislation providing expansive whistleblower protection has caused a surge in government investigations and retaliation and whistleblower claims by employees.

At the heart of most employment litigation cases lies an investigation that preceded the litigation. The employer’s handling of that investigation can be the difference between winning and losing the case. A properly handled investigation also helps avoid litigation by discovering and resolving potential liability before a situation spirals out of control.

Knowing what to do and what not to do as an employer is only the first step in avoiding legal liability for employee claims. Employers must then see to it that employees understand their rights and responsibilities and that procedures and protocols are consistently followed by management. Company manuals and handbooks can help.

Employment practice audits are a vital means of avoiding legal and regulatory liability that may arise from an employer’s employment policies and practices.Audits permit an employer to prepare for the future by identifying issues and preventing potential problems. In addition to minimizing risk, audits help identify practices that could be done more efficiently or cost-effectively, and they can also act as a deterrent to litigation. Should a claim be filed against the employer, proper practices audits can significantly strengthen the employer’s good faith defense argument.

Energy clients entering into acquisition, disposition, merger, reorganization, spin-off, or other change of control deals (“A&D transactions”) need sophisticated, experienced counsel to help them achieve their economic, tax, accounting, and other business objectives, avoid unforeseen pitfalls, and manage the associated risks and liabilities. Our Energy attorneys bring a wealth of experience and an efficient, multi-disciplined approach to representing our clients in A&D transactions involving either the assets of, or the equity interests in, both public and private upstream oil and gas, pipeline and midstream, electric power, and oilfield service companies.

We have long been known for our breadth and depth of experience in energy finance. Our experience with energy lending in the traditional sense includes first lien, second lien, subordinated and mezzanine credit facilities, limited or non-recourse financing mechanisms, and note and bond offerings of taxable and tax-exempt debt. In the more expansive view of energy finance, we are pleased to represent clients in matters ranging from structured debt and equity investments, joint ventures, long-term supply arrangements, hedges and derivatives, and securitizations.

Our IP attorneys understand issues facing our energy clients. Not only do we assist our energy clients with obtaining patent and trademark protection for their intellectual property, we also work closely with our energy clients in connection with licensing matters from both the licensor and licensee perspectives.

Jackson Walker is a leader in guiding operators, producers, pipeline and midstream companies and owners through the maze of local entitlements. We work with clients in identifying the land use approvals most appropriate for their projects, assisting them in obtaining those approvals from public agencies, and helping them implement cost-effective approaches to their projects. This includes advising on regulatory issues, negotiating with public officials, agency staff, and other interested parties, presenting projects at public hearings, and negotiating agreements with agencies. We are also very experienced in managing the strategy and tactics involved in contested cases in the public arena.

The oil and gas industry is complex and dynamic, and so are the disputes that may arise. We have advocated for our clients in a variety of matters covering all types of oil and gas disputes, and we pride ourselves in providing efficient and cost-effective dispute resolution resources for our clients.

Jackson Walker represents energy clients in a broad range of federal and state regulatory matters, including interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines and storage companies, LNG facilities, electric utilities, exempt wholesale generators, and Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) qualifying facilities. We represent clients in a variety of matters before the FERC, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (including the Clean Coal Power Initiative), state public utility commission (including the Texas Public Utility Commission), and the federal courts.

Jackson Walker has considerable experience guiding our clients through the challenges specifically presented by workouts and bankruptcy proceedings in the energy industry. Our team of Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Recovery attorneys has represented debtors, secured creditors, creditors’ committees, unsecured creditors, interest owners and shareholders in energy cases. Working with our Energy attorneys, we provide our clients with effective strategies designed to maximize the potential for economic recovery.

Jackson Walker’s entertainment litigation attorneys handle every type of civil dispute pertaining to the entertainment industry, enabling our broad range of entertainment clients to solve their business challenges and protect their creative works. Our attorneys take an aggressive, but strategic, approach toward the protection and enforcement of our clients’ rights – from minor disputes to precedent-setting cases.

Jackson Walker’s Entertainment, Digital, & Sports Group leverages both its years of experience and full-service resources and capabilities to provide clients with valued advice in the multiple sectors and disciplines of the entertainment and sports industries, including with respect to their digital or “new media” matters.

Our environmental law attorneys routinely assist clients with understanding complex regulations and solving challenging regulatory problems. Our attorneys are regularly in contact with state and federal regulators regarding environmental matters, and are intimately familiar with the policies and procedures of the Environmental Protection Agency and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The environmental law practice group also includes attorneys who are active in lobbying at the Texas Legislature and working with state regulatory agencies and who are able to assist clients with politically sensitive issues. We represent clients in contested hearings and assist in the preparation and filing of permit applications, closure plans, and other administrative matters. We consult on questions concerning the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and corresponding regulations, among others. We provide ongoing services to energy companies, including negotiation of consent agreements for remediation of contamination, assistance with permitting issues, evaluation of spill reporting requirements, resolution of Notices of Violation, and application of the corrective action requirements.

Our environmental attorneys take a proactive approach to compliance and enforcement, helping our clients see the big picture, both aggressively seeking to resolve current issues on the most favorable terms possible and planning for compliance issues that might arise in the future, thereby avoiding costly enforcement actions later.

In keeping with our proactive approach, we strive to address environmental, health, and safety issues before they become regulatory compliance and enforcement issues. To accomplish this, we work with clients during real estate and corporate and financing transactions and development of projects to identify potential environmental risks and liabilities. We also develop strategies to address identified issues and have experience in structuring and negotiating transactions to minimize and manage environmental liabilities.

Jackson Walker’s environmental and toxic tort litigation team provides clients with predictable, cost-efficient, and practical solutions on environmental and toxic tort litigation matters.

Jackson Walker attorneys have years of experience handling high stakes, multi-million and billion dollar employee benefit plans and ERISA litigation. Our litigation and employment attorneys work closely with our employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys to bring in-depth knowledge of employee benefits law together with attorneys who know both how to try cases and effective strategies for administration of benefit plans considering litigation risks.

Compensating and incentivizing key employees is critical to the success of many organizations. Jackson Walker employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys work directly with owners and top management of all types of organizations to design, implement and administer executive compensation programs that ensure incentive compensation is aligned with the goals and long-term success of the organization and are competitive in the market. During this process, we listen to our clients’ specific needs and goals and discuss various executive compensation alternatives, including:

The enforcement climate surrounding export control and sanctions laws is quite aggressive. The sanctions and regulations issued by the various agencies involved in this area (such as the Department of State (ITAR issues), the Department of Commerce (EAR issues) and the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC)) are not only complex but change as frequently as U.S. foreign policy changes. Jackson Walker attorneys with backgrounds in government, as in-house counsel, and in private practice work together to keep clients apprised of the latest OFAC initiatives while assuring compliance and responding to allegations of possible violations.

For over a century, Jackson Walker’s Family Office group has counseled high net worth families and individuals, tailoring our services to fit their unique legal needs. We collaborate with families and their advisors to provide business structuring advice, wealth and tax planning, and specialized asset planning. Drawing upon the experience of attorneys in a wide range of practice areas, we help family office clients realize their goals and strengthen their legacy for generations to come.

Your Family Business and Your Family’s Future

At Jackson Walker, we work with high net worth families and individuals with family-owned businesses to develop and strengthen the framework of the businesses that will secure their legacy for generations. We collaborate with family-owned business clients and their advisors to develop the best strategies possible to achieve their business objectives, taking into consideration business structure and best practices tax planning, and wealth preservation to accomplish the family’s plans for tomorrow, next year, and the next generation.

Our Texas roots run deep. Our practice would not be complete without attorneys who work to meet the challenges inherent in the ownership, management, and stewardship of Texas farms and ranches.

Fiduciaries have unique responsibilities beyond administering and managing the funds in a trust or estate. This privileged role requires that the fiduciary remain impartial and follow meticulous standards while also maintaining a positive relationship and effective communication with beneficiaries. Despite a fiduciary’s best efforts to meet these standards and discharge their duties well, the fact is that where there is significant wealth, conflict is more likely to take root.

Jackson Walker’s litigation team is among the largest in the Southwest, encompassing nearly half of the firm’s 400+ lawyers. Within that team, our Financial Institution Litigation group includes partners and associates in each of our offices who have represented a large number of financial institutions, including international financial institutions, national banks, super-regional banks, credit card issuers, savings and loan associations, money center banks, consumer lenders, and state chartered banks. We represent financial institutions directly, as agents for participated credits, and as participants.

We have deep experience in franchising and regularly represent both franchisors and franchisees, both domestically and internationally. Franchising is a method of distribution that combines the advantages of a branded, centralized system with the capital and micro-management of local independent business persons to produce a market competitor with critical mass. It can leverage a business’s success far beyond its own capital and management resources.

Our team understands the complexities of global regulation and enforcement. We have the personnel and technological ability to collect and analyze data, conduct worldwide investigations and interviews, and advise clients regarding voluntary disclosure when appropriate. Armed with an understanding of the company and its actions, we can effectively represent the company in both formal and informal investigations or enforcement actions. Our attorneys regularly advise national and multinational companies responding to allegations of anti-corruption law violations, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the United Kingdom Bribery Act.

Corporate and individual victimization includes all forms of fraud, theft and embezzlement of property, theft of trade secrets and proprietary information, collusion between vendors, contractors and marketing personnel, network intrusions, and cybersecurity matters. It is essential to have a team of experienced former federal prosecutors with similar investigative experience under their belts. Our seasoned team can quickly and discreetly detect fraud and practices which undermine a business’s reputation and productivity. Our lawyers offer advice at every stage of a matter and have successfully resolved investigations before they become public. The team’s extensive government service around the country uniquely positions them to engage directly with enforcement agencies. They can prepare prosecution packets if the client choses to report the matter to a local, state, or federal enforcement agency.

Effective state representation is about relationships and cultivating trust. The Jackson Walker Legislative team knows the key players under the dome, but more importantly, they know us. Our Legislative team’s reputation is unparalleled and the team has longstanding relationships with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, Comptroller, Agriculture Commissioner, the Railroad Commissioners, and key members of the Texas House and Senate.

Jackson Walker attorneys in the Government Contracts and Procurement group have successfully represented clients in a wide range of government contracting and procurement matters at every level – federal, state, and local. Governmental agencies are typically required to issue public solicitations for a variety of contracts. Knowledge of applicable laws, including often-complicated regulations, is critical to a client’s success in securing, maintaining, and performing government contracts.

Jackson Walker employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys regularly advise and strategize with employers on the creation, administration, and cost-containing strategies related to maintenance of health and welfare plans and programs. We advise clients on various alternatives for complying with statutory and regulatory requirements, such as those under Health Care Reform, COBRA, HIPAA, GINA, and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. We counsel clients regarding new tools and strategies available such as individual coverage health care reimbursement arrangements and ways to de-risk benefits to avoid financial statement fluctuations. We also work with clients on how to design health and welfare plans and programs that will provide the most relevant benefits to the applicable workforce or segments of the workforce in the most cost-effective way for the employer, considering the applicable legal constraints.

Jackson Walker’s seasoned Healthcare attorneys have the requisite legal experience and business acumen to counsel a diverse range of healthcare providers on the business strategies necessary to succeed in the ever-changing, highly-regulated healthcare industry. We are able to assist healthcare entities with respect to virtually every business or transactional issue encountered at any stage of an entity’s life-cycle. Not only do we understand the complex legal landscape of the healthcare industry arising from its uniquely regulated nature, we also know the nature of the healthcare market, what drives it, and how to create a successful business that serves it.

Our Healthcare and Finance attorneys working together have helped a diverse range of healthcare industry clients raise billions of dollars to facilitate their business objectives.

We assist for-profit healthcare entities in connection with equity and debt financing, including private placements and public offerings, and routinely represent healthcare entities as borrowers in bank financings. We handle healthcare tax-exempt bond financing and refinancing transactions as bond, issuer, underwriter, and hospital counsel. We also participate in taxable debt transactions as lead counsel, interpreting bond covenants and drafting and negotiating Letters of Credit and other credit enhancement devices.

Billions of dollars are lost annually due to healthcare fraud and abuse. As a result, government agencies and private payors alike have grown more aggressive in their pursuit of fraud and abuse by healthcare providers. Even other healthcare entities are taking advantage of the fraud and abuse laws in place to wreak havoc on their competition. Uprooting fraudulent practices intentionally devised to take advantage of programs and plans is of utmost importance. But the reality is many providers can become entangled in fraud and abuse allegations for what would have once been deemed simple billing errors.

Our Healthcare attorneys work closely with our renowned Legislative team to represent the interests of healthcare clients on matters pending before the Texas Legislature and various state and federal regulatory agencies. We assist clients with regulatory and legislative analysis, strategic planning, legislature and agency advocacy, and defining healthcare public policy goals.

Effective state representation is about relationships and cultivating trust. Our Legislative practice group’s reputation is unparalleled and with over a century of advocating for legislative change, the team has longstanding relationships with high-level political officials and commissioners. Our experience and the relationships we have fostered help to protect and advance the interests of our clients in their business endeavors, particularly in the rapidly changing and highly-regulated healthcare industry.

Any provision of healthcare services or supplies generally requires some form of license, certification, or accreditation from a federal, state, or local agency or a combination thereof. Some processes are simple, while others can be incredibly complex and time-consuming.

We understand the struggles our healthcare clients face in a rapidly changing and highly regulated industry. Our attorneys have decades of combined experience representing healthcare providers and practitioners in a broad range of Healthcare Litigation matters. From high-dollar qui tam battles, antitrust issues, and significant payment disputes with Medicare and Medicaid, to employee actions, partnership disputes, Managed Care litigation, administrative and regulatory cases, including licensure actions, and collection actions, Jackson Walker has the skilled litigators and industry experience to protect our clients’ interests in virtually any dispute related to the healthcare industry.

Tailoring M&A Transactions to Each Client’s Specific Needs

With one of the leading healthcare practice groups in the U.S., we act as trusted advisors to healthcare professionals challenged with adapting to an ever changing landscape. While all healthcare entities strive to provide excellence in patient service, their other business choices and goals can be many and varied. We successfully implement cutting edge integration and delivery strategies designed to meet the particular goals and objectives of each client, whether a large hospital system or a niche physician’s practice.

Healthcare real estate has evolved into an asset class of its own as healthcare reform continues the ever-increasing demand for better service and lower costs. Healthcare reform is changing not only the nature of healthcare but the landscape in which it takes place. Real estate professionals in the healthcare industry face unique issues, most notably the complex and constantly changing federal and state regulatory schemes. Such regulatory issues, along with religious and ethical considerations, can infiltrate even the simplest of transactions, requiring the guidance of counsel not only skilled in real estate transactions but experienced in the healthcare industry as well.

Companies and professionals engaged in the healthcare industry face a tangled web of state and federal laws and regulations. With Jackson Walker healthcare partners averaging over 25 years of industry experience, we help our healthcare clients understand and manage the complex laws affecting their business.

Federal healthcare programs, namely Medicare and Medicaid, are the largest purchasers of healthcare services in the U.S. Ensuring coverage and reimbursement under these programs is of critical importance to healthcare providers. At Jackson Walker, we provide sophisticated counsel to our healthcare clients on the complex coverage and reimbursement issues arising under Medicare, Medicaid, and other government health programs. Healthcare clients need attorneys with both the experience and the technical expertise to guide them successfully through the complexity of these regulatory schemes. We pride ourselves on our ability to develop creative and effective processes and solutions for our clients thanks to our thorough knowledge and understanding of these multifaceted programs and how they operate within the healthcare industry.

Jackson Walker’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Recovery attorneys have a proven track record of achieving clients’ goals and protecting their interests in the distressed healthcare industry. We represent all manner of healthcare entities, including hospitals, senior care facilities, insurance companies, medical service providers, and other healthcare industry participants seeking solutions when financially challenged.

Healthcare providers, billing companies, as well as software and technology companies that serve the healthcare industry—even Healthcare attorneys and accountants—are all subject to privacy and security requirements. The regulations under federal laws such as HIPAA and HITECH are complex and constantly evolving, as are the industry standards for what counts as a “reasonable” safeguard. Failure to comply can result in large fines, lawsuits, and business reputation damage that can be catastrophic.

Jackson Walker assists businesses of every size with employer-employee relationship issues. We excel at professional, expedient complaint resolutions, and we do it all with an eye to the fact that our clients ultimately just want to get back to what they do best—running the business.

Hospitals and healthcare systems face extraordinarily complex business issues in their endeavour to maintain the quality of patient care and the effectiveness of a competent and satisfied staff, as state and federal funding becomes harder and more costly to collect.

Whether serving as outside general counsel, structuring a multi-state, multi-entity, multimillion-dollar transaction, or advising on a single complex issue, Jackson Walker’s Healthcare practice group has the experience, skills, and resources to provide hospitals and healthcare systems with the reliable legal advice they need to bring their vision to fruition.

Industrial warehouse space is one of the most lucrative asset types in the commercial real estate landscape. In a world where commerce grows at a rate of 15% every year, industrial development and leasing is at an all-time high. Clients involved in the acquisition, leasing, or disposition of warehouse space need efficient lawyers who can handle deals quickly and cost-effectively.

The insurance industry is one of the most regulated business sectors in the country. Our long experience with the insurance industry allows us to help our clients navigate the relevant statutes, insurance department rules, and common law standards that can present challenges for insurers, brokers, and policyholders. Under the leadership of one of the founding partners of the Austin office, Fred Werkenthin, an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas and Division Chief for the Securities and Corporate section, the firm developed one of the state’s most prestigious insurance law practices, representing many large insurance companies before the Texas Department of Insurance and the Comptroller for the State of Texas. Today, our insurance clients vary from the largest writers of personal and commercial lines across the country, to individual agency owners, to policyholders seeking guidance.

Jackson Walker has been engaged in Texas politics since the early 1900s, and our involvement has continued throughout the firm’s history, with several of our partners and lobbyists regularly involved in legislative initiatives. Jackson Walker has a long history of representing insurance companies before the Texas Department of Insurance. In fact, one of the founding partners of our Austin office, Fred Werkenthin served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas and Division Chief for the Securities and Corporate section which made him a pivotal player in shaping today’s Insurance Code. We have built on this legacy in serving as trusted advisors to our clients who seek actionable advice regarding regulatory compliance. Our regulatory expertise includes a broad range of capabilities from assisting with compliance and licensing matters to drafting legislation to lobbying on behalf of insurance industry clients.

Insurers faced with coverage challenges by their policyholders need a team that can help them resolve the dispute while avoiding the risk posed by extra-contractual claims.

We are trial and appellate lawyers known for our ability to win cases. That is why insurers turn to us to defend their most complex matters that evade resolution by their internal teams. Crafting a winning litigation strategy is at the heart of our approach, but we appreciate the need to handle claims and litigation in a cost-efficient and effective manner while always bearing in mind the need to mount a vigorous defense. We work closely with claims professionals to manage claims at every stage of the process. We are experienced in managing to budget and provide timely and in-depth reports that allow litigation strategy to be continually evaluated.

While many law firms focus their representation of insurance industry clients solely on litigation, Jackson Walker serves the industry across the spectrum of our clients’ business needs. We represent all segments of the industry at every stage in their life cycle from formation forward. We serve as trusted advisors to our clients as they grow their businesses, seek funding, and complete acquisitions. Because we know the insurance industry, we are able to provide actionable and strategic advice on substantial transactions, business reorganizations, and the creation of new insurance businesses. Jackson Walker has assisted in the formation of domestic and off-shore insurance companies including the formation of captive insurance companies and agency affiliates. We have represented buyers and sellers of insurance companies, insurance brokers, managing general agencies and agencies. We counsel our clients on relations with their brokers and agents.

We have assembled an experienced group of attorneys to help clients obtain, protect and enforce intellectual property rights in the United States and abroad, as well as maximize intellectual property through various business transactions. Our clients range from Fortune 500 companies to emerging companies to universities to individuals. More specifically, the firm’s IP attorneys regularly counsel clients about patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets; practice before government agencies to secure those rights; render patentability and patent, trademark, and copyright infringement opinions; litigate to protect intellectual property; handle arbitration, mediation, and other litigation alternatives; and negotiate licenses, joint ventures, divestitures and similar business transactions to maximize the value of such property.

Jackson Walker’s Intellectual Property Litigation group is a powerful and experienced team of IP attorneys and trial lawyers who combine proven successful trial strategies, skillful advocacy, and appropriate staffing. We approach every case with the recognition that it may very well be tried before a jury, and we prepare accordingly. We are no strangers to, and in fact relish, the courtroom.

Jackson Walker’s Global Reach

Jackson Walker acts for clients engaged in a broad range of transnational activities and provides a full range of corporate, financial, and tax planning advice. Foreign and U.S. clients call upon Jackson Walker to assist in their penetration and development of markets, to provide advice, negotiation skills and connections, and to play a major role in dispute resolution through counseling, litigation, mediation, or arbitration. Jackson Walker has an established network of correspondent law firms and is a founding member of Globalaw™, a network of independent law firms located in more than 65 countries.

For companies doing business internationally, effective tax strategy can make all the difference in the world. Sound tax planning can save a global business millions of dollars while at the same time ensuring full compliance with applicable laws to avoid legal headaches down the road. Because international tax law varies widely depending on jurisdiction and is always subject to change, it is crucial to engage counsel who fully understand the tax implications of international operations.

Spanning time and industry

Our attorneys have represented clients in a wide array of industries over the years in structuring, negotiating, and documenting business transactions and arrangements around the world. Our clients include public and private corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, joint ventures, public-private partnerships, and other entities. Our services span the corporate spectrum and include mergers and acquisitions, fund formation, raising capital (private, public and governmental), reorganizations, venture capital, franchising, licensing, commercial finance, antitrust, tax, and ancillary legal matters.

Our Investigations and White Collar Defense team has considerable experience representing businesses and individuals in government investigations and enforcement actions as well as conducting internal investigations. Clients rely on us to be their trusted partners before or after the government initiates an enforcement action. Our talented team regularly advises and represents clients in healthcare fraud, government contract fraud, tax fraud, violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute, mail and wire fraud, money laundering, false statements, worksite enforcement actions, and government program fraud.

Jackson Walker’s fund formation and investment management practice is an interdisciplinary team of lawyers offering a comprehensive package of services to private equity fund sponsors and other participants in alternative investment transactions. We represent fund sponsors across the entire spectrum of asset classes, including real estate, private equity, venture, oil and gas, debt, and digital assets.

When it comes to commercial real estate investment, leasing, and management, our attorneys are particularly proficient in all aspects of the process. From assisting clients in choosing the right properties, to timely and cost-effective closings, Jackson Walker has the skill, experience, and dedication to bring our clients’ vision for the property to fruition.

Experienced appellate attorneys in Jackson Walker’s Labor and Employment section stand ready to advocate for our clients’ interests at critical junctures in trial courts, when emergency relief is needed from a court of appeals, and when clients need relief from adverse final judgments. Our appellate lawyers include many who are Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law, who have had experience as federal appellate and trial court law clerks, and who are consistently ranked in “The Best Lawyers in America.”

Jackson Walker has extensive experience representing clients in employment litigation matters in courts and before arbitrators throughout the country. Our attorneys have taken cases to trial and obtained favorable summary judgments in a wide variety of matters. Attorneys in Jackson Walker’s Litigation section and Labor and Employment section work together in employment discrimination, retaliation, and harassment cases brought by individuals under a wide variety of statutes such as Title VII, the ADEA, the ADA, the FMLA, and the Texas Labor Code. Jackson Walker attorneys also represent clients in a variety of employment disputes arising under the common law, and they have experience defending class actions and collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as employee benefits litigation.

The labor relations practice at Jackson Walker covers the spectrum of management representation in matters covered by the National Labor Relations Act and Railway Labor Act, including unfair labor practice charges and representation and compliance proceedings.

Jackson Walker’s land use and municipal law practice group – the largest in the Southwest – handles transactions from the city to the suburbs and beyond. Whether it is an urban redevelopment, industrial complex, or a brand-new neighborhood, we assist clients with securing appropriate zoning, addressing thoroughfare and circulation issues, and obtaining necessary approvals. We also help our clients devise and implement the most cost-effective approaches to their projects.

We understand the challenges and have extensive experience helping our clients resolve conflicts with state and local governmental entities. Changing ordinances, zoning conflicts and neighborhood disputes can cause major setbacks for even the most well-planned projects, leading to costly delays and expensive litigation. Even established businesses are not immune to shifting land use priorities. We have successfully represented a broad range of clients in disputes involving zoning changes, permitting, variance requests, condemnation, and other property rights concerns. Our familiarity with both the issues and the players involved in Texas land use regulation enables us to develop strategies for handling litigation in an effective and cost-efficient manner.

Our Bankruptcy team regularly represents landlords and tenants in all facets of out-of-court workouts, restructurings, and bankruptcy matters. In collaboration with our Real Estate attorneys, we counsel landlords and tenants through the challenges—and opportunities—arising from a counterparty’s financial distress. Similarly, our Bankruptcy practice group skillfully represents non-debtor contract parties to effectively and efficiently limit our clients’ risk and liability and to advance our clients’ business interests.

En Jackson Walker asesoramos a empresas multinacionales, así como a empresarios y pequeñas y medianas empresas extranjeras. Sabemos que las consideraciones legales para un extranjero al hacer negocios o realizar inversiones en los Estados Unidos son diversas y complicadas. Por este motivo, y con el propósito de brindar un mejor servicio a nuestros clientes extranjeros, contamos con abogados biculturales, y bilingües. Utilizando estas cualidades proporcionamos soluciones a la medida de sus necesidades.

While we proudly calls Texas home, we have long recognized that our clients’ demands reach far beyond Texas’ borders. Our Latin America Practice has played a key role in developing this important commercial relationship between Texas, Mexico and the rest of Latin America, and reflects Jackson Walker’s firm commitment to provide its clients a full spectrum of value-driven cross-border legal solutions.

In addition to legal counsel and litigation, we provide clients with value-added services, including:

Some firms talk the talk when it comes to the hospitality industry.

While managed care at its best helps to optimize patient care while minimizing costs, it can also create a labyrinth of regulatory and contractual issues for providers and managed care organizations (MCOs) alike. Today, virtually every government health care program or private insurance plan incorporates elements of managed care, negotiating contracts with providers to care for members at a reduced cost. Thus, for most healthcare providers, involvement in Medicare Advantage (MA) and other MCOs is a complicated necessity.

The strength of our real estate finance practice is reflected not only in our ability to close new loans, but to also assist our clients in their loan servicing needs, regardless of where we are in the real estate cycle. We represent all manner of clients with servicing needs, including institutional lenders servicing their own portfolios and CMBS Master and Special Servicers. We understand the importance of getting up to speed promptly to retake control of valuable assets, especially in times of economic uncertainty.

Having lived through the 2008 and prior crashes, we understand what it takes to maximize value on a distressed asset. Sometimes we creatively approach the guaranty non-recourse carve-outs, but we always focus on the details–whether that’s an unauthorized oil and gas lease, cell-tower lease, change in property management or control, that, while practically innocuous, can cause serious implications under the loan documents and potential recovery rights for a lender.

Our Media Law group is one of the most prominent in the country, providing a full range of services to its clients. In 2005, the Firm’s Media practice celebrated 100 years of uninterrupted service to our media clients.

Jackson Walker’s Media group is one of the most prominent in the country, providing a full range of services to its clients, including comprehensive litigation services. The Firm’s Media practice has more than 114 years of uninterrupted service to our media clients. It began in 1905 with the representation of the old Dallas Times Herald and has grown into a practice that is now national in scope.

Jackson Walker has extensive experience representing clients involved in all types of mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and other strategic alliances, with exceptional experience in private equity, healthcare, and cross-border transactions.

Our attorneys have the knowledge and experience to assist clients in the mining industry with regulatory compliance, permitting, environmental audits, cleanups, and enforcement concerns. Our attorneys are well versed in all matters pertaining to mining and hard minerals, including:

Our real estate attorneys have extensive experience in representing local, regional and national developers, investors, and home builders in all aspects of residential and multi-family development. During the last three years alone, our attorneys have been involved in apartment, condominium and/or mixed-use residential projects involving over 11,000 units, valued at over $1.2 billion.

With the changing nature of the work force and increased reliance on technology, well-drafted non-compete and non-solicitation covenants are important to protect a company’s confidential information and customer relationships. We represent clients in both the creation and enforcement of these critical covenants.

In today’s dynamic commercial real estate market, investors, owners, developers, and tenants need experienced and forward-thinking counsel. We handle every aspect of the office real estate life cycle, from acquisition and development to leasing and operations and, ultimately, disposition. We know the market and are able to anticipate changes and proactively take action. This type of big picture perspective is vital to developing the type of business acumen that makes our attorneys exceptional legal counsel and trusted advisors.

Oil and gas law and mineral rights issues permeate the Texas real estate landscape. Having advised participants in the upstream oil and gas sector for more than 130 years, we are nationally recognized as one of the top practices in energy law. Our experience spans across the Barnett, Eagle Ford, and Permian shale plays.

Oil and gas companies, large landowners, and others involved in the Texas oil and gas industry understand that the Railroad Commission of Texas is important, though it is often less clear just why it is important. The Railroad Commission regulates the oil and gas industry in Texas. Its rules, orders, and other actions affect private agreements, oil and gas interests, remedies, and other important matters. Jackson Walker helps clients understand and deal with the significance and potential consequences of the Railroad Commission’s many requirements.

In the complex world of oil and gas taxation, experience counts. While oil and gas exploration and production carries significant tax benefits, it also carries significant risks. Like the industry itself, oil and gas taxation is a volatile field, and even now, key tax incentives face substantial challenges.

Choosing a business structure is one of the most important tax decisions our clients make. Used properly, pass-through entities such as partnerships, S corps, and LLCs can provide significant tax advantages; the formation of these entities, however, requires careful planning and consideration.

While our clients range from single inventors to large companies to universities, our goal for each client is always the same: to guide our client through the maze of regulations and procedures involved in obtaining a patent, so as to secure a patent that aligns with the goals and business strategy of the client.

Physicians and professional organizations face an extremely challenging business environment. Along with the difficulties any business faces, physicians have the additional challenge of navigating healthcare related legal issues in one of the most regulated industries in America.

Jackson Walker attorneys have the business acumen, legal skill, and healthcare law experience necessary to help physicians not only remain compliant with the many regulations but also protect and promote their interests as they build business relationships and pursue a successful, profitable practice.

Jackson Walker represents clients in every stage of the chain of gathering, treating, processing, storing, and transporting oil, gas, and hydrocarbon products, including producers, marketers, and other shippers of hydrocarbons; gas processors; storage facility owners and operators; owners of crude oil and gas gathering systems; and owners of crude oil, product, and interstate and intrastate gas pipelines.

Ex Parte Reexamination, Inter Partes Review, Covered Business Method Review, and Other Post-Grant Patent Office Proceedings

It’s critical that your IP attorneys understand the America Invents Act (AIA).

Jackson Walker attorneys work with individuals, couples, and families to determine what agreements, if any, will best support a couple’s objectives while ensuring a fair and equitable distribution of assets and liabilities should the relationship be dissolved by death or by a parting of the ways. As one of only nine community property states, the classification of property in Texas as separate or community and the preparation for future property ownership are key considerations in wealth planning. Because classification of property in Texas without an agreement is determined primarily by when it is acquired – either before or after the marriage – property agreements give couples a potentially better alternative to that method of classification. A property agreement provides an opportunity for deciding together each individual’s rights and obligations during marriage and in the event of death, disability, or divorce.

Global Connections. Experience. Excellence.

Whether you’re working on small, mid-market or billion dollar transactions, Jackson Walker offers extensive experience representing hundreds of private equity firms in complex transactions in a variety of industries. We excel in serving all private equity legal needs, and our unique regional presence and global reach allow us to effectively and efficiently serve private equity clients in both domestic and cross-border transactions.

Jackson Walker’s Trusts & Estates attorneys assist and advise on a variety of probate and estate administration, trust administration, and guardianship matters.

Produced saltwater lies at the heart of all oil and gas production. As many as seven barrels of saltwater are produced for every barrel of oil and gas equivalent produced from a well in the United States. Managing and harnessing the potential of our produced saltwater resources has opened a new frontier in Texas and the global petroleum business, including the development of new oilfield recycling technologies and sustainability strategies.

Product liability lawsuits are among the most complex and potentially damaging lawsuits a company can face. Even when a case is settled or adjudicated favorably, the business can still suffer severe damage to its finances and reputation. When facing such claims, clients need seasoned litigators with extensive trial experience who can offer a sophisticated, effective, and cost-efficient product liability defense. With one of the largest litigation practices in the Southwest, that’s exactly what they will find at Jackson Walker.

Most industrial facilities and energy projects require environmental approvals or permits to be obtained prior to construction or operation. The permitting process can be complicated and challenging, as neighbors, activists and competitors may seek to use the permit process to delay, scale back, or kill a proposed project. Successful permitting requires careful planning, prudent site selection, and effective use of trained professionals.

When it comes to legal counsel, public companies must rely on seasoned experience that provides them the attention and responsiveness they deserve. But that does not mean they must turn to over-sized law firms that are not responsive to clients’ budgetary goals.

Public pension plans are the primary source of retirement income for governmental employees, including first responders, and a significant piece of these employees’ overall compensation. Jackson Walker appreciates how important these retirement benefits are to public servants and is uniquely committed to serving the legal needs of public pension plans.

The provision of infrastructure and public services in the United States is changing. As local, regional and state governments face infrastructure challenges, many are looking to public-private partnerships (P3s) as a way to access private capital and deliver projects in an efficient and effective manner. In addition, many communities are partnering with private companies that have innovative ideas to provide a broad range of public services and improve the quality of life for their citizens.

Jackson Walker’s Qualified Opportunity Zone team is among the most significant players in the country. We have been involved in Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ) and Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOF) from inception of the statute, through the planning and funding stages, even before the regulations were final. We have advised on upwards of a hundred QOZ plays—both for real estate and for operating businesses. Our QOZ lawyers are recognized as leaders by the State Bar and the legal community, with one member of our QOZ team asked to testify before the Treasury Department on QOZ proposed regulations.

An ever-changing market guarantees that the world of real estate acquisitions and dispositions presents an array of challenges and opportunities. Our attorneys guide both purchasers and sellers from start to finish, across all asset types. In the effort to provide optimal legal advice to our real estate clients, it is crucial that we know our clients, understand their goals, and their tolerance for risk. We utilize our skills and experience to ensure they are in the best position possible to achieve their objectives.

We represent individual businesses and real estate developers, as well as private equity real estate funds, REITs, pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors in the acquisition and disposition of all commercial and residential real estate asset classes.

We sit at the crossroads of what is happening in the world of real estate finance. Large and small. Local and national. Lender and borrower. Growth cycles and market downturns. We have worked them all and stand ready to bring that skill and experience to our clients. Everyone comes to the table wanting to close the deal–the trick is finding common ground between banks and borrowers, and that’s where we shine.

We are trial lawyers with non-law experience in real estate matters. As a result, we have deep insight into the unique challenges our clients face. This combination gives us the ability to help our clients conquer obstacles that stand in the way of their business goals. We have represented clients in lawsuits involving real estate before trial and appellate courts across Texas and throughout the U.S.

Jackson Walker ’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Recovery attorneys represent clients with an interest in real estate in all facets of out-of-court workouts, restructurings, and bankruptcy matters for real estate secured assets. In collaboration with our Real Estate team, we counsel clients through the challenges—and opportunities—arising from a distressed debt situation.

Churches and other organizations faced with allegations of improper conduct such as abuse or financial misconduct face a complex array of issues and concerns. Jackson Walker’s investigations and crisis response team has the comprehensive experience and deep bench to help address the exposure to litigation risk, engagement with law enforcement, personnel issues, leadership and management transitions, and communications challenges these situations pose – all at once.

We help organizations navigating crisis situations by quickly sorting relevant information and organizing facts into a message and response plan. Because of our deep trial background, we’re equipped to help our clients’ leadership and communications teams craft first-response messages that consider the needs of key audiences. And where financial misconduct is an issue, our attorneys bring their unique experience to bear in identifying, analyzing, and addressing financial misfeasance.

We guide owners, including religious organizations, through the often confusing maze of local entitlements. Our attorneys defend the rights of churches and other religious organizations across the country regarding religious land use and zoning matters.

We help clients resolve issues related to contaminated property. We work with engineers and other consultants to develop the best approach for attaining cost-effective remediation. We also have great familiarity and work extensively with regulatory authorities, which allows for effective representation regarding investigation, remediation, and closure of a contaminated property. We commonly navigate various regulatory programs of these authorities, including:

Jackson Walker’s Renewable Energy team has played a key role in the rapid growth of wind, solar, battery storage, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects across the state of Texas and throughout the country. The firm has extensive experience representing investors, lenders, developers, independent power producers, utilities, and marketers, and in the financing and sale of renewable energy projects. The firm also has extensive experience representing buyers and sellers of renewable energy, including utilities and corporate offtakers.

Jackson Walker attorneys have the knowledge, skill, and experience to handle all aspects of restaurant real estate, including acquisition, disposition, development, and leasing. We assist both owners and operators with site selection and due diligence, advise them as to the proper business entity for their needs, and help them negotiate management agreements, franchise agreements, and financing. We possess the knowledge and experience in construction and development matters to see them from their original vision to a brick and mortar reality and then secure the necessary approvals to open and operate a successful establishment.

We maintain a strong retail development and leasing practice, with project size ranging from small pad sites and neighborhood centers up to large regional malls and megastores. Our attorneys have extensive experience in retail development, including land acquisition, site selection, land use aspects, and construction issues. We also work on all facets of retail leasing, from both the landlord and the tenant perspective. We have handled leasing for “big box” retailers as well as restaurant, grocery and specialty retailers. We have particular experience in ground leasing and pad site development for developers and restaurant retailers. We are fully conversant on the issues needed for success of retail leasing, including use restrictions, signage rights, tenant exclusives, parking and access, reciprocal easement agreements, and operating covenants.

Employer-sponsored retirement plans are a fundamental benefit offering of most companies. Most of these plans are “tax-qualified,” making employers and employees eligible for favorable tax treatment of contributions made to those plans. While 401(k) plans are the most common retirement planning vehicle utilized by employers, many employers maintain other retirement plans, including traditional defined benefit plans, cash balance pension plans, profit sharing plans, employee stock ownership plans, plans for smaller employers (SEPs and SIMPLE IRAs), plans for non-profit or governmental employers (457(b) and 403(b) plans), and even collectively bargained plans.

Jackson Walker attorneys regularly represent banks, indenture trustees, servicers, private equity firms, and other non-traditional lenders as secured creditors in significant bankruptcy matters, as well as in out-of-court restructurings. These secured creditor representations include:

Our Securities Arbitration and Litigation attorneys provide practical, strategic, and efficient solutions to clients in litigation, arbitration, and regulatory and enforcement proceedings in Texas and throughout the nation. Our attorneys have taken hundreds of arbitrations and dozens of trials to a final hearing on the merits in matters ranging into the tens of millions of dollars.

Our attorneys work to provide our clients effective representation throughout all stages of securities enforcement, from inquiry to resolution. We have worked to build relationships of mutual respect with securities regulators and pride ourselves on our ability to convince the SEC either not to take action or to reduce the nature and scope of the charges. We have defended clients in investigations, enforcement proceedings, and examinations by the SEC, DOJ, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), stock exchanges, and state securities enforcement agencies. Additionally, Jackson Walker offers the guidance of several former, management-level Assistant U.S. Attorneys who supervised and tried white collar matters for almost ten years.

Revenues and occupancy levels for self-storage facilities are currently growing by double digits. Supply is trailing behind demand and many real estate investors, small and large, are looking to acquire this asset type.

Successful acquisition and disposition of self-storage properties depends on the alignment of all interested parties. Although self-storage transactions are typically simpler than other asset types, they require a thorough purchase and sale agreement, due diligence, and a cost-efficient and timely close. A skilled, experienced attorney who will avoid potential issues and minimize contention offers tremendous value to the process, particularly for investors new to the market.

As the elderly population increases, America is facing an unprecedented demand for long-term Senior Care facilities and other providers including independent living, assisted living, home health, skilled nursing, and hospice facilities. This segment of the industry has experienced tremendous investor interest, along with increased regulatory enforcement scrutiny.

Jackson Walker has been a “go-to” law firm in Texas in the oil and gas industry for more than 125 years and has been at the forefront of addressing issues related to horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing and other issues frequently encountered in developing unconventional resources such as shale gas and tight oil. This experience is not just legal, but also technical and operational, as some of our attorneys also have significant operating, field, and research and development experience. We understand the fast-paced environment in which our clients work and the important role we play in our clients’ success.

Jackson Walker provides sophisticated legal counsel and representation to developers, home builders, and investors involved in every size project from small residential neighborhoods to master planned communities and mixed-use developments. Our attorneys have the experience, resources, and connections needed to see single family residential projects from the developer’s vision to final disposition.

Guiding Korean Companies Entering the U.S. Market

Jackson Walker’s South Korea team is led by Korean-speaking attorneys who understand the culture that drives Korean values and business practices.

With the growing need for special investigations in the corporate area, Jackson Walker has combined assets from its Litigation and Corporate and Securities practice areas to formalize the firm’s traditional approach to conducting investigations for corporate fiduciaries. The new practice area is also able to call upon resources from Jackson Walker’s Labor and Employment and Healthcare regulatory practice areas. Through this multidisciplinary approach, Jackson Walker is able to conduct independent investigations with experience, discernment, and caution, and advise our own corporate clients and audit committees in the event that they find themselves conducting or otherwise involved in an independent investigation.

Jackson Walker’s sports attorneys have played an important role in shaping the sports industry. Members of our award winning team are regularly recognized by U.S. News–Best Lawyers® as some of the leading sports lawyers in the country.  We offer clients first-hand knowledge of the complex facets of the industry and a commitment to roll up our sleeves and work side by side with them to evaluate opportunities, identify potential issues, and plot strategies for the future.

Non-traditional staffing has become an important aspect of corporate strategy. Companies today demand an adaptable workforce—one that enables them to minimize costs and maximize productivity by hiring workers on a project basis rather than onboarding full-time employees. At Jackson Walker, we understand the importance of these arrangements for employers, as well as the risks.

State and local governments are focusing increased resources on audits and forensic investigations to discover non-filers and other businesses with nexus. As a Texas-based firm, we understand the specific tax issues that affect companies doing business here, and we have extensive experience helping those firms navigate the complexities of state and local tax (“SALT”) laws. We help companies minimize their exposure to tax liabilities, successfully resolve tax conflicts and qualify for incentives or exemptions for new development when available.

When it comes to the legal challenges of a Superfund site, experience is everything. At Jackson Walker, we have that experience. Our attorneys have been involved in more than 300 Superfund sites, including sites in each of the 10 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regions across the country. We represent a wide variety of potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and PRP groups in all issues related to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and analogous state laws, including enforcement actions, cost recovery and contribution cases, property transactions, permitting, and compliance.

When the IRS has questions, our tax litigators have the answers. Jackson Walker’s tax attorneys have the knowledge and experience to defend clients in any type of tax controversy. We have extensive experience representing corporate and individual clients during IRS examinations, IRS appeals, and as your advocate in trial and appellate litigation.

Our attorneys focus on the special needs of tax-exempt organizations, helping to get new organizations off to a healthy start and staying with them as they grow and develop. Our clients include some of the largest private foundations, associations, and healthcare and educational institutions in Texas. We also represent smaller organizations, individuals, public charities, religious organizations, and hospitals, as well as individuals looking to accomplish philanthropic goals.

In the initial stages of formation, we help our clients examine the organization’s likely sources of funding, type of governance, and potential activities in order to determine the most appropriate tax-exempt structure. We also work with individuals, taking time to thoroughly understand their philanthropic goals and then helping find the best way to achieve those goals, whether it be through direct giving, a donor-advised fund, creation of a private foundation, or other tax-efficient means. Although Texas has no state income tax, certain organizations may qualify for property tax exemption under very specific rules. We seek to coordinate federal and state activities to secure the most comprehensive exemption available to our clients.

Jackson Walker offers decades of experience in transactional tax and M&A planning. Our clients rely on our Tax Transactional and M&A group for tax-efficient solutions to a broad range of domestic and cross-border transactions.  We provide innovative and comprehensive advice in the following areas:

Technology drives business, and our attorneys recognize that our clients face technology-related issues on a daily basis. Whether as a provider of technology solutions or as a customer leveraging those solutions, we have the experience to address all aspects of these complex transactions. Our team has provided counsel regarding technology licensing, distribution, software and website development, trade secrets, and privacy and data security issues. We know how the market views these challenges, and we can guide you through the issues that arise.

Our IP attorneys work side-by-side with our attorneys in other groups: corporate & securities, business transactions, international law, labor and employment, public finance, regulatory & legislative, and tax. With in-depth experience in practice areas such as for-profit and nonprofit entity formation and governance, financing, mergers and acquisitions, tax, and technology transactions, and having worked with a wide range of entities, including universities, the United States government, Fortune 500 companies, emerging companies, venture capitalists, and investors, our attorneys add value by enabling us to offer our clients an integrated approach to valuing, protecting, and commercializing intellectual property.

The strength of our Telecommunications practice lies in its ability to combine exceptional trial and appellate capabilities with technical skill and an understanding of the industry. Several of the firm’s litigation partners have represented telecommunications companies since before the breakup of the AT&T Bell System. The unique perspective these attorneys contribute to the firm’s telecommunications practice benefits our clients who know that they are hiring not just skilled litigators, but skilled litigators with knowledge of the industry, its history, and its players.

Once developed primarily to reach patients in remote locations, telemedicine has quickly transformed into a complex integrated service offering greater options for patient care in our technologically-savvy, fast-paced modern world. Telemedicine has the power not only to break down geographical barriers to care access but to make the entire healthcare delivery model more convenient to all patients. However, integrating a new technology-based service in an established field that has traditionally required personal interaction, especially in a heavily regulated industry, can present significant challenges. As with most innovations, the marketplace is far ahead of the law, causing legal and policy issues and concerns. Hospitals, healthcare providers, and vendors need proactive legal counsel that can warn clients about potential pitfalls while ensuring regulatory compliance and reliable reimbursements in this burgeoning new field.

Even seemingly minor title defects can cause major headaches for buyers, sellers and owners of commercial and residential property. Title insurance is designed to address this risk by protecting the insured against financial loss from title defects, unsatisfied taxes or judgments, fraud, or the enforcement of liens against the property; however, disputes over title insurance do arise – and they can be costly.

As technology grows and changes, so does the possibility of unfair competition or trade secret theft. Jackson Walker intellectual property and labor & employment attorneys work closely together to help clients reduce the fallout from talent departures and increase the chance of success if litigation is necessary.

We handle trademarks for a wide range of companies—large and small, emerging and established, domestic and foreign. Our practice encompasses almost every industry, in both the retail and commercial markets, including consumer products, pharmaceuticals and medical technology, manufacturing, oil and gas, energy, financial services, publishing, entertainment, computers, and telecommunications.

Tax planning should never be an afterthought. Our Tax attorneys work in close partnership to ensure that every transaction is structured to maximize tax benefits while achieving the client’s business objectives. Our team approach brings efficiency to the process, while ensuring that important tax implications are never overlooked.

Our dedication to understanding and serving financially successful and high net worth families is of particular value for our clients faced with fiduciary litigation, as these controversies may arise from family disputes and involve family partnerships and other family-owned business entities. Jackson Walker Trusts & Estates attorneys regularly work with beneficiaries, executors, and trustees to help them understand their rights and duties in these roles to mitigate risk and avoid disputes. When disputes do arise, we work quickly and assiduously to resolve them before they escalate into costly litigation, by developing resolution or settlement strategies or negotiating early settlements.

As technology grows and changes, so does employer susceptibility to unfair competition or trade secret theft. Whether several employees leave for a competitor or to set up shop in the same market or a rainmaker threatens to leave with a significant book of business, having the proper protections in place can significantly reduce fallout from these departures and increase the chance of success if litigation is necessary. On the other hand, businesses accused of developing or deriving their services or methods from unlawfully obtained competitor information will have to devote significant resources to the defense of such claims—resources that can no longer be dedicated to business growth.

Jackson Walker attorneys possess the knowledge, experience, and common sense necessary to efficiently pursue recoveries for unsecured creditors. We regularly represent unsecured creditors, including subordinated debt holders, ad hoc groups, key suppliers, bondholders, institutional investors, and trade creditors, in workouts, bankruptcy proceedings, and non-bankruptcy litigation. Our combination of business insight and bankruptcy experience helps us. independently analyze the optimal approach for our client, including the benefits of cooperative alliances and joint representations in appropriate and mutually beneficial situations. We pride ourselves on our ability to counsel clients on the best individual approach and anticipated outcomes using aggressive, creative, and strategic analyses, while always keeping an eye out for the opportunities for our clients that frequently arise in distressed debt situations.

Jackson Walker has been a “go-to” law firm for participants in the upstream oil and gas sector for more than 125 years. We understand the fast-paced environment in which our clients work and the important role we play in our their success. Our attorneys possess decades of experience handling domestic and multinational exploration and production transactions involving all types of oil and gas interests, facilities, and infrastructure. This experience is not just legal, but also technical and operational, as some of our attorneys also have significant operating, field, and research and development experience. We understand the sophisticated principles involved in onshore and offshore exploration and production activities, acquisitions and dispositions, hedging and risk management, protection of intellectual property assets, and the ownership and operation of oil and gas properties, both within the United States and around the world.

There from day one.

Jackson Walker is uniquely poised to assist an entrepreneur throughout the entire lifecycle of their company–from formation and funding, to growth and exit opportunities. Our lawyers work closely with company founders and investors to bring the necessary skills, resources, and relationships to help start and grow businesses.

Wage-and-hour liability is a risk that faces employers of all sizes across all industries. Within the past decade there has been a substantial increase in wage-and-hour lawsuits in Texas and throughout the country. Jackson Walker’s employment attorneys have years of experience helping employers avoid these risks through forward-thinking advice. We also routinely defend clients against lawsuits and government investigations alleging wage-and-hour violations.
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) together with state laws establish complex rules regarding how employees must work and be paid, including minimum wage requirements and overtime entitlement. When it comes to wage-and-hour liability, an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure. Even small wage or overtime claims can quickly escalate into significant penalties and legal fees in litigation—a fact often exploited by employees as leverage in litigation.

Our attorneys provide permitting, enforcement defense, and compliance counseling for clients in the areas of municipal and industrial hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste management and disposal. Our clients range from individual landowners to large municipalities and corporations. In addition to providing a full range of services to our clients, we are involved in the legislative and rule-making actions that shape environmental law in Texas.

Water Quality

Jackson Walker’s environmental attorneys are skilled in all areas of water quality regulation and have the experience to efficiently and effectively guide clients to their goals. We help clients develop effective reuse, disposal, and pollution prevention strategies to tackle challenges before they become problems. We assist clients in their dealings with various state agencies and represent them before the TCEQ and, if contested, before the State Office of Administrative Hearings to obtain water quality permits, and we are prepared to defend those permits in state court. We are knowledgeable on all aspects of the Clean Water Act, including implementation of Section 316(b) rules for cooling water intakes, know how to avoid the pitfalls of water quality laws and regulations, and can provide practical advice and assistance to operate in compliance with those laws, regulations, and applicable permits.

The adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is particularly true when it comes to ethics and compliance in the workplace. At Jackson Walker, we work with employers to create a workplace of mutual respect that meets high ethical standards—not only to minimize the risk of costly litigation and administrative penalties, but also to improve productivity and the employer’s overall success.

The complex and sometimes conflicting obligations imposed by the relatively new and quickly evolving laws in workplace privacy and data security can be a significant challenge to employers seeking to comply with their privacy and data security obligations. With advanced background checks, the pervasive use of social media by employees, the increased ability to instantly transfer sensitive personnel information with little process or thought, and most communications taking place electronically, it is more important than ever that businesses seek experienced legal counsel regarding privacy and data protection in a technology-driven workplace.

Providing a safe and healthy workplace for employees is one of an employer’s most important responsibilities.

Workplace training is one of the most effective tools available for ensuring compliance with employment laws and minimizing the risk of litigation. In certain cases, it can serve as an affirmative defense, thus significantly limiting potential liability. Training also improves morale, management confidence, and interactions between employees. Our attorneys know the realities of litigation. We fight for employers every day, and we thoroughly know and understand the actions that can expose employers to liability. Workplace training lets us share that knowledge with our clients before those actions are taken rather than after.

Our land use and municipal law practice group – the largest in the Southwest – handles transactions from the city to the suburbs and beyond. Whether it’s an urban redevelopment or a brand-new neighborhood, we assist clients with securing appropriate zoning, addressing thoroughfare and circulation issues, and obtaining necessary approvals. We also help our clients devise and implement the most cost-effective approaches to their projects. We represent developers in all entitlement and planning matters, including zoning, variances, permits, plat/re-plat issues, abandonment, right-of-way, and deed restrictions. We are intimately familiar with the workings of the various cities and counties across the state of Texas.