Jackson Walker is pleased to announce the election of Jennifer Ferri and Erica Benites Giese to partnership on Friday, February 5, 2021.
“At Jackson Walker, we recognize that our future success lies in how well we recruit, develop, and advance our talented lawyers. Jennifer and Erica are both smart, accomplished, and hard-working individuals who have proven track records of getting results for our clients, and we are so proud to see them step into the role of partner,” Firmwide Managing Partner Wade Cooper said.
Meet Jennifer
Prior to joining the Firm, Jennifer served as in-house counsel for one of the country’s largest municipal electric utilities, where she worked closely with the utility’s power trading and regulatory departments on wholesale power transactions and utility tariff matters.
In her practice at Jackson Walker, she advises utilities, developers, investors, lenders, and large power consumers on transactions in electric power markets and state and federal electric regulatory issues. Jennifer also represents equity investors and lenders in renewable project finance transactions for wind, solar, and battery storage facilities, and large commercial and industrial users of electric power, including data centers, manufacturers and large corporate campuses.
Meghan E. Griffiths, who leads the Electric Power practice in Austin, said, “Three years ago, Jennifer joined Jackson Walker and quickly became integral to our premier and award-winning Electric Power practice. Her special strength is in handling extremely complex retail and wholesale power transactions and renewable energy project development matters, and she does it in a calm, cool, collected, and always efficient manner. I cannot wait to see the practice that she continues to develop as a partner.”
Jennifer received her J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law and her B.A., cum laude, from Williams College.
Meet Erica
Before joining Jackson Walker’s Investigations & White Collar Defense group, Erica served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Texas. In that role, she served as Chief of the Financial Litigation Unit and the San Antonio and Del Rio divisions. She also spearheaded the creation of a Suspicious Activity Report Review Team in the San Antonio and Del Rio divisions, which resulted in her gaining a wealth of knowledge in Anti-Money Laundering compliance-related issues for financial institutions.
In her practice, Erica handles civil and criminal white collar investigation and litigation matters, qui tam complaints and investigations, healthcare fraud matters, government contract fraud inquiries, bank and wire fraud investigations, and immigration worksite enforcement actions. She helps clients navigate the daunting task of responding to civil, criminal and administrative subpoenas, including Civil Investigative Demands. Erica also advises and advocates for individual and corporate victims of fraud. A Certified Fraud Examiner, she is equipped to handle all types of fraud matters and internal investigations. Since 2019, Scene in S.A. has recognized Erica as one of the “Best S.A. Lawyers” in the area of criminal defense. Erica has tried over 100 cases to Texas juries.
Regarding Erica’s election to partnership, San Antonio Managing Partner Julia W. Mann said, “Every day, Erica uses the strength and determination she developed as a federal prosecutor to serve her clients at Jackson Walker, and I am proud to welcome her to our partnership.”
Erica received her J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law, M.S. from Texas State University, and B.A. from The University of Texas at Austin.
Erica volunteers her time with the Hispanic National Bar Association as Deputy Region XII President and as a member of the Compliance and Ethics Section. She is also actively involved with the U.S. District Court Admissions Committee, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the American Bar Association’s Women’s White Collar Defense Section, and the Federal Bar Association’s San Antonio Chapter. She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.
Within the community, Erica volunteers her time as an Executive Board member for Meals on Wheels San Antonio. She and her two daughters also serve their community through the National Charity League – San Antonio Rose Chapter. In addition, as a graduate of Texas State University, Erica continues to serve her alma mater as a member of the Leadership Council of the Development Foundation.
Meet JW
Founded more than 130 years ago, Jackson Walker has played a vital role in the growth and development of Texas business. With more than 400 attorneys across seven Texas-based offices, the Firm represents Fortune 500 companies, multinational corporations, major financial institutions, insurance companies, and a wide range of public companies and private businesses around the globe. The Firm is ranked nationally in 27 practice areas in the U.S. News’ “Best Law Firms” rankings, has nine Chambers-ranked practices and 16 practice areas with Chambers-ranked attorneys, and has been recognized as a BTI Client Service A-Team since 2014.
