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Staying Connected

While we miss having you as part of the Jackson Walker team, we look forward to staying connected through our biannual Alumni Newsletter and our Jackson Walker Attorney Alumni group on LinkedIn. In this newsletter, we spotlight former JW attorneys, review pro bono opportunities and success stories, share the latest news, insights, and events from around JW, and provide helpful resources like free CLE programs.

Share Your News

Have you received an award, participated in community organizations, or been hired or promoted? We want to hear about anything new and noteworthy happening to our alumni. To share your news, you can fill out this form.

|  ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

From Searching for MC Hammer to Tackling Intergenerational Poverty

Randy Bowman, former Dallas associate (1989-1992), is the founder and CEO of AT LAST!—The Urban Boarding Experience (“AL!”). Recently, Randy shared what he has been up to in recent years, his experience at Jackson Walker, and what lies ahead for his career. View the Q&A »

|  KEY INSIGHTS

5th Circ Ruling Reminds Attys That CBP Can Search Devices

By Jennifer Freel | The Fifth Circuit held that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not violate an attorney’s rights when it seized his cell phone at the border and held it for almost five months.

Benefits Planning for Year End and 2024

By Greta Cowart | This article covers updates to consider regarding retirement plans, health plan changes, and more.

Department of Labor Proposes Expanding Overtime Eligibility

By David Schlottman and Michael Drab | The Department of Labor issued a proposed regulation that would raise the minimum salary required to invoke the commonly used “white-collar” exemptions to overtime. The comment period closed on November 7, 2023. Follow Jackson Walker for potential updates on this topic.

White Collar Docket Check: US Supreme Court Cases This Term

By Jennifer Freel, Michael Murtha, and Mark Mariani | The U.S. Supreme Court is set to address issues concerning: the interplay between SEC administrative proceedings and the right to a jury trial; the amount of authority Congress can permissibly delegate to the SEC; who bears the burden of proof on the issue of retaliatory intent in adverse employment actions concerning whistleblowers; and the scope of due process for post-seizure probable cause hearings.

Texas Medical Debt Billing Reforms Under S.B. 490

By Jeffrey Frost | Physicians, hospitals, and healthcare providers: have you updated your billing practices?

|  FIRM HIGHLIGHTS

Jackson Walker Welcomes New Partners

The firm proudly welcomed the following partners since May 2023:

Mike Bernick Houston Litigation View LinkedIn »	Jeff Grable Fort Worth Litigation View LinkedIn »
Jim Nye Houston Litigation View LinkedIn »	Dan Smith Dallas Intellectual Property View LinkedIn »
Hugh Tanner Houston Litigation View LinkedIn »

Client Results

• Marc Fuller and Maggie Burreson filed an amicus brief in Little v. Llano County, which involves a First Amendment challenge to Llano County’s removal of books from public library shelves. The amicus group includes the American Association of Publishers; the five largest book publishing companies in the U.S.; an independent book publisher; and Scholastic, Inc. Read more »
• Michael Kuhn represented Brookfield Properties in finalizing a lease agreement with Houston-based NRG Energy to relocate its headquarters to the newly redeveloped 3 Houston Center by January 2026. Read more »
• New York-based Foundation for Affordable Rental Housing Holdings Inc. (d/b/a Harmony Housing) sold a national portfolio of 121 affordable housing projects for approximately $1.36 billion – the largest transaction in Harmony Housing’s history. David Parker led a team including Taylor Lamb, Elizabeth Cone, Mahira Khan, Maggie Lu, Abigail Hogan, Tim Dominguez, Clinton Kuykendall, and Caroline Capili. Read more »
• Jackson Walker advised Henry Energy LP and Henry Resources LLC in the sale of Henry’s Midland and Delaware basin assets to Vital Energy, Inc. The team was led by Joe Flack, with Mike Laussade as securities counsel, and included Mike Pearson, Courtney Wade, Heather Waters, Graeme Hawkins, Ann Leafstedt, Aaron Pinegar, and Brian Dethrow. Read more »
• Jackson Walker represented Grupo Cuprum, the largest aluminum extruder in Latin America, in the closure of a new $280 million syndicated loan. The team included Carlos Treviño, Jimmy McDonough, and Art Cavazos. Read more »
• Jackson Walker secured a major appellate victory for the Hidalgo County Water Improvement District (HCWID) No. 3 in an important eminent domain and immunity dispute before the Supreme Court of Texas. The team included Jennifer Caughey, Brad Anderson, and Danica Milios. Read more »
• Sarah Patel Pacheco and Josh Flores represented Leslie Bean and the estate of her late husband, NASA astronaut Alan Bean, in a Harris County probate matter. In July 2023, the Texas Supreme Court denied the petition for review. Read more »
• Jennifer Caughey and Bob Latham secured a Fifth Circuit win in Loeb v. Mako, L.L.C. d/b/a Padua Realty Company, which sets critical precedent as to licensing, contracts, and copyright law. The team also included Justin Lee and Maggie Burreson. Read more »
• Jackson Walker represented Wincoram Asset Management, LLC in the acquisition of PureWest Energy, LLC, a leading Rocky Mountain independent natural gas producer. The team was led by Joe Flack and included Courtney Wade, Jonathan Judkowitz, Heather Waters, and Graeme Hawkins. Read more »

Debuting Our New Space at 1900 Broadway in San Antonio

Our San Antonio offices are now located at The Jefferson Building at 1900 Broadway, located north of downtown San Antonio in the Pearl District. Read more »

Jackson Walker Earns 159 Best Law Firms® Rankings

In the 2024 edition of Best Law Firms, Jackson Walker observed notable improvements in the national rankings, including the rise of Appellate Practice to Tier 1, Banking and Finance Law and Litigation – Labor and Employment to Tier 2, and the addition of Energy Law and Environmental Law in Tier 3. The firm also saw the advancement of 29 practice areas in the metro rankings. Read more »

Other Recent News

• Jackson Walker was named a 2023 Top Performer by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), one of the nation’s leading organizations promoting diversity. In addition, the firm recently achieved 2022-2023 Mansfield Rule Certification. Read more »
• Our Trial & Appellate Litigation team was recognized by BTI Consulting Group in its “Most Feared in Litigation” list of the top firms that challenge conventions, take on thorny issues, share early assessments with clients, surmount obstacles, and link unconnected ideas. Read more »
• Chris Rourk was appointed to serve on the External Advisory Board of the University of Florida (UF) Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE). Read more »
• Christian Triantaphyllis was named to the EB5 Investors list of “Top 25 Immigration Attorneys” for the sixth consecutive year. Read more »
• Thirteen Jackson Walker attorneys were named to the “Lawdragon 500 Corporate Employment Lawyers” for 2023. See who made the list »

|  FIRM RESOURCES

JW Careers

Our JW Recruiting team has posted several openings across the firm. You can visit our Lateral Attorneys page for a look at open positions. Also, please feel free to share opportunities with your networks.

Diversity & Inclusion

Visit our Diversity & Inclusion website. For our quarterly news, see our Diversity & Inclusion Newsletter, Perspectives.

USA Business Digest

The USA Business Digest is a monthly newsletter by Manny Schoenhuber covers legal insights for European companies and investors in the United States.

Fast Takes Podcasts

On each episode of our Fast Takes podcasts, JW attorneys discuss quick, actionable takeaways to help you and your business navigate today’s complex, interconnected landscape.

Future-Ready Business Podcast

FRB discusses emerging topics that are quickly affecting everyone, like AI, automation and advanced robotics, cryptocurrency and blockchain, the metaverse, and the continually-evolving tech startup scene.

These materials are made available by Jackson Walker for informational purposes only, do not constitute legal advice, and are not a substitute for legal advice from qualified counsel. The laws of other states and nations may be entirely different from what is described. Your use of these materials does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Jackson Walker. The facts and results of each case will vary, and no particular result can be guaranteed.

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