⁠⁠In this episode of Jackson Walker Fast Takes, host ⁠Courtney White⁠ welcomes Litigation senior counsel Fred Sultan for a conversation about his eminent domain practice and involvement with the LGBTQ+ Bar Association.

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Our Host:		Episode Guest:
Courtney White Research Attorney, Dallas & Houston Follow on LinkedIn » Instagram: @courthousecouture		Fred Sultan Litigation Senior Counsel, Austin Follow on LinkedIn »

Episode Transcription

Courtney White: Hi everyone, I’m Courtney White, and this is Jackson Walker Fast Takes. Jackson Walker deeply values various cultures and cultural experiences, and Jackson Walker is extremely proud of our LGBTQIA+ attorneys and allied professionals who have provided leadership and helped shape our firm into what it is today. I asked my colleague, Fred Sultan, Senior Counsel in Litigation on the Eminent Domain team in our Austin office, to join this episode.

Fred, welcome to the podcast.

Fred Sultan: Courtney, thank you so much for having me here.

Courtney White: Fred, will you please share your story with us and how you ended up at Jackson Walker?

Fred Sultan: Sure, I’d love to. Let’s see, let’s go all the way back to the beginning. I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. I managed to come to Austin for law school, fell in love with it, and never left. I clerked for a court here, worked with a couple of firms here, and then went in-house with an entity that happens to be a client of the firm.

Courtney White: Very cool. Very cool.

Fred Sultan: Yeah, it’s how I got introduced to our Eminent Domain team. I’ve been doing a wide variety of commercial litigation throughout my career, but in this last stint, I focused really heavily on eminent domain, got to know the team here, and they asked me to join them when I came back to work.

Courtney White: That is amazing. Now, I understand you have some other very significant leadership within the legal community. Could you tell us about that as well?

Fred Sultan: Sure. I am president of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association.

Now, I didn’t start there. I started locally. I co-founded the Austin LGBTQ+ Bar Association, which is now the LGBTQ+ Law Section of the Austin Bar Association. I made a lot of friends and connections there. Ultimately, that led to me working for the council of the State Bar of Texas LGBTQ+ Law Section. And through that, I made connections at the national level and am now, after having served for multiple years on the board of directors, serving as president of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. It’s been a fun journey.

Courtney White: That is amazing. And I’d love just to hear a little bit more about your practice and the great team of people on the Eminent Domain team with you.

Fred Sultan: Absolutely. You know, I’ve worked with this group now, not only for the three years that I’ve been at the firm, but, as I mentioned, in my prior practice, I worked with them as a client. So it was really kind of a protracted job interview. I loved working with the team, and apparently they loved me enough to ask me to come join them. And it’s really been a match made in heaven.

I also knew a number of folks at Jackson Walker through my long years of practice in Austin. It was really a welcoming experience coming here. It was really like coming home. All of them knew about my involvement in my various bar activities, and the firm’s been very encouraging of it. And so that’s been something that I’ve really appreciated coming to Jackson Walker.

Courtney White: Well, Fred, we are so happy to have you here. You’re definitely an asset to the Austin office, and I want to thank you so much for coming to share your story today during Pride Month.

Fred Sultan: Thank you so much for having me, Courtney.

Courtney White: And for more information and additional JW Fast Takes, podcasts, and webinars, please visit JW.com/fast.

The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the firm, its clients, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

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