Biography
Bethany Pickett Shah is an associate in the litigation section of Jackson Walker’s Houston office. Bethany has represented media companies, energy conglomerates, healthcare providers, and tech companies in a wide array of civil litigation and investigations.
An experienced trial and appellate litigator, Bethany has tried four federal jury trials to verdict and presented oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Prior to joining the firm, Bethany served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas, representing the United States in criminal prosecutions and complex civil litigation. Before becoming a federal prosecutor, Bethany worked at the White House as Deputy Associate Counsel to the President and at the Department of Justice as a Counsel in the Civil Rights Division and in the Office of Legal Policy. During her tenure in public service, Bethany worked on the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, as well as over 100 other federal judges across the country. She additionally counseled the White House and federal agencies on high-profile legal issues.
After law school, Bethany served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edith H. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Education
B.A., magna cum laude, The King’s College
J.D., cum laude, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
- Northwestern University Law Review, Notes Editor
- Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Editor
Bar Admissions
Texas
Court Admissions
United States Supreme Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States District Court for the Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western District of Texas
- U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas Dedicated Service Award, 2021
- Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for her work at the U.S. Department of Justice, 2019
- Co-Author, “US Supreme Court to Decide Whether the Government Can Prove Knowledge When the Defendant’s Regulatory Interpretation Is “Objectively Reasonable”,” Jackson Walker Insights (January 2023)
- Co-Author, “DOJ Officials Announce New Priorities to Combat Corporate Crime with Additional Details Provided at Government Enforcement Conference in Dallas,” Jackson Walker Insights (September 2022)
- Trustee, The King’s College
- Appointed by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to serve on the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel
- Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies
June 2, 2023
InsightsFor False Claims Act Cases, SCOTUS Says Courts Should Look at What Defendants Subjectively Knew at Time of Offense
The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced its ruling in United States Ex Rel Schutte v. SuperValu Inc., a case that will impact how corporations will defend themselves in False Claims Act (“FCA”) litigation. In a win for the government, the Court held that the knowledge element of the FCA concerns what a defendant knew at the time it submitted a claim, not what someone could have objectively known after-the-fact.
January 24, 2023
InsightsUS Supreme Court to Decide Whether the Government Can Prove Knowledge When the Defendant’s Regulatory Interpretation Is “Objectively Reasonable”
The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in a pair of cases out of the Seventh Circuit that will finally resolve a longstanding circuit split on the question of “scienter” under the False Claims Act (FCA)—namely, whether a defendant can “knowingly” violate the FCA if the relevant legal requirement is ambiguous and the defendant’s conduct is otherwise “objectively reasonable.”
By Jennifer Freel, Laura M. Kidd Cordova, & Bethany Pickett Shah
September 22, 2022
InsightsDOJ Officials Announce New Priorities to Combat Corporate Crime with Additional Details Provided at Government Enforcement Conference in Dallas
By Jennifer Freel, Erica Giese, and Bethany R. Pickett
On September 15, 2022, Deputy Attorney General Lisa A. Monaco outlined new steps the Department of Justice will be taking in its ongoing efforts to police corporate crime. The next day, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller discussed the new policy at the University of Texas School of Law’s Government Enforcement Institute—a two-day conference held in Dallas, Texas. This article covers key areas Department of Justice officials will focus their efforts in the coming months.
October 5, 2021
NewslettersJW Diversity & Inclusion Newsletter – October 2021
View Jackson Walker’s October 2021 Diversity & Inclusion Newsletter, Perspectives.