Biography

Jill Smoorenburg focuses her practice on zoning and land use matters, drawing on a decade of experience as a civil engineer on large, complex energy and infrastructure projects. During two summers with Jackson Walker’s Land Use team, she prepared zoning-revision packages, researched spot-zoning precedent, and assisted due diligence for energy, environmental, and land use matters. Jill brings a practical, holistic approach to advising clients on development approvals, permitting strategy, and project delivery, informed by her experience working alongside owners, contractors, and design consultants.

Before entering law school, Jill held design, construction, and project engineering roles at a global EPC firm, where she designed structural upgrades for downstream facilities, managed utility construction, and coordinated multidisciplinary design teams on hundred-million- and multi-billion-dollar projects. Her background includes right of way acquisition and utility relocation strategy for major corridor improvements, stakeholder coordination with agencies such as TxDOT, transit authorities, and railroads, and facilitating contingency planning through Monte Carlo risk analysis.

She is also a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas and Louisiana.

Education

B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Florida

J.D., cum laude, SMU Dedman School of Law

• SMU Law Review Association, Staff Editor; CLE Editor
• Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Law Society
• Texas General Counsel Forum Forrest Smith Scholarship

Bar Admissions

Texas