Jackson Walker LLP

Practice areas and the work behind them

This is a full-service law firm based in Texas, with work spread across business practice and litigation. The published practice list runs wide. It covers corporate and securities, real estate, trial and appellate litigation, bankruptcy and restructuring, labor and employment, intellectual property, tax, and healthcare.

Several areas carry more detail on the firm's site. These include business litigation, healthcare mergers and acquisitions, healthcare regulatory compliance, intellectual property litigation, and discrimination and harassment claims. The firm also lists environment and natural resources, trusts and estates, business immigration, insurance, construction, and energy work. In my opinion, the added detail on healthcare work marks that sector as a real focus for the firm.

Six offices across Texas

Jackson Walker runs six offices in the state: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Angelo, and San Antonio.Dallas is larger than the firm’s other offices. The Austin office is the one tied to this listing.

The offices hold practice groups that cover corporate transactions, financial and estate planning, litigation, and regulatory work. The firm says it serves clients in Texas and abroad, and it takes part in the Globalaw network to reach clients in other countries. Globalaw is a network of independent law firms, so membership gives Jackson Walker a referral route to counsel abroad while it stays a Texas firm.

Five of the six offices are in Texas's larger metros, and San Angelo reaches West Texas. For a client, that footprint means a nearby office in several parts of the state and one firm coordinating matters that touch more than one city.

How the team is built

The firm states it has more than 500 lawyers. The people page names each attorney with a position and a home office, which lets a reader see where the seniority falls before making a first call.

Partners named on the site include Ali Abazari, Alisha Mehta Adams, Juan M. Alcala, and Stacy Allen in Austin, Allison Allman in Fort Worth, Samuel S. Allen in San Angelo, and Vienna Flores Anaya in Dallas. The associates listed include Madison Alexander, Adrian Allen, and Erik M. Allison in Dallas, and Kishana Ambe in Houston. Jim Alsup appears as a retired partner in Austin. As a reviewer, I read that mix of partners, associates, and a retired partner as a sign the firm keeps a visible, multi-level bench.

A roster that names both partners and associates points to matters staffed at more than one billing level, which is typical at large firms. The named attorneys work across four of the six cities, so the roster spans several of the firm's offices.

A long run in one state

The firm says it has practiced law in Texas for more than 135 years. The site does not list a founding year, so the exact start date stays open. A record of that length puts the firm inside one state's courts and business community across several generations.

A firm that has worked in one state for that long has usually adapted its practice mix as the state's economy changed. The current list leans toward healthcare, business, and intellectual property, which lines up with where much of the state's corporate work now runs.

How these matters usually proceed

The named practice areas move through fairly set stages, which helps set expectations for a first meeting. Healthcare mergers and acquisitions work generally starts with due diligence on the target, then moves to purchase agreements and regulatory clearance before a deal closes. Healthcare regulatory compliance work tracks federal and state rules on billing, licensing, and patient privacy.

Business litigation follows the civil court path: pleadings, discovery, motions, and, in matters that reach trial, a possible appeal. Intellectual property covers patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, and the litigation group handles disputes when those rights are challenged. Bankruptcy and restructuring runs through the federal bankruptcy courts, where a debtor, the creditors, and the court all weigh in on a plan.

Tax work splits between planning, where lawyers structure deals to manage liability, and controversy, where they respond to audits and disputes with tax authorities. Real estate work covers purchases, leasing, development, and financing, and it often overlaps with the tax and corporate groups.

Where the practice areas connect

Labor and employment work covers hiring policies, workplace investigations, and defense of claims once they reach an agency or a court. Discrimination and harassment claims usually start with a charge before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the state agency before any court filing. Where a charge moves past the agency stage, it can proceed to federal or state court, and the litigation and employment groups handle that step together.

A full-service firm of this size lets a company keep related matters under one roof. A single client might use the corporate group for a purchase, the real estate group for the property, the tax group for the structure, and the litigation group if a dispute follows. In my opinion, a firm that lists both the deal side and the dispute side of healthcare and business law can stay with a client if a transaction later turns into a claim.

The people page ties each of these areas back to named attorneys, each with a listed position and city.