Jackson Walker

Jackson Walker is the largest firm contained completely in Texas. The firm has more than 450 attorneys practicing in a broad range of practice areas in seven offices across the Lone Star State: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San Angelo, San Antonio, and Texarkana. Jackson Walker represents 6 of the Fortune 10, 38 of the Fortune 100, and 124 of the Fortune 500. Internationally, attorneys have represented clients in more than 85 countries and territories, and the firm is a founding member of Globalaw, a worldwide network of law firms with offices throughout the U.S. and in more than 58 countries worldwide.

Big Dallas Beginnings

Jackson Walker was established in 1887 when former schoolteacher W.J.J. Smith started his practice in Dallas. In the 1890s brothers John and George Robertson, came to Dallas and entered into a partnership with Smith. In the early days, the firm then known as Smith, Robertson & Robertson helped to form The Dallas Times Herald, the Dallas County Gas Company, and railroads, insurance companies, and other businesses that emerged as the city became a commercial hub. Both of the current name partners joined the firm in 1948. J. Paul Jackson was an experienced oil and gas and tax attorney who argued several times before the Supreme Court during his career. A.W. "Jess" Walker, Jr. was a law professor at the University of Texas School of Law for 23 years and was known as the father of Texas oil and gas law. The firm became known as Robertson, Jackson, Payne, Lancaster and Walker before changing to Jackson & Walker LLP in 1988 and current name today Jackson Walker LLP.

Wide Ranging

With dozens of practices across, Jackson Walker is a multi-faceted force whose reach goes way beyond the Lone Star State. Among its focuses are bankruptcy, cybersecurity and privacy, energy, environmental law, finance and banking, health care, IP, international law, labor and employment, land use, real estate, regulatory law, tax, wealth planning, and white collar. The firm is particularly well known for its energy work and has been recognized by the likes of Chambers, U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms,” and The Best Lawyers in America. Another significant area at the firm is its health care practice through which the firm takes a multi-disciplinary approach—lawyers from the firm’s Bankruptcy, Finance, Government Affairs, Corporate, Labor & Employment, Real Estate, and Tax groups join together to address health care clients’ complex needs.

JW2

For more than a decade, Jackson Walker has been home to an active women’s initiative called JW2. Among the program’s goals is to help women lawyers at the firm build successful careers and develop strong networks. The firm hosts networking events like lunches, community service events, and more. It prioritizes retention through alternative work schedules—which are actually embraced and not mere lip service. And the firm is one of just over 30 firms that participates in the OnRamp Fellowship.

COVID-19 Update

Jackson Walker has had the opportunity to innovate in light of the coronavirus pandemic. By creating virtual summer programming and virtual events to replace traditional on-campus events, we have been able to continue actively recruiting 1L and 2L candidates for next summer. Lateral recruiting has also continued at a steady pace where we have been able to find new talent for practice groups with increased needs due to COVID.