Jackson Walker LLP is pleased to welcome four lateral partners across its Texas-based offices. Meghan Griffiths has joined the firm in Austin, along with Jay Dewald and Michele Schwartz in Dallas, and Michael Shaw in Houston. All four partners come from Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP.
Meghan Griffiths is an energy lawyer, predominantly serving clients in the Texas power markets. She advises on regulatory matters, litigation, and commercial transactions. Her clients span all sectors of the power industry, including owners of conventional and renewable generation, electric utilities, utility investors, retail electric providers, and large consumers. On litigation matters, she represents clients in energy disputes, acting as lead counsel in contested cases and administrative appeals involving the Public Utility Commission of Texas and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
“We are excited for this great addition to our growing office,” said Austin managing partner Matt Dow. “Meghan’s experience will be invaluable in helping our clients in the power sector navigate the complex regulatory landscape in Texas.”
Jay Dewald joins Jackson Walker to start the firm’s white collar practice. Jay brings a wide range of experience leading federal grand jury investigations. He spent many years at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he developed significant capabilities in the areas of health care fraud, securities fraud, organized crime, money laundering, and corruption. Jay’s passion for courtroom advocacy is the foundation of his practice. In 13 years of criminal prosecution, Jay tried over 130 jury trials in both federal and state court.
“Jay is recognized as a premier white collar lawyer and we are excited about the capabilities he brings to our new practice. His extensive knowledge and experience will greatly enhance our special investigations and health care fraud practices,” said Retta Miller, head of Jackson Walker’s Litigation team. “In his role as a Deputy Criminal Chief in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, Jay prosecuted many high-profile cases.”
Michele Schwartz focuses her practice on intellectual property, with an emphasis on copyright, trademarks, trade dress, advertising, rights of publicity, unfair competition, and domain names. She counsels companies affected by mergers, acquisitions, asset and stock purchases, and creditor/debtor insolvency. In these transactions, Michele also licenses and securitizes the intellectual property involved.
“Michele has impressive experience in intellectual property law. She has developed a solid reputation amongst her clients and peers. We are thrilled for her to join us. She will add significantly to our deep bench in Dallas,” said Raman Dewan, head of the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group.
Michael Shaw is focused on real estate, finance, and energy matters. His real estate practice includes the representation of preferred equity providers, developers of all types of commercial properties, the representation of buyers and sellers in the acquisition and disposition of raw land and income producing properties, and the representation of landlords and tenants in commercial leases including build-to-suit leases, office leases and retail leases. His finance and banking experience includes the representation of both lending institutions and borrowers in commercial financing transactions. This includes syndicated and structured finance transactions as well as the negotiation and preparation of financing documents for real estate acquisition, construction, and permanent loans.
Houston office managing partner Kurt Nondorf stated that “the addition of a lawyer as esteemed as Michael, coupled with his deep roots in the Houston community, really adds to the already strong real estate practice and further evidences Jackson Walker’s strong commitment to serving our clients here in Houston and across the U.S. market.”
“It’s been an exciting year for Jackson Walker. We have welcomed an accomplished pool of laterals across the state, all of whom are valuable additions to the firm that bring notable skills and knowledge that ultimately benefit our clients,” said Wade Cooper, Firmwide Managing Partner.
