Jackson Walker LLP - The Inside View

There’s a well-known expression about being in the right place at the right time, and for law firms in Texas, it couldn’t be more relevant. “We continue to prosper, in part, because the state of Texas is doing very well,” Jackson Walker’s managing partner Wade Cooper tells us, “that impacts a lot of things.” In fact, the old adage that ‘everything’s bigger in Texas’ applies to the state’s economy, and the firm has certainly benefitted from it. Jackson Walker’s practice spans a number of sectors that have been on the receiving end of significant investment in recent years, from real estate to domestic chip manufacturing. The firm has also been involved in national projects around improving the resilience of the national electrical grid. In fact, a fairly significant portion of the firm’s litigation work is at a national level, with past cases relating to the 2020 election, the winter storm of 2021 and natural gas. This wider focus was part of the draw for associates too: “We’re Texas only in location,” one told us, “we’re proud of it, but it doesn’t restrict the workflow, we have international clients, even an international division.”

“We’re Texas only in location. We’re proud of it, but it doesn’t restrict the workflow…”

The firm bags a number of impressive rankings in Chambers USA, including a top-tier real estate offering in Texas. It’s also recognized both nationally and in Texas for its litigation practice, and in San Antonio specifically (the location of the firm’s new base) for its corporate M&A and litigation work.

One thing that associates were quick to highlight was that, since the firm isn’t paying premium New York rental prices for its office space, “we’re unique among BigLaw firms because our rates are better.” With that comes the option of work on “some smaller matters, often for existing clients,” which provides junior associates “great opportunities for taking the lead.” Sources described “dealing directly with clients yourself, being in the court room, handling those things you wouldn’t get until later at other law firms. If you want that, then Jackson Walker is a great place to be.”

Jackson Walker is recognized as The Elite for Associate Satisfaction and two other categories in our 2025 survey.

Strategy & Future

The message from Cooper is clear: “We have continued to grow. This year, we have secured expansions in Dallas, Houston, Austin and Fort Worth, and last year we opened a new San Antonio office.In ’23, we added an entirely new practice group in public finance,” Cooper explains, a practice which has “been very busy this year, which has been gratifying to see.” Looking ahead to the next twelve months, Cooper expects that the firm will “continue to grow all of our practice areas - our ERISA and benefit practice specifically.”We also heard that the firm plans to stay true to its roots and expand within Texas. “Our firm continues to be an attractive place for laterals,” Cooper adds, “we have a rate structure that is very competitive and a cost structure that is super competitive!”

The Work

Around a third of the associates on our list were based in the Dallas HQ and another third in Houston. Of the rest, a handful were located in Austin and a couple in both Fort Worth and San Antonio. That said: “There’s a lot of collaboration between offices because our clients are all over,” shared one junior, “it’s all about working out the right person to put on the team.” Speaking of thirds, just over a third of associates are to be found in the litigation department, with corporate and real estate each taking a few, and the rest split between bankruptcy, finance, trusts & estates, energy and EBEC (employment benefits & executive compensation).

“Jackson Walker is much more relationship-based and entrepreneurial, even at the associate level.”

At Jackson Walker, associates generally seek out their own work. As one interviewee put it, “Jackson Walker is much more relationship-based and entrepreneurial, even at the associate level. I get work by talking to partners, getting to know them, and doing good work for them.” What’s more, “they also encourage bringing in work of your own. Even though I’m a litigation attorney, you can bring in work for corporate or real estate.”

Over in litigation, junior associates can work on “everything from relatively small-dollar suits to billion-dollar vet the company” matters. The department works across several industries, including aviation, construction and oil and gas. According to one associate: “Probably the three biggest areas” associates work on are “breach of contract, landlord tenant disputes” and “defamation, first amendment type cases.” There’s also some work on offer in “specific niches like energy, labor and employment or IP.” We heard that associates can “go and get work from any of the partners,” with the exception of some of the more “niche” areas like IP, where they tend to take on associates with an engineering background. “At this point, I’m enjoying the variety. I like not having to be married to one specific area or client,” one associate added, “I’ve enjoyed the complex litigations I’ve been part of so far.”

Litigation clients: Jerry Jones and Dallas Cowboys, HBO, Warner Bros. Represented Herring Networks (including the One America News Network) against defamation claims over post-Election Day coverage in 2020 brought by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic USA, the voting tech companies that were alleged to have rigged ballots in President Biden’s favor.

Jackson Walker’s corporate department works with clients from various industries, such as energy, real estate, financial services and healthcare. We heard associates might work on real estate joint ventures, M&A (“our clients are usually the acquirers”) and securities work “here and there.” Associates may also get to do some name, image and likeness work for college athletes. One source told us, “right now I’m really enjoying the real estate joint ventures, I get to do a lot of that,” and described “starting to get bigger parts of the pie as I’m getting further on.”

Corporate clients: Prophet Equity, South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics (START), Concentra. Represented Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks in the sale of a controlling interest, the largest cash deal for an NBA team.

“I feel like I’ve had the opportunity to touch every little bit of what real estate is…”

“I feel like I’ve had the opportunity to touch every little bit of what real estate is, and I think that comes with having a wide bench,” shared one interviewee, “I’ve worked on acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, I’ve done pure dirt things with improvements, retail, and construction.” For the firm’s real estate department, there are “exciting things not only in Texas but all over the nation, and international clients that are breaking into the US market, which is really cool. You wouldn’t think of those clients coming to a regional firm.” One associate highlighted how there are “people who have been practicing within Houston for 40 years,” so “our opportunities are phenomenal. Because of our reputation in the community, people want to work with us.” Deals teams are often just a partner and associate, so juniors have plenty of responsibility. “Being the first line of defense is how I like to think of it,” joked one associate, “I’ve gotten so much hands-on learning … I’m not just doing doc review all day long.”

Real estate clients: Blackstone, University of Texas System, Granite Properties. Advised Lionstone Investments on its joint venture with Hamilton Zane to purchase The Morris Class A apartment community in Nashville, TN.

Career Development

“They told me coming in that it’s a firm where they want everyone to make partner, it’s not a weed out kind of policy,” one told us. In fact, by providing training opportunities, “they really do a good job of helping you get there.” These include bringing attorneys from all offices together to do mock trials and receive feedback from partners, and business development sessions on topics like building a brand and providing good client service. “It’s never disingenuous,” explained one interviewee, “I’ve never heard of any associate up for making partner not making partner.” Associates have a partner mentor and associate mentor to “help that growth and learning.” Junior associates have an annual check-in with the practice area’s managing partner and their office manager as well as quarterly practice group meetings where “we talk about where we’re at and what we need to improve on.”

Culture

As one associate put it: “Everyone is just so real and honest and partners trust you.” When pushed on why this was, sources descried partners who were willing to “give you that support to take leaps, try new things and learn from them.” On top of that, since “they want everyone to make partner, no one is really competing against each other.” Associates did also report that there was a general recognition from the firm that the work isn’t the only thing going on in associates’ lives, almost “from orientation” it’s emphasized that “your family and community are as important or more important than what you do at the office, and you can’t neglect them.” This has translated to a culture where “no one is really looking over your shoulder. I’m comfortable here, I feel like I can be my authentic self.”

Pro Bono

Associates at Jackson Walker can dedicate up to 50 hours to pro bono each year, and “if you have a matter that takes more than that there’s a straightforward process” for approvalby going to the pro bono committee. “The firm tries to do collaborative pro bono,” said one junior, “which I think is really cool because you’re going out into the community. I enjoy the face-to-face contact.” Another interviewee described working on one pro bono project as “probably one of the most meaningful projects I’ve been on because I could see the positive effect.” The firm has “a really strong connection” to volunteer legal services in Austin and a list of opportunities is sent out “once or twice a month and its totally up for grabs. The list is forwarded to the whole firm: probate, divorce or what have you, so it’s great,” enthused one associate. There’s also the opportunity to get involved with the Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program in Washington, DC: “Everybody here is so driven and wants to be out in the community, whether that be doing non-profit work or on local boards.”

Pro bono hours

• For all US attorneys: 5,583
• Average per US attorney: 12

Hours & Compensation

Billable hours: 1,950 target

Sources described the billable hours target as “reasonable. I think most people bill between 1,800 and 2,200 depending on their year.” Associates have to bill 1,950 hours to receive a raise. Sources felt that the firm was “super understanding,” so, although missing the target means “you might not get your bonus or a raise that year, but you’re not going to get fired or anything like that.” “Some practice areas can be slower at times and they do take that into account,” one added, and consequently, “there’s an evaluation of what else that person did,” such as pro bono and business development.

“…how else are you going to get top-tier talent?”

Compensation is “lockstep for the first three years, then individualized on a sliding scale basis” beyond that. One associate commented: “I was impressed with the firm when they decided to match market for the first few years, it shows that they understand they’re in competition with top-tier firms, so how else are you going to get top-tier talent?” Extra hourly bonuses start at 2,000 hours and are “prorated the same way as the hours you work at your salary.”

Inclusion

“A lot of our partners here have kids, that was something I was super intentional about: are these partners picking up their kids form school, going to graduations, going home for dinners?” And the general consensus was, yes! More generally, the firm hosts training sessions and lunch CLEs. For Cooper: “Our goal for us is to make the lawyers’ demographics look like the state we’re in. We talk about belonging, our primary emphasis is making sure that everybody here feels like they belong and is thriving here, but we still want to look like the state we live in.” This was reflected in our associate interviews, where one junior told us, “I’ve always felt very included and like I don’t have to be a different version of myself” at work.

Get Hired 

The first stage: recruitment on and off campus   

2L OCI applicants interviewed:  51 

2L Interviewees outside OCI:  35  

“Since Jackson Walker is the largest firm in Texas, we focus our recruiting on top law students who are interested in practicing in the Texas market,” Jackson Walker's firm-wide hiring partner Jonathan Neerman told us. “We participate in OCIs for law schools in Texas and outside of Texas, diversity job fairs and resume drops.” 

On-Campus Interviews (OCIs) are conducted by attorneys in practice areas that have a summer associate hiring need. During the OCI interview, JW interviewers aim to “learn more about the candidate’s background and experience” in order to determine whether what they are looking for in a firm “is consistent with what JW offers.”   

Top tips for this stage:   

“The interviewer and I really hit it off. It was already a laid-back and relaxed atmosphere.” – a junior associate

“Learn about our firm and the interviewers in advance of the interview so you can ask informed questions that demonstrate your interest in our firm.” – Jonathan Neerman, firm-wide hiring partner 

Callbacks   

2L Applicants invited to second stage interview: 28  

Candidates who stand out during OCI are invited back for an interview with partners and associates in the office. This usually includes six-to-eight attorneys from the practice areas that the candidate has expressed an interest in. During the callback interview, the focus is on assessing “whether the candidate possesses the core qualities that JW finds lead to success at our firm.” These qualities include “a strong work ethic, leadership capabilities, a strong academic record and self-motivation.” Candidates should again arrive “prepared to ask questions and provide answers that show particular interest in the firm and the interviewers,” with a focus on career longevity. 

Top tips for this stage:   

“The candidate should exhibit self-confidence without arrogance.” – Neerman 

Summer program   

2L Offers:  19 

2L Acceptances:  16  

Jackson Walker’s summer program lasts nine weeks. Over the course of the program, summer associates receive projects within their assigned practice areas and attend client meetings, closings, negotiations, depositions, trials, and courtroom hearings. If a summer associate indicates a strong interest in multiple practice areas, JW will provide the opportunity to work on projects within the indicated practice areas over the course of the summer program. “In addition to substantive work assignments, summer associates will have the opportunity to participate in a mock trial or hearing based on an active case, or a mediation seminar," we heard.   

During the summer program, the firm is aware of which practice groups want to hire a first-year attorney. The summer associates who have expressed an interest in those practice areas will get work assignments from those practice areas: “At the end of the summer, those practice areas will give a practice group specific offer to 2L summer associates.” Neerman advises summers to “produce excellent work product and take a genuine interest in coming to know as many attorneys in the office as possible.”   

Notable summer events: volunteer events, client visits, partner events, associates' night out, cooking classes, fitness activities, sporting events, concerts, and informal gatherings.   

Top tips for this stage:   

“Be confident, engage with the attorneys and staff, express genuine interest in the firm and produce excellent work.” – Neerman

“They also have a lot of meetings to generate feedback about different summers and interactions they’ve had. Those are taken seriously in terms of if someone is a good culture fit for the firm – they really do look at that. If someone has good grades and good work but we thought they didn’t fit in culturally, we’d be hesitant about hiring that person.” – a junior associate

“I have high hopes for Jackson Walker. I don’t anticipate leaving or making a move; I’d like to stay here my whole career.” – a junior associate