Jackson Walker LLP

/Home/Business Attorneys: Houston TX

Corporate & Securities

At Jackson Walker, we have the experience and knowledge necessary to assist our clients with virtually any type of corporate transaction. Our experience spans the spectrum from emerging business agreements to IPOs and public company representation. Our approach is to treat the needs of each client as unique and to help our clients resolve issues in the most practical and efficient manner possible. We have great trust and respect for each member of our practice group, and we carry that trust and respect into each client relationship.

Our client-centric approach is guided by the perspective we have gained by the experience of some members of our practice group as general counsel or in-house lawyers for domestic and international corporations. Our client-side experience, combined with our extensive experience as outside counsel to a wide variety of clients, has provided us with the tools necessary to deliver our clients exceptional counsel.

In the course of our practice, we routinely advise clients with:
* Entity formation and governance
* Corporate finance, including equity and preferred equity investments
* Mergers and acquisitions
* Private equity and hedge fund formation and portfolio investments
* Mezzanine debt and hybrid securities investments
* Cross-border and international transactions, including international joint ventures

Our experience enables us to assist diverse types of clients with wide-ranging needs in a variety of industries and stages of development. We represent corporations, partnerships and trusts. We represent clients that are privately held as well as those whose securities are traded on all major stock exchanges. And our clients are engaged in a broad array of industries, including:
* Energy and alternative energy production
* Health care
* Computer and technology businesses
* Telecommunications
* Insurance, finance and related services
* Restaurant and retail
* Manufacturing

Our clients can have confidence that, no matter the issue, we have the knowledge and experience to help them address it.

Spotlight Facts

JW's Corporate & Securities group includes attorneys:
* Who have practiced from coast to coast;
* Who have served as general counsel or in-house lawyers for both domestic and international corporations;
* Who have extensive experience in transactions from large complex public offerings to starting up new businesses;
* Who represent clients from large public companies to small private companies to investment funds and other nontraditional businesses; and
* Who address the needs of our clients on an individual basis, tailoring deal teams to customize representation around client preferences and priorities

Our focus on our clients has led to honors such as being listed on BTI's Honor Rolls of Best Performing Law Firms and Law Firms Best at Client Service.

Labor and Employment

Jackson Walker has extensive experience representing management in a comprehensive range of employment and labor law issues. These include, among others, counseling with management, defending employee claims, workers' compensation issues, and traditional labor relations.

Counseling with Management

Members of the section routinely provide counsel and assistance to their clients on numerous employment related issues including the following listed below:
* Employment issues relating to employee training, workforce reductions, corporate acquisitions, reorganizations, and relocations
* Appropriate discipline of employees
* Drafting and enforcement of employment contracts, including non-competition agreements
* Preparing and auditing employee handbooks and personnel policies
* Unemployment compensation claims
* Wage-hour obligations
* Workers' compensation claims
* Occupational safety and health issues
* Immigration control procedures
* Affirmative action plans and OFCCP compliance issues

Defending Employee Claims

The section members also offer to our clients expertise in mediating, arbitrating, and litigating the defense of individual and class action employee charges and suits involving a wide range of matters and issues.
* Race and sex discrimination claims
* Sexual harassment claims
* Age discrimination claims
* Disability discrimination claims
* Family and medical leave claims
* Defamation claims
* Wrongful discharge claims
* Workers' compensation retaliation
* Claims asserting violations of various other federal and state employment related and civil rights statutes

Workers' Compensation Issues

Section members, in conjunction with the firm's employee benefits attorneys, also assist employer subscribers and non-subscribers under the Texas Workers' Compensation Act.
* Review and analysis of employers' existing workers' compensation insurance arrangements
* Evaluation of legal risks associated with becoming a non-subscribing employer
* Rejection of the Texas Workers' Compensation Act
* Evaluation and implementation of employee benefit programs in lieu of workers' compensation, including design and drafting of employee benefit plans; analysis of insurance policies, safety consultants, and medical providers; and coordination with insurance advisors
* Establishment of litigation minimization procedures, such as hiring policies, safety procedures, and claims processing
* Representation of employers in claims disputes

Traditional Labor Relations

Jackson Walker's labor and employment law attorneys also provide substantial experience and expertise in management's dealings with labor unions. Their expertise encompasses such areas as those listed below:
* Union avoidance campaigns
* Union election contests
* Negotiation of collective bargaining agreements
* Arbitration of disputes arising under collective bargaining agreements
* Responding to unfair labor practice charges under the National Labor Relations Act, the Railway Labor Act, and related statutes

Employee Benefits / Executive Compensation

Section members also assist clients in a variety of matters related to ERISA, Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, including the following:
* Counseling regarding plan governance procedures and best practices designed to minimize fiduciary liability risk; and
* Assistance in dealing with compliance and administrative considerations related to plans, including matters pertaining to participants and governmental agencies.

Jackson Walker LLP
1401 McKinney St #1900
Houston TX 77010
Tel: 713 752-4200
Fax: 713 752-4221