Bio

Jackie represents businesses and individuals in connection with claims of negligence; professional liability; products liability; safety and premises liability; and commercial litigation, and in business disputes. She works largely with healthcare systems and providers, drug and device manufacturers and distributers, national retailers, and amusement device designers and manufacturers. 

Jackie, drawing on her 17 years of experience in litigation, develops a commonsense plan for each client and a highly-tailored strategy for each case. Utilizing that approach, she and her partners have had favorable outcomes including zero dollar and nuisance value settlements in products cases, summary judgments and voluntary dismissals of healthcare providers in medical malpractice lawsuits, a defense verdict for a local business owner in a breach of contract claim, and a take-nothing verdict for a manufacturer in a case alleging brain injury due to product design.  Jackie is also focused on negotiation and early resolution of claims, when it makes sense for her client in light of the parties, the facts, the venue, and the current litigation climate.  Jackie is an advocate with the experience to understand not only the law and legal trends, which are ever-changing in these times, but also to know your work and your industry as a whole, an can help you adapt your business and litigation strategy to the moment.

Jackie is also honored and proud to have been part of the pro bono team, along with Cooper & Scully Shareholder, Diana Faust, that worked on Michael Morton’s case with the New York Innocence Project for more than eight years.  Jackie began investigating the actual innocence claim and working on appellate briefings while she was a law student.  The team ultimately won DNA testing of critical evidence that eventually led to Michael’s release and exoneration and the conviction of his wife’s murderer for that crime as well as other unsolved crimes. Michael’s case also led to the first-ever incarceration of a prosecutor for hiding evidence and a change in the law governing prosecutors’ duty to disclose evidence – The Michael Morton Act. To learn more about Michael’s case, see In re Morton, 326 S.W.3d 634 (Tex.App.—Austin 2010), read Michael’s book, Getting Life, or visit the Innocence Project website at https://innocenceproject.org/cases/michael-morton/.

Jackie was born in New York and grew up in Florida.  She studied liberal arts at Southern Methodist University on a merit scholarship and attended the University of Houston Law Center while working as a clerk at Cooper & Scully in Houston.  She has practiced at Cooper & Scully in Dallas since 2005.  Jackie and her husband have three daughters and a French bulldog.  Jackie is a long-time, avid supporter of The Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center and she often presents on current legislative issues in the community and public school settings.

Admitted

Texas, 2005
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, 2006
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, 2007
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, 2008
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, 2008
 

Education

J.D., University of Houston Law Center, 2005
B.A., Southern  Methodist University, 2001