As the Chief of Legal Operations for Reed Smith, Jack is responsible for the operational efficiency, revenue growth and profit improvement of the firm’s Industry and Practice groups. His remit includes project pricing, hiring and evaluation of talent, business conflict resolution, revenue budgeting and financial performance, strategic planning and expense management within practices. Jack leads a team of professional practice coordinators and business managers who support the Department Chairs and Group Leaders on a day-to-day basis. Jack is also responsible for direction of the firm’s award-winning captive Alternative Legal Services Provider, Gravity Stack. In addition, he oversees the firm’s significant contingency litigation portfolio.
Before taking on his present position in 2016, Jack maintained an active commercial and class action defense practice for over 30 years with Reed Smith and Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May, a pre-eminent California trial firm that merged into Reed Smith in 2003. Jack served as Chair of the Crosby Heafey Management Committee from 1998-2002, and co-led what was called at the time “perhaps the most successful law firm merger ever.” Jack has since served in several management roles at Reed Smith, including: California Managing Partner (2003-2005); (elected) Northern California representative on Executive Committee (2006-2009); Vice Chair (2003-2012) and then Chair (2013-2014) of the Litigation Department; and Resident Senior US Partner in London (2012-2014). Jack’s breadth of knowledge of the firm’s clients, practices and partners, and his extensive personal practice experience, allow him to address partner and practice group issues with sensitivity and practicality.
In practice, Jack had substantial state and federal court experience successfully defending class actions, including especially claims concerning consumer lending products and matters alleging violation of various state unfair competition laws. He defended and prosecuted a wide variety of contract, fiduciary duty and business tort claims on behalf of commercial entities, and successfully defended business entities in multiple actions alleging fraud and alleged violation of the federal RICO statute. He is one of the few practitioners nationwide who has tried – and defensed – a RICO class action.
