Husch Blackwell taps Jamie Lawless as new Chief Executive-elect

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Husch Blackwell announced Monday the appointment of Jamie Lawless as chief executive elect. She will move into the chief executive role on February 1, 2024, as Paul Eberle leaves the firm after nearly 15 years in law firm leadership, firm officials said in a written statement.

As chief executive, Lawless will direct and oversee the overall performance, profitability, and finances of the firm, leading nearly 2,000 partners, attorneys, and business professionals. She will implement and execute the firm’s existing three-year strategic plan and play a principal role in the next strategic planning cycle, firm officials said.

Lawless will lead all of the firm’s management and administrative departments and also oversee the initiatives and strategies implemented at the business-unit level by the firm’s six business units. In 2012, Husch Blackwell moved from traditional legal practice areas and organized its delivery of legal services into six business units—Energy & Natural Resources, Financial Services & Capital Markets, Food Systems, Healthcare, Life Sciences & Education, Real Estate, and Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation, firm officials added.

Lawless has spent 25 years in the professional services industry, both in legal operations and delivering services to lawyers and law firms. She has served in various leadership roles at one of the largest law firms in the world and as a corporate executive at a Fortune 500 company. Lawless will become Husch Blackwell’s second chief executive with a business background, following Paul Eberle, whose 2018 appointment challenged long-standing legal industry practices. Eberle was the first leader of an Am Law 100 law firm who was not a lawyer by training when he assumed the chief executive position. Eberle leaves the chief executive position on January 31, 2024, according to a written statement from the firm.

“The development and implementation of those plans over the past 10 years have been the bedrock of our prosperity, and the chief executive’s role in that process cannot be overstated. We will look to Jamie’s unique combination of law firm and corporate experience to continue the momentum that Paul started to take the firm to the next level,” said Husch Blackwell Chair Catherine Hanaway.

Lawless joins Husch Blackwell from Baker McKenzie where she spent a decade  in firm leadership, most recently building and leading the firm’s new Business and Alternative Legal Services Operation in Tampa, Florida, as its first executive director. Under her leadership, she built and grew the firm’s global business and alternative legal services center to serve 74 offices in 45 countries. Lawless also oversaw the firm’s Global Administrative Services in Tampa. She previously served as the firm’s global chief of staff and as chief operating officer of the New York and Washington, D.C. offices. She was also a member of Baker McKenzie’s Global Leadership Team, Global Risk Committee, and the North America Inclusion, Equity & Diversity Committee, firm officials noted.

Lawless also spent nearly a decade developing and delivering business services and operational solutions to large law firms and Fortune 500 companies across the United States. In her role as vice president at Swiss Post Solutions, a Fortune 500 company with 8,500 employees in more than 20 countries, she led the company’s s expansion of two businesses into new markets—the western United States and mid-Atlantic regions.

“Husch Blackwell’s phenomenal culture and the firm’s relentless pursuit of excellent client experiences made it the perfect place for me to continue my commitment to serving professional teams and clients. I couldn’t be more delighted to serve as the firm’s next chief executive,” Lawless said in a written statement.

Lawless was selected from more than 1,000 applicants and went through a rigorous vetting process, the firm noted in a written statement.

“Jamie’s selection and appointment as the chief executive elect is aligned with Husch Blackwell’s strategic plan and reflective of the firm’s uncommon approach to business,” Eberle said.

“Jamie is a leader with business acumen, great listening and communications skills, and a proven ability to lead, develop and support attorneys and business professionals, and I am confident she will continue to guide the firm’s success and bring new, innovative ideas to help the firm deliver even better services to our clients. She has the Husch Blackwell mindset of people and clients first,” Eberle added.

Lawless, who is located in Tampa, will be a member of The Link, Husch Blackwell’s virtual office. She will work side-by-side with Eberle until she steps into the chief executive role.