Jones Day partners Jordan Matthews and Jihan Walker named to Crain’s Chicago Business' Notable Black Leaders list
Jones Day partners Jordan Matthews and Jihan Walker have been named to Crain's Chicago Business' 2024 Notable Black Leaders list. The list honors the top Black leaders in Chicago who have demonstrated excellence, leadership, and have positively impacted both their profession and the community.
Ms. Matthews is an experienced trial lawyer in the Investigations & White Collar Practice and a former federal prosecutor who guides her clients through internal and government investigations and high-stakes civil and criminal litigation. She recently was part of the litigation team that helped secure a dismissal of a lawsuit filed against the former athletic director of Northwestern University. She co-leads the Firm's Hate Crimes Task Force and serves on the Firmwide Diversity Committee. Regionally, Ms. Matthews is on the Board of After School Matters, Legal Action Chicago, and the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. She also co-chairs the Chicago Chapter of the Women's White Collar Defense Association and is an active member of the Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago.
Ms. Walker is a skilled trial attorney in the Business & Tort Litigation Practice focused on the defense of individual and class action product liability lawsuits. She is involved in all stages of litigation including taking and defending expert and fact depositions, motions practice, and cross-examining fact and expert witnesses at trial. She recently was part of the trial team that successfully secured a complete defense verdict in the first-ever smoking and health lawsuit tried in Chicago, Illinois. Earlier in her career, she served as a trial and appellate attorney in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps which included successfully representing the government in the high-profile case United States v. Bergdahl before federal appellate courts in interlocutory appeals and numerous extraordinary writs under the All Writs Act. Regionally, she serves on the board of the Chicago Association for Research and Education in Science ("CARES"), a nonprofit organization on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, whose mission is to enhance the healthcare of military veterans by supporting various VA medical centers in the region. Ms. Walker also serves on Jones Day's Diversity and Pro Bono Committees, and has moderated various panel discussions for diverse, young lawyers hosted by organizations such as the Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law and the Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago.
