Karen P. Hewitt 

Karen P. Hewitt is the Jones Day partner in charge of the firm’s five California offices, which gives her a good view of how Big Law is doing in the state.

“I’m very optimistic about where the legal industry is headed,” she said. In particular, she said things are going very well for Jones Day.

While some other firms have considered delaying their new hires or even talked about layoffs, her firm has not. “I don’t anticipate that at Jones Day at all,” Hewitt said. “We are focused on growth. It’s a very positive time here. I feel we’re finally coming out of the pandemic, and it really feels that things are hitting stride here at the firm.”

For instance, in April, she helped the firm bring on Jeffrey Schenk as a new partner in the Silicon Valley office. The former chief of the U.S. attorney’s office in San Jose, Schenk spent 17 years as a federal prosecutor — including a short stint in San Diego with Hewitt. Among other major cases, he led the prosecutions of Theranos executives Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh Balwani.

“I get excited about how we’re building an even stronger team at Jones Day,” Hewitt said. “I love … having a hand in that because recruiting lawyers like Jeff will make a difference for us for years to come.”

But she stresses that hiring and overseeing the firm’s California offices does not distract from representing clients. “To me, clients come first.”

As a former federal prosecutor, much of her practice entails conducting internal investigations for clients and helping them manage crises.

She can’t discuss any specific investigations. But she said those often deal with problems between her clients and their vendors or with commercial disputes, including corruption. Problems also can arise from customer misconduct involving employees.

Another common type of crisis investigation involves accusations that a client or its employee has violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “I’ve been doing a lot of FCPA work,” Hewitt said.

She is representing two major corporations in important litigation. She is representing Abbott Labs in a whistleblower False Claims Act case over its marketing of the MitraClip used in heart valve replacement surgery. The case is now in discovery after she won an order in August dismissing state law claims. U.S. ex rel. Everest Principals LLC v. Abbott Labs, 3:20-cv-00286 (S.D. Cal., filed Feb. 14, 2020).

Hewitt also is the lead Jones Day partner representing Walmart in national opioid litigation. The company announced a $3.1 billion settlement in November.

She also is defending the giant retailer against criminal charges that it violated the Controlled Substances Act hundreds of thousands of times when its pharmacists filled prescriptions. She is waiting to argue a motion to dismiss following a U.S. Supreme Court decision narrowing the act. U.S. v. Walmart, 1:20-cv-01744, (D Del, filed Dec. 22, 2020).

— Don DeBenedictis