Karen P. Hewitt

Investigations, Litigation, White Collar

San Diego

Karen Hewitt divides her practice into three parts. First, she is the partner in charge of Jones Day's 300 lawyers in five offices across California.

"The firm is doing really well in California," she said. "We have such deep roots here." Much of the offices' growth has come from "tremendous classes of young lawyers who come here and stay throughout their career." Over the last three years, 17 lawyers have made partner, bringing the total number up to 105 in the state.

Secondly, Hewitt handles major litigation for major corporations. She is the lead attorney representing Walmart in all opioid litigation, including the national class action and numerous regulatory and enforcement proceedings.

In particular, Hewitt is defending Walmart over opioids in "the first enforcement matter brought by the Justice Department against a major chain pharmacy." In March, she won a motion to dismiss that "narrowed the case substantially," she said. Trial is scheduled for 2027. U.S. v. Walmart Inc., 1:20-cv-01744 (D. Del., filed December 22, 2020).

Her other big, public litigation matter is defending Abbott Labs in a False Claims Act lawsuit over its marketing of the MitraClip used in heart valve surgery. U.S. ex rel. Everest Principals LLC v. Abbott Labs, 3:20-cv-00286 (S.D. Cal., filed Feb. 14, 2020).

Before joining her firm, Hewitt spent 18 years with the Department of Justice, the first eight in the constitutional and specialized torts section in Washington and ending with three years as the U.S. attorney in San Diego. Now with Jones Day, the third important side of her work is leading confidential criminal and internal investigations for large companies. For instance, she was retained by a special committee of the board of a Fortune 25 technology company to investigate sensitive governance issues.

In other confidential matters, she is representing a pharmaceutical company in a criminal investigation and helping another large company investigate immigration concerns.

A new aspect of her firm management work is co-leading Jones Day's initiative examining generative artificial intelligence. "All of our clients are very focused on generative AI," Hewitt said. "We're advising clients in a whole range of different areas, whether it's makers of AI or users of AI. They all have important legal questions."

The first wave of AI-related cases turns on copyright. "But there are broader questions about the use of generative AI for inventors and founders," she said. "We're seeing it with IP and issues like drug development."

Tech companies are interested in the legal issues from AI, of course. "But we're seeing it from clients that are in other spaces," including financial businesses and commercial product companies.

Universities are interested in AI's impact on academic integrity, while all businesses are concerned about its use in hiring and employment decisions.

And of course, the Jones Day AI initiative group is also exploring how the firm could use artificial intelligence. Hewitt said she thinks that "that it permits us as lawyers to really expand our practices in new ways."

-- Don DeBenedictis