Washington Lawyer - March/April 2024 - 38

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
LINDSAY HARRISON Leads With Authenticity
By Angela Mackie-Rutledge
T
hey say leaders either thrive
or wither under pressure, and
Lindsay Harrison, managing
partner at Jenner & Block
LLP's Washington, D.C., office, is
not afraid to go all in.
Harrison delivered her first oral argument in
2009 - in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, no
less - in a case challenging the legal standard
for a temporary deportation stay pending appeal.
Then in 2019 Harrison co-led a team that
successfully overturned the Trump administration's
revocation of the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
When the Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022,
resulting in a wave of state anti-abortion laws,
Harrison helped represent a group of obstetricians
that provided evidentiary support to the
U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit challenging
Idaho's near-total abortion ban.
Harrison first came to Jenner & Block as a summer
associate in 2001, returning to the firm after
each of her clerkships. As chair of the firm's
real estate and hospitality practice, Harrison
represents a wide range of clients, from hospitality
and real estate companies to colleges and
universities, technology and media companies,
and nonprofit organizations. When she was appointed
managing partner in March 2023, Harrison
made history by becoming the first woman
to lead Jenner's D.C. office.
For Harrison, authenticity is key. " I aspire to lead
a law firm where everyone feels they can bring
their whole, authentic selves to work. It makes
us a more diverse, interesting, and fulfilling
place to work. We generate better ideas, deliver
better service to clients, and, most importantly,
people are just much happier, " Harrison says.
" It makes people feel like Jenner is a place
they can stay for their whole career, " she adds.
" I don't expect everyone to do that, but I want
everyone to feel like that's a real option. "
FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Harrison
brings authenticity to her advocacies and vari38
WASHINGTON LAWYER
* MARCH/APRIL 2024
ous leadership roles, including service as a delegate
to the Young Lawyers Division of the
American Bar Association and amicus committee
chair of the Women's Bar Association of the
District of Columbia. Currently, Harrison serves
on the executive committee of the Edward
Coke Appellate Inn of Court and on the development
committee of The Appellate Project, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing
diversity in the appellate bar.
Harrison is also a vocal defender of LGBTQ
rights. She points to television show host Ellen
DeGeneres's coming out in the 1990s as a profound
event that led to her own journey of selfdiscovery
and acceptance. Today, Harrison is
proud to be part of a firm that is fighting bans
on drag performances and state restrictions on
the rights of transgender people and their families,
among other issues.
Harrison's passion for pro bono work on LGBTQ
rights runs deep. " One of my favorite pro bono
experiences was working on litigation to have
the right to marry recognized in West Virginia
[in 2014], which we did in collaboration with
Lambda Legal. Lambda was also our co-counsel
way back when I was a summer associate
working on the cert petition in Lawrence v.
Texas, " she says.
Jenner & Block
Washington Lawyer - March/April 2024

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