Jami McKeon is the Chair of Morgan Lewis, providing strategic direction to one of the largest law firms in the world led by a woman. Under her leadership, Morgan Lewis has grown into one of the principal global providers of legal services, assisting clients throughout the United States, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Jami began her career with Morgan Lewis in 1981. She has held various management positions, including membership on the firm’s Advisory Board. Immediately prior to assuming the chair, she led Morgan Lewis’s litigation practice, the firm’s largest group.
Shortly after Jami was first elected Chair in 2014, Morgan Lewis underwent a historic transformation when it welcomed more than 750 lawyers and professional staff from Bingham McCutchen. During her tenure, Morgan Lewis has sustained a particular focus on Asia, highlighted by the establishment of a major hub in Singapore and the opening or expansion of offices in China and Japan. The firm’s careful growth is a direct result of Jami’s commitment to delivering to clients the best possible service in whatever venue or region that is most optimal for them.
In 2018, the firm partnership unanimously reelected Jami to serve a second five-year term as Chair, beginning in October 2019. While Chair, Jami has continued her own legal practice in which she counsels Fortune 100 companies—particularly those in the financial services and technology industries—on complex litigation and investigations involving business disputes, fraud allegations, and class- and mass-action lawsuits. Jami represents some of the world’s foremost banks in regulatory and litigation matters.
Jami has put exceptional client service at the center of her work and her administration of the firm. She encourages the use of cutting-edge technology both to better serve clients and to facilitate the firm’s efficient administration, and she actively encourages all Morgan Lewis lawyers and professional staff to take a client-first approach in their work. A leader in establishing Morgan Lewis as one of a select group of firms managing large portfolios of national and global scope, Jami enthusiastically supports the use of alternative fee arrangements as a service to clients. Because of her deep dedication to clients, BTI Consulting Group named her a Client Service All-Star in 2017.
A long-time advocate of diversity within the legal industry, Jami launched ML Women, an initiative to harness the strength of the firm’s women through partnerships with clients and to create opportunities for women to come together around a shared industry or practice. Women also serve in senior leadership roles across Morgan Lewis, including on the Advisory Board and the Compensation Committee. They manage many of the firm’s practices and offices worldwide.
Both Jami and Morgan Lewis have long demonstrated a commitment to pro bono work and an appreciation of the critical role nonprofit organizations play throughout society, with a special emphasis on education and children’s issues. Jami is a frequent speaker and is active in various community service organizations, including the United Way, and she sits on the Board of Directors for the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Jami is also a member of several boards, including the Advisory Board of the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession, the Penn Law Board of Advisors, the Board of Directors of Equal Justice Works, and the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.
Among her numerous accolades, Jami has received the American Red Cross’s Lifetime Achievement Award and United Way’s Women’s Leadership Initiative Award. Other significant recent recognitions include a Special Achievement Award from the Financial Times, being honored as a Philadelphia Business Hall of Fame Icon by The Philadelphia Inquirer, and ranking among The Business Journals’ top 100 Influencers: Law. Jami also was named Attorney of the Year by The Legal Intelligencer and one of the 75 Most Outstanding Women Lawyers by The National Law Journal. Chambers describes her as “phenomenal” and a “great strategist.”
Power 101: Philadelphia’s Most Influential Business Leaders, Philadelphia Business Journal (2023)
PA Law Power 100, City & State Pennsylvania (2023)
Philly Power 100, City & State Pennsylvania (2022)
100 Most Influential Philadelphians, Philadelphia Magazine (2022)
Recipient, Law & Society Award, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (2021)
Paradigm Award, Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia (2019)
Take the Lead Honoree, Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania (2019)
National Women in Law Awards, Corporate Counsel (2018)
Innovative Law Firm Leader, National Women in Law Awards, Corporate Counsel and InsideCounsel (2018)
Influencer of Law, The Business Journals (2018)
Champion Award, Pro Bono Partnership (2017)
Business Hall of Fame Icon, The Philadelphia Inquirer (2017)
Client Service All-Star, BTI Consulting Group (2017)
Ranked, Litigation: General Commercial, Pennsylvania, Chambers USA (2018, 2019)
Eminent Practitioner, Litigation: General Commercial, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia & Surrounds, Chambers USA (2023, 2024)
Eminent Practitioner, Litigation: General Commercial, Pennsylvania, Chambers USA (2016, 2017, 2021, 2021)
Recommended, Dispute resolution: Financial services litigation, The Legal 500 US (2016–2019)
Listed, The Best Lawyers in America (2016–2025)
Power 100: Greater Philadelphia’s Most Influential People, Philadelphia Business Journal (2015–2017)
Women in Law Awards: Inspiring Role Model in Promoting Gender Diversity in the Legal Profession (shortlisted), Chambers USA (2017)
Lifetime Achievement Award, The American Red Cross (2015)
Women’s Leadership Initiative Award, United Way (2015)
Innovative Lawyers Special Achievement Award, North America, Financial Times (2015)
75 Most Outstanding Women Lawyers, The National Law Journal (2015)
Attorney of the Year (finalist), The Legal Intelligencer (2015)
Veteran Transformer, Philadelphia Business Journal (2015)
Women of the Year, The Legal Intelligencer (2014)
Leading Lawyers in America, Lawdragon 500 (2014, 2015)
Women of Distinction, Philadelphia Business Journal (2013)
Top 75 Women Litigators, Daily Journal (2008)
Top Rated Business Litigation Attorneys, Northern California, Super Lawyers (2004–2017)
Member, The American Law Institute (elected 2014)
Member, Advisory Board, Women’s Power Summit on Law & Leadership (2017)
Member, Board of Advisors, Managing Partners Conference (2016–2017)
Member, Board of Trustees, Supreme Court Historical Society
Member, American Bar Association
Member, International Association of Defense Counsel
Member, Board of Directors, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Secretary, Board of Directors, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (2015–2016)
Member, Executive Committee, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (2015–2016)
Member, Board of Directors, Benchmark School
Member, Advisory Committee, PBI Law Firm Pro Bono Project
Member, Advisory Board, Transforming Women’s Leadership in the Law
Former Chair, Board of Governors, Philadelphia Bar Association
Member, Faculty Advisory Board, Academy of Advocacy
Editorial Board, Villanova Law Review
Member, Order of the Coif