By Susan C. Saporito November 7, 2012
Elena Villaseñor Sullivan
Attorney; Jackson Walker, LLP
Secret Sauce: Courtroom crackerjack and zealous advocate
Don’t mess with Elena Villaseñor Sullivan. Just sayin’. By all accounts this trial and appellate attorney for Jackson Walker LLP is a bulldog in the courtroom and beyond when she represents business owners and corporations entangled in fiery litigation. For example, Villaseñor Sullivan not only obtained a trial verdict to that helped a client regain its reputation after being defamed in the community. She also went on to help the firm use the verdict in a strategic public relations campaign. Of course, if you want to be her client, straight-forwardness is required. “Elena is a resourceful and persistent lawyer. She has a unique firm-yet-friendly probing style,” says client Luis Rodrigue, vice president of Helena Chemical in Tennessee. In the community, she works with Junior Achievement of South Texas’ Finance Park program. Every year, middle school students are assigned a random life – with the highest level of education, a marital status, job and salary, and number of kids. Students have to “buy or rent” housing, pay for food, clothes, transportation, and more. “The students learn the importance of education, how to budget, and even the responsibility of teen pregnancy, Villaseñor Sullivan says.
Something that would surprise people to know about you: “In the last three years, I’ve been on a safari in Africa, hiked Machu Picchu in Peru, and gone dog sledding in Alaska.
Born In: Houston
Alma Mater: Boston College in Chesnut Hill, Mass; University of Southern California Law School
Family: Married to Chris Sullivan; newly born daughter
Self-Assigned Business Card Title: Boss. Just Kidding, Advocate
