Bio

Jonathan Lass, an Austin based partner at the law firm of Jackson Walker, specializes in technology and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Jonathan represents government agencies acquiring mission-critical technology and advises private sector clients on strategic acquisitions, sales of businesses and assets, and technology procurement. Key public sector engagements include technology outsourcing transactions on behalf of the Texas Secretary of State, Texas Supreme Court (through its Office of Court Administration), Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Lottery Commission, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas System, the Austin Police Retirement System, and the Texas Counties and District Retirement System. Key private sector engagements include domestic and international Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) transactions and technology transactions and projects. Recently, Jonathan advised clients in a variety of IT-oriented transactions and projects, including assisting clients in transitioning technology services from an on premises to a cloud-based service delivery, technology transformation projects, master services agreements, data center services, joint development arrangements, licensing, software as a service (SaaS), and cooperative research and development (CRADA) agreements. Jonathan also has a sub-specialty in energy and utilities, and has successfully negotiated Energy Management Systems (EMS), Open Metering Systems (OMS), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems (SCADA), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Customer Care and Information Billing systems (CCIB) transactions on behalf of his clients. Jonathan is a trusted advisor to his clients. He actively engages with each client, and understands that clear communication, robust exchange, and deep knowledge are foundational to achieving successful results. He considers active listening, creative problem solving, clear drafting, and strategic negotiation as the cornerstones of any successful transaction, project, or litigation. Because of Jonathan’s client-centered approach, he has a unique commitment to knowing and understanding his clients’ organization, constituents, and leadership and can provide helpful information to identify his clients’ interests and goals and develop a strategy that obtains optimal results. In addition to Jonathan’s law practice, he invests substantial time and energy teaching, mentoring, and sponsoring law students at his alma mater, The University of Texas School of Law. His favorite class to teach is Negotiations, which he has taught at The University of Texas School of Law each semester since 2017. Prior to that, Jonathan taught Business Law and Ethics to undergraduate students at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas. Jonathan has also served on the Board of the Austin Symphony Orchestra since 2014.