Jessica Hough, global head of the firm’s regulatory practices, represents clients on a wide range of tax matters, with particular emphasis on mergers, acquisitions and divestiture transactions, including spin-offs, debt and equity offerings, corporate and partnership restructurings, and joint ventures.
While Hough has a broad-based M&A tax practice across various industries, she also advises clients in the financial services sector on insurance-related corporate transactions, including capital raising, mergers and acquisitions, reinsurance transactions, restructurings and related matters. She has extensive experience in the U.S. and international insurance and reinsurance industries, having represented numerous industry participants in all lines of business, including life, health, property and casualty, and specialty lines.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Tax Lawyers | 2026 | M&A, Tax Transactional, Restructuring |
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2026 | Tax |
| The Inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Tax Lawyers | 2025 | M&A, Tax Transactional, Restructuring |
Significant representations include:
- American National Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management Reinsurance Partners Ltd. (Bermuda), in its $3.5 billion coinsurance transaction of a diversified block of life business to Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated
- Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company in the $2.35 billion sale of its retirement plan business to Empower Retirement, LLC.
- Corebridge Financial Inc. in the $561 million sale of its U.K. life Insurance business, AIG Life Limited, to Aviva plc
- American Financial Group, Inc. in its $3.5 billion sale of its annuity business to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company; $660 million going-private acquisition of National Interstate Corporation; and $120 million acquisition of Verikai, Inc.
- Brookfield Asset Management Reinsurance Partners Ltd. in its $5.1 billion acquisition of American National Group, Inc.
- CarMax, Inc. in its $50 million acquisition of a minority stake in Edmunds.com, Inc. and subsequent acquisition of the remaining interest in Edmunds at an implied enterprise value of $404 million
- Veritas Capital in the $3 billion acquisition of Cubic Corporation
- Farm Bureau Property & Casualty Insurance Company and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation in their $1.37 billion take-private transaction of FBL Financial Group, Inc.
- Trean Insurance Group, Inc. in its $161 million initial public offering of common stock
- Leidos, Inc. in its $1.75 billion Rule 144A/Reg S offering of notes in three tranches: $500 million of 2.950% notes due 2023, $500 million of 3.625% notes due 2025 and $750 million of 4.375% notes due 2030
- FGL Holdings in its $2.7 billion acquisition by Fidelity National Financial, Inc.
- Gannett Co., Inc. in its $1.4 billion acquisition by New Media Investment Group Inc.
- Highmark Inc. in its affiliation with HealthNow New York Inc., d/b/a/ Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York and Blue Shield of Northeastern New York; and its sale of Davis Vision, Inc. and a minority interest in Visionworks of America, Inc. to Centerbridge Partners, L.P.
- Markel Corporation in its acquisition of Nephila Holdings Limited
- The Advisory Board Company in its $2.6 billion sale of its health care business to OptumInsight, Inc. and its education business to affiliates of Vista Equity Partners LLC in response to Elliott Management’s pending activist campaign
- Intact Financial Corporation in its $1.7 billion acquisition of OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd.
- Crestview Partners, L.P. and Pine Brook Road Partners, LLC as founding investors in a $1.5 billion equity capital raise by Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited
- Manulife Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries, including John Hancock, in a reinsurance transaction in which John Hancock ceded to New York Life Insurance Company a net 60% quota share of a closed block of approximately 1.3 million in-force participating life insurance policies written prior to John Hancock’s demutualization
- Delaware Life Holdings, LLC in its $1.35 billion acquisition of the U.S. annuity business and certain life insurance businesses of Sun Life Financial Inc.
- The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. in its $990 million acquisition by Bloomberg, L.P.
- Duke Energy in its $36 billion merger of equals with Cinergy and its spin-off of its natural gas businesses to form Spectra Energy