Randall W. Jackson is a partner in the Litigation Department of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Jackson focuses on government and internal investigations, white collar criminal defense, complex civil litigation and regulatory compliance.
Jackson has served as lead or co-lead attorney in over 20 federal trials, including some of the longest and most complex in recent years. He has also led complex state court litigation in a number of venues, including successful merger-related litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery. In 2022, he co-led a major victory and complete acquittal for client Thomas Barrack, founder of Colony Capital, in a highly publicized trial in the Eastern District of New York alleging illegal foreign lobbying, obstruction of justice and other charges. In 2019, Jackson co-led the successful defense of shipbuilding executive Jean Boustani against charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging a $2 billion international securities fraud scheme, securing a complete acquittal on all counts after a months-long jury trial in the Eastern District of New York. In 2016, Jackson led the successful trial defense of an international bank in a highly publicized civil trial in the Southern District of New York involving wide-ranging claims of misconduct and retaliation against an executive, culminating in a complete jury finding for the financial institution. Jackson has also briefed and argued numerous appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeals, and he has been instrumental in negotiating favorable resolutions of regulatory matters involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Attorney General’s Office, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and other agencies.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2026 | Litigation, White Collar, Investigations |
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2026 | White Collar, Investigations, Enforcement |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors | 2025 | AI Litigation |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2025 | White Collar, Investigations, Enforcement |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors | 2024 | AI Litigation |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2024 | White Collar, Investigations, Enforcement |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America | 2022 | White Collar, Investigations, Enforcement |
Before private practice, Jackson served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York (2007 – 2015), where he led numerous sensitive investigations and prosecutions that spanned the globe, including successfully co-leading the six-months-long jury trial of the top culpable executives at Madoff Securities. At the time Jackson left the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he was a senior member of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, where he conducted a number of joint and parallel investigations with the FBI, SEC, CFTC, IRS and other agencies. Over the course of his career as a prosecutor, his work included securities fraud, accounting fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, public corruption, various tax crimes, terrorism and international narcotics trafficking.
Prior to becoming a prosecutor, Jackson was a law clerk to the Honorable Ann Claire Williams, for the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Seventh Circuit and the Honorable Nina Gershon for the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York.
Jackson received his B.A. from Morehouse College and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Jackson has been cited in a variety of publications, including Forbes, as a force in the courtroom. He was awarded the U.S. Department of Justice’s Distinguished Service Award and the John Marshall Award.