The American Lawyer has recognized three partners from the global law firm Jones Day as "Midwest Trailblazers" in its May 2022 issue. The "Trailblazers" are agents of change who have made significant marks on practice, policy, and technological advancements in their areas of legal practice. The Midwest Trailblazers from Jones Day are:

  • Louis Gabel (Detroit), Investigations & White Collar Defense
  • Jeffrey (Jeff) Kapp (Cleveland), Health Care & Life Sciences
  • Elizabeth (Liz) McRee (Chicago), Labor & Employment

Mr. Gabel approaches investigative work from the dual perspective of a former federal prosecutor and diplomat. He routinely counsels companies under scrutiny by government authorities, conducts complex investigations, negotiates favorable outcomes in criminal and civil actions, and charts paths for clients to ensure they emerge from crisis with robust compliance programs to avoid future problems. As an Assistant United States Attorney in Detroit, he prosecuted numerous high-profile matters, including corrupt members of the Detroit Police Department and white collar criminals who defrauded Michigan investors and companies. While serving as a diplomat in Bangladesh, he helped revise Bangladesh's Anti-Terrorism Act to bring the country into compliance with international banking norms, and trained officials from several South Asian countries on anti-money laundering. In private practice, he has drawn upon that experience to counsel an auto manufacturer in a multi-year federal investigation concerning corruption within the UAW; conduct an investigation of a Division I NCAA football program; lead the defense of a large health system in a DEA diversion investigation; and following the murder of George Floyd, volunteered to supervise pro bono independent investigations of alleged police misconduct for the Minneapolis Office of Police Conduct Review in order to facilitate timely resolutions of police discipline cases.

Mr. Kapp counsels clients on health care matters that impact the availability and quality of care they deliver. Having represented clients in the health care industry for almost 30 years, he has worked on a number of matters that involve delivering innovative care, primarily involving the use of technology. During the initial stages of the pandemic, when ventilators were in high demand in some geographic areas while others had excess capacity, Mr. Kapp advised a client on the creation of dynamic ventilator sharing program that would allow hospitals to borrow or loan ventilators based on their community's needs. And when the pandemic raised capacity issues in hospitals, he advised another client on the use of a technology-heavy process that allowed the hospital to provide care at the patient's home, rather than at its own facility, freeing up beds to serve COVID-19 patients and keep otherwise healthy patients from being exposed to those infected. Mr. Kapp has also advised clients in the explosion of digital health regarding new service offerings and collaborations and the issues that arise from these approaches to care and privacy, along with various factors such as changing insurance reimbursement schemes.

Bringing a business-minded approach to solving today's most challenging labor and employment problems, Ms. McRee represents clients with creative solutions in class actions and complex employment disputes that strike at the core of their business models and operations. As co-leader of Jones Day's global Labor & Employment Practice, she defends employers in class, collective and multi-plaintiff actions in courts, arbitrations and administrative fora across the United States. She has deep experience defending actions involving joint employment and vicarious liability under state and federal law. Among her recent victories, Ms. McRee led the defense of a nationwide campaign of wage and hour class actions, defeating class certification and winning summary judgment on cutting- edge issues of joint employment and ostensible agency. Ms. McRee is a former chair and vice chair of The Chicago Bar Association Labor & Employment Committee. She is active in the Chicago community and serves on the board of directors of Family Focus, a nonprofit that promotes the well-being of children. Additionally, Ms. McRee mentors and sponsors the advancement of women and minority attorneys by serving as co-chair of o the Chicago Office's Diversity, Inclusion & Advancement Committee (DIAC), and as a member of the Firm's women's affinity group.