Jones Day's Jennifer Bennett, Karen Hewitt named "Top Women Lawyers" by the Daily Journal
Jones Day partners Jennifer Bennett and Karen Hewitt were each named a Top Woman Lawyer by the Daily Journal. The list recognizes the top 100 women lawyers in California based on their "excellence, impact, and leadership across the legal profession."
Jennifer Bennett is an accomplished first-chair trial lawyer with two decades of experience litigating complex intellectual property matters. Currently, she is representing the Canadian government in a plant patent infringement and Lanham Act matter, where the district court recently found after a bench trial that the sweet cherry the defendants have been growing and selling as "Glory" is, in fact, the Canada-bred variety Staccato®. Ms. Bennett also is currently representing defendant E. & J. Gallo Winery in a multi-patent infringement suit scheduled to go to trial later this year. She also currently co-leads the Firm's representation of Alamar Biosciences, a California-based life sciences startup, in a competitor patent infringement lawsuit brought in the District of Delaware and also in the related IPR proceeding. Ms. Bennett also co-led Jones Day's representation of plaintiff MedImpact Healthcare Systems, a U.S.-based pharmaceutical benefits manager, and its subsidiaries in a trade secret misappropriation case under both the Defend Trade Secrets Act and California Trade Secrets Act.
Ms. Bennett is a member of Chiefs in Intellectual Property, a nonprofit professional organization that advances and connects women in technology, law, and policy, and serves as a mentor in the Women and Law Program at Santa Clara University.
Karen Hewitt is an experienced trial lawyer who has successfully litigated hundreds of cases in federal court for more than three decades. Nationally recognized as a leading practitioner conducting internal investigations involving criminal and civil issues, 2025 marks the 11th time she has been named to The Daily Journal's list of Top Women Lawyers.
Ms. Hewitt is the lead attorney in the defense of a major retailer in a nationwide series of more than 2,500 opioid civil litigation cases arising from the opioid crisis, including multiple regulatory and enforcement proceedings. She also is the first-chair trial lawyer defending the litigation brought by the U.S. Department of Justice against the same company in district court in Delaware.
Prior to Jones Day, Ms. Hewitt served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California, where she focused on national security, border security, cyber and intellectual property crime, white collar and financial crime, civil fraud, violent crime, and narcotics enforcement. She is Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day's California Region, and a co-chair of the Firm's task force on Generative AI.
