Jacob K. Weixler represents clients in civil lawsuits and criminal proceedings, and advises clients on business law issues. He has represented a diverse client base with a wide variety of problems: a national civil rights figure defending his first amendment rights, a former military official facing fraud and conspiracy charges, refugees fighting deportation to countries where they would be killed, investors cheated out of their fair share, and incarcerated persons serving life sentences for crimes they committed as juveniles.Prior to starting Weixler Law LLC, Jacob was an attorney at the New Orleans law firm of Schonekas Evans McGoey & McEachin, LLC, a boutique law firm that focuses on representing individuals and small companies in complex and high-profile criminal and civil matters. Before joining Schonekas Evans, Jacob was an attorney at two international law firms, Locke Lord LLP and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. At Locke Lord, Jacob was based in the firm’s New Orleans office and assisted large companies with complex litigation issues throughout Louisiana. At Akin Gump, Jacob was based in the firm’s Washington, DC headquarters where he was an attorney in the litigation and white collar criminal defense groups. In that role, Jacob represented companies accused of bribery, fraud, bid-rigging, and other forms of misconduct both in the U.S. and abroad. Jacob was also an inaugural member of Akin Gump’s Pro Bono Scholars program. Read more about Jacob’s practice areas and results.

Jacob received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School (Ann Arbor, MI), where he received the Sandberg Family Scholarship. While in law school, Jacob and another law student secured the exoneration and release of a man who served 35 years of a life sentence for a crime he did not commit. Jacob was also the Executive Articles Editor of the Michigan Journal of Race and Law, Michigan’s civil rights law journal. Jacob is also a graduate of The George Washington University (Washington, DC) where he received his B.A. magna cum laude in American Studies. Prior to law school, Jacob taught high school English and American Literature in a low-income community on the West Bank of New Orleans.

Jacob is active in the New Orleans legal community. In the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, he serves on the board of the Young Lawyers Division and chairs the Pro Bono and Philanthropy Committee. Jacob also volunteers with a program that teaches constitutional rights and courtroom advocacy to students from a New Orleans public high school. Jacob maintains an active pro bono practice, particularly with the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights. In 2019, Jacob and the LCCR team secured the release of a woman who served 25 years of a life sentence for crime she committed as a child. Jacob continues to work with LCCR for fair sentences for individuals serving life sentences for crimes they committed as children.

Jacob is licensed to practice in Louisiana, Florida, and the District of Columbia, and is admitted to the bar of the U.S District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana, the Southern District of Texas, the Southern District of Florida, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Photograph at top left by Julie Verlinden Photography.