William Penn Award Gala

Jami McKeon
Chair, Morgan Lewis

Jami McKeon is a legal industry pioneer. As Chair of Morgan Lewis, she drives the innovative and strategic vision of one of the world’s most elite global legal service providers. For over a decade, she has led more than 4,000 lawyers, specialists, and professional staff across four continents through transformational growth and some of the most pivotal moments in recent history. Jami has been described in Chambers as a leader who is “so well known and grew the firm into an international powerhouse,” with another respondent describing Jami as “one of the most
phenomenally capable people I’ve ever dealt with.”

Under Jami’s leadership, the firm’s expansive and strategic growth has focused on delivering clients the finest possible service—wherever and whenever it’s needed—through a collaborative commitment that is reflected in the firm’s longstanding belief that “there is nothing we can’t achieve together as long as no one cares who gets the credit.” Shortly after Jami was elected Chair in 2014, she led the firm’s high profile combination with Bingham McCutchen, welcoming 750+ lawyers and professional staff across marquee practices and regions. Jami’s tenure has been defined by sustained global growth, including the opening of new offices in Munich, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Shanghai, Seattle, and Riyadh and office expansions in Asia, in London, and throughout the United States. Most recently, under Jami’s direction, the firm expanded in Paris in what was described as one of the biggest lateral expansions of 2025 and opened a new office in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The first woman chair in Morgan Lewis’s 150+-year history, Jami is the architect of trailblazing initiatives earning Morgan Lewis its reputation as one of the most well-rounded and forward-thinking law firms in the world—including consecutive years in the coveted top 5 spot on The American Lawyer’s prestigious A-List and 20+ consecutive years on BTI Consulting Group’s elite Client Service 30.

Among the recent and impactful initiatives under Jami’s leadership is her establishment of a crossfunctional AI & Knowledge Management team that galvanized the firm’s development and utilization of state-of-the-art technology, which has led to the cultivation of proprietary tech tools and a pioneering partnership with Thomson Reuters to forge GenAI solutions that will shape the legal industry of the future. As a result of Jami’s drive, the firm was lauded by Financial Times as one of the most innovative firms in North America.

Jami was also pivotal in shaping the firm’s unique Engagement Model that encompasses wellbeing, inclusion, pro bono, community engagement, and sustainability, along with market-leading initiatives such as ML Well, a holistic program promoting intellectual, physical, emotional, and
occupational well-being. Beyond these meaningful efforts, she founded the firm’s women’s initiative,

ML Women, and launched the award-winning Mobilizing for Equality initiative focused on achieving justice in society and the legal profession. Morgan Lewis’s commitment to pro bono has also flourished under Jami’s leadership, garnering 100% lawyer participation for multiple years and earning the firm accolades such as #1 for Breadth of Commitment on The American Lawyer’s Pro Bono Scorecard and #1 among the Best Law Firms for Pro Bono from Vault.

Jami is a frequent speaker and active in community service organizations, including service on the board of directors for Equal Justice Works, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Orchestra Kimmel Center. She is also a member of the advisory board of the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession, the Penn Carey Law Board of Advisors, and the Utah Royals
Football Club.

Among numerous personal accolades, Jami has been honored by Financial Times as one of the most consequential law firm leaders of the past two decades, recognizing that she led the firm to “elite law firm status.” Jami has also received the ABA’s Margaret Brent Award, which honors outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence and paved the way for other women in the legal profession; the Business Leader of the Year Award from Drexel University; the American Red Cross Lifetime Achievement Award; the United Way Women’s Leadership Initiative Award; a Special Achievement Award from Financial Times for her innovative approach to Morgan Lewis’s strategic growth; an Innovative Law Firm Leader award from Corporate Counsel; the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s Paradigm Award for a career of achievement as a woman executive; and is included on
Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Leaders list.

Jami lives in Philadelphia with her husband and has four children and five grandchildren.