Jennifer Caughey is your Justice on the First Court of Appeals, Place 2. Justice Caughey has extensive experience, both as an appellate practitioner and as a Justice on Texas’s First Court of Appeals. She was elected to a six year term on the Court, commencing on January 1, 2025.
Prior to beginning this term on the Court, most recently, Justice Caughey spent six years as the Chair of Jackson Walker LLP’s Appellate Section, where she handled high-stakes commercial appeals. She had a vibrant state appellate practice, including at the Texas Supreme Court and in Texas Courts of Appeals. Her federal practice was similarly active. She represented clients in the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits, as well as in federal district courts. Her appellate practice was praised by Chambers Partners, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, LawDragon 500, and others.
Justice Caughey previously served as a Justice on this Court as well. In her prior service as a Justice, she authored more than 125 opinions (half signed, half per curiam) spanning questions of civil, criminal, family, and probate law. She actively contributed to 454 cases.
Beyond judicial service and private practice, Justice Caughey has served Texans in several ways. First, she serves on the Texas Judicial Council, the policy-making body for the State judiciary. She also served on the State’s Board of Disciplinary Appeals, which hears appeals of certain disciplinary issues, both in panel and en banc settings. She serves on the Nominating Committee for the Texas Bar Foundation, and for several years, she chaired the Law School Liaison Committee for the Texas Appellate Bar Association.
Justice Caughey earned her degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Timothy M. Tymkovich, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and Justice Robert J. Cordy of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Before serving on the bench previously, she spent years developing a sophisticated appellate and trial practice at nationally renowned litigation firms.
