Profile
An experienced first-chair litigator, Jake Evans has litigated complex, high-stakes cases across practice areas in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Clients trust Jake with their most challenging matters and depend on Jake’s creative approaches and precise execution to pursue positive outcomes in the face of daunting circumstances.
Jake Evans’ litigation practice focuses on class actions, disputes involving breach of contract and fiduciary duties, residential and commercial real estate (including wrongful foreclosures, partitions, quiet title actions, and commercial leases), restrictive covenants involving non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality provisions, business dissolutions, derivative corporate claims, note defaults and workouts and intellectual property, including patents, copyrights and trademarks. Thriving under pressure, Jake has served as lead counsel in numerous high-profile cases, including those appearing before the Supreme Court of the United States, entailing national media coverage and making Georgia history.
Having led Georgia’s State Ethics Commission and being intimately involved with government at all levels, Jake has a flourishing government practice. Jake represents companies and individuals responding to government investigations by state Attorney General Offices, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, the DOJ and other state and federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission. He also represents companies and individuals before Georgia state and local government agencies, including licensing boards, state commissions and procurement agencies, and has considerable experience with bid protests. Jake oversees campaign finance matters, including candidate and independent expenditure committee/PAC filings and responds to campaign finance complaints at the state and federal level.
A strategist at his core, Jake also serves as outside general counsel to numerous companies, large and small, helping them navigate thorny legal problems. Jake has overseen large mergers and acquisitions, agreement drafting and negotiations, economic development transactions, international trade investigations and varying regulatory compliance matters.
Capabilities
Experience
- Lead counsel for client that obtained summary judgment dismissal in restrictive covenant case in which the non-compete was declared unenforceable.°
- Lead counsel for client that obtained summary judgment on affirmative claim declaring that limited liability company members’ units must be bought out at a valuation as dictated in the operating agreement.°
- Defended one of Georgia’s largest hospital systems against asymmetric and anticompetitive disclosure claims.°
- Lead counsel for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in multiple lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Act 77, one of which went before the Supreme Court of the United States.°
- Lead counsel for client sued for alleged antitrust violations, including under the Robinson-Patman Act and state antitrust laws.
- Represented supplier in breach of contract action against Fortune 200 company seeking damages and resulting in multimillion-dollar settlement.°
- Lead counsel in shareholder suppression action seeking to enforce operating agreement and obtain damages for wrongful freeze out of a principal shareholder and c-level officer that resulted in a multimillion-dollar settlement.
- Lead counsel representing principal equity owner in defense of action seeking damages for monies obtained from the eight-figure sale of a company.
- Lead counsel for waste management company for alleged breach of contract, resulting in a dismissal of all claims.
- Lead counsel for investor group in complex multiparty action involving breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraud claims.
- Lead counsel for full service calling center in defense of alleged TCPA and customer protection law violations.
- Lead counsel for three applicants in bid protests involving newly created licenses under Georgia’s Hope Act in multi-year bid protest litigation.
- Lead counsel for applicant for government certification in bid protest litigation before Connecticut’s Board of State Contracting & Standards.
- Advise numerous clients on procurements in pre-protests litigation in venues throughout the United States.
- Lead counsel in defense of county commissioner candidate in eligibility challenge that the candidate did not live in the district, resulting in dismissal of the complaints and an affirmative finding that candidate was eligible after hearing before the county board of elections.
- Lead trial counsel for client in two-week federal trial involving First Amendment and voting rights claims.
- Lead trial counsel for client that overturned two elections in the same race, making Georgia history as the only attorney to achieve such a feat in one-week trial.°
- Lead trial counsel for client seeking to preserve its vested property rights by pursuing the needed permits to further its preferred development plans in multi-day trial.
- Lead trial counsel for client seeking to enforce rights under Georgia’s election code in a one-week trial.°
- Lead counsel in successful defense of State House candidate in eligibility challenge resulting in complete dismissal of the complaint and an affirmative finding that candidate was eligible after all-day trial.
- Lead counsel for cargo carrier in numerous matters pending before the Federal Maritime Commission.
- Advise cargo carriers on structuring operations to reduce demurrage and detention citations.
- Served as Chairman of the Georgia State Ethics Commission, which was an investigatory and prosecutorial body for campaign finance violations, for three years.°
- Lead counsel for accounting firm being investigated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that ultimately resulted in a close of the investigation.
- Lead counsel for white collar defendant indicted for various federal crimes, including alleged government fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud.
- Lead counsel for client investigated for connections to alleged improper sales practices by business-card service providers.
- Lead counsel for Fortune 100 company for response to investigation by Federal Trade Commission for alleged unfair trade practices.°
- Lead counsel for non-profit being investigated by State Attorney General’s office for alleged self-dealing and state law violations.°
- Lead counsel for real estate holding company being investigated for alleged systemic housing and code violations.
- Counsel for constitutional officer in response to investigation by the United States Department of Justice for alleged civil rights violations.
- Lead counsel in successful defense of State House Representative in House Ethics Investigation resulting in the complete dismissal of the complaint.
- Lead counsel for owner in construction project that obtained voluntary dismissal in lawsuit involving general contractors and subcontractors.
- Lead counsel for civil engineer in defense of malpractice action relating to construction of residential properties.°
- Lead counsel for developer seeking to partition a property belonging to property owner that attempted block development from going forward.°
- Lead counsel for client that obtained summary judgment on affirmative claims for religious institution seeking to develop project in a City seeking to block the project.°
°The above representations were handled by Mr. Evans prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
- Summer Clerk, Office of District Attorney David McDade, 2010
Recognition & Leadership
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, "Ones to Watch," Commercial Litigation, 2021-2023
- Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Georgia Super Lawyers, “Rising Stars,” 2018-2024
- Listed, Georgia Trend magazine, “Georgia Legal Elite,” Business Law and general Practice/Trial Law, 2018-2020
- Listed, ALM Daily Report, “On the Rise,” 2018
- Listed, James magazine
- Georgia’s Most Influential Politically-Connected Attorneys, 2018-2022
- Most Influential Georgians, 2020-2021
- Listed, Atlanta magazine, “Atlanta 500 Most Powerful Leaders: Professionals”
- Listed, The Legal 500 USA, Government Relations, 2019
- Listed, Atlanta Business Chronicle, “40 Under 40,” 2018
- Selected, Georgia Young Republicans, “Man of the Year,” 2018
- Honoree, Outstanding Atlanta 50 Anniversary, 2018
- Honoree, Outstanding Atlanta Class, 2018
- State Bar of Georgia
- Selected, YLD, Winter Star of the Quarter, 2017
- Selected, YLD Litigation Committee, Outstanding Young Leadership Award, 2015
- Member, Leadership Atlanta, 2025
- Participant, World Affairs Council of Atlanta’s Young Leaders Study Tour to Germany, 2023
- Fellow, Claremont Institute Lincoln Fellowship, 2023
- American Council of Young Political Leaders Delegation to North Macedonia, 2022
- Graduate, Conservative Policy Leadership Institute, 2020
- Member, Atlanta Ballet, Advisory Council, 2020-Present
- Member, Atlanta Council of Young Lawyers, Board of Directors, 2016-2017
- Member, Atlanta Service Juris, Steering Committee, 2016-2018
- Atlanta Young Republicans
- President, 2017-2019
- Executive Vice President, 2016
- Vice President of Political Affairs, 2015
- Secretary, 2014
- Member, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, Young Leaders Council, 2017-2019
- Member, Georgia Bar Indigent Representation Task Force, 2014-2016
- Member, Georgia Bar Journal Editorial Board, 2015-2020
- Graduate, LEAD Atlanta, 2019
- Graduate, Republican Leadership for Georgia, 2019
- United States Young Opinion Leader’s Delegation to the Republic of China (Taiwan), 2019
- Member, Georgia Bar Professionalism Committee, 2017-2018
- Member, Georgia Bar Young Lawyer’s Division-Board of Directors, 2016-2017
- Representative for the Northern Direct of Georgia, 2014, 2016-2018
- Chairman, Georgia Bar’s YLD Litigation Committee, 2014-2016
- War Stories Subcommittee Chairman, 2014- 2015
- Member, Georgia Bipartisan Task Force for Safe, Secure and Accessible Elections, 2020
- Chairman, Georgia GOP Election Confidence Task Force, 2020
- Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission
- Chairman, 2019-2021
- Member, 2017-2019
- General Counsel, Georgia Young Republicans, 2015-2016
- Barrister, Lamar Inn of Court, 2016-Present
- Graduate, Leadership Buckhead, 2017
- Light the Night Executive Committee Member, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2015-2016
- Barrister, Lumpkin Inn of Court, 2017-2019
- Board Member, Magistrate’s Retirement Fund of Georgia, 2014-2016
- Presidential Ballot Access Initiative, 2015-2016
- Co-Chair, 2016
- Class Treasurer, Republican Leadership for Georgia, 2019
- Chairman, Republican National Lawyers Association, Georgia Chapter, 2019-Present
- Membership Co-Chair, Young Professionals of Atlanta-Board of Directors, 2018-2019
- Founder & Chairman, Trailblazer Rising, Inc., 2022-Present
- Graduate, Georgia Bar Leadership Academy, 2014
Credentials
- J.D., cum laude, University of Georgia School of Law, 2012
- B.A., summa cum laude, University of Georgia, 2009
- Florida
- Georgia