John Lewis Jr.

John Lewis has an unparalleled background as a board and C-suite advisor, problem-solver and strategist.

Before joining Shook, Mr. Lewis held significant leadership roles for over a decade with the Coca-Cola Company at its global headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. First, he was global head of litigation, leading teams of internal and outside lawyers in enterprise disputes and investigations. As chief litigation counsel, he also led the first governance litigation in the company’s history, defending company directors and senior officers in shareholder derivative cases. During the first joint DOJ/SEC investigation into its public filings, Mr. Lewis led board-directed, Sarbanes-Oxley/Dodd Frank whistleblower investigations, collaborating with senior management, insurance carriers and media colleagues on legal risk management strategy. Mr. Lewis was a "working” member of the teams he directed. He led hundreds of investigative interviews, personally prepared and defended multiple senior officer depositions and was actively involved in mock jury exercises. Over several years, he led the single largest potential litigation exposure in the history of the company: a putative securities class action lawsuit that touched four continents and was resolved on terms favorable to the company.

Next, Mr. Lewis served as Coca-Cola’s first Global Anti-Bribery Counsel, responsible for the company’s compliance with FCPA, the UK Bribery Act, U.S. trade sanctions compliance and similar anti-corruption laws worldwide. In this role, he led in-country training, audits and investigations for business units across Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. He partnered with M&A teams leading compliance-related due diligence regarding potential acquisition targets. He also personally advised and updated the board audit committee on such matters. 

Finally, Mr. Lewis joined Coca-Cola’s global human resources executive team as the global Chief Diversity Officer. He had board-level accountability for all aspects of workplace fairness, including EEOC charges and regulatory inquiries, as well as related media and reputational concerns. John was the "voice and face” of diversity and inclusion at Coca-Cola, engaging both internal and external constituents, employee groups, community leaders, elected officials, insurance carriers, civil rights leaders, franchise bottlers and institutional investors, among other stakeholders. 

Because of the breadth and depth of his experiences in legal, workplace culture and reputational concerns, Mr. Lewis brings a unique perspective to confidential litigation assessments, corporate diversity compliance reviews, internal legal vulnerability assessments, and helping clients develop best-practice benchmarking.

Since joining Shook, Mr. Lewis focuses on fiduciary matters and investigations. He has served as a panel Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee for U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in Kansas City and Atlanta, administering assets in nearly 10,000 cases over a combined decade. Mr. Lewis is currently serving as a court-appointed federal equity receiver in a $300 million cryptocurrency/Ponzi scheme case pending in Houston federal court.

Mr. Lewis' background enables him to bring solutions-based perspectives to his clients, drawing on a range of disciplines and a proven track record of success working with business leaders in public affairs, crisis communications, government relations, regulatory affairs and community ventures.