S. Priya Coffey, a Texas real estate lawyer and managing partner of Jackson Walker's Houston office, has been named a Texas winner of Connect CRE's 2026 Women in Real Estate Awards, the firm announced October 27.[4][6] The recognition brings attention to a practice that combines commercial property transactions with law firm management and mentorship of younger attorneys.[4][7]
Connect CRE's profile of Coffey credits her with helping establish Jackson Walker's land-use practice and describes her work introducing high school and college students to real estate law.[7] Her selection recognizes a lawyer whose responsibilities extend beyond individual deals to the development of a practice and the people entering it.[7]
Recognition from the real estate industry
Jackson Walker's announcement follows Connect CRE's October 20 announcement of its 2026 award winners.[4][8] The publisher describes this as its tenth annual Women in Real Estate awards program, with national honorees and winners across ten regional markets.[8] Coffey is recognized in the Texas group, rather than as a national-category winner.[7]
The program considers professional achievement, leadership and mentorship in commercial real estate.[8] In Coffey's case, the award profile discusses both her client work and her responsibilities within Jackson Walker, including participation in management, compensation and recruiting.[7]
That industry context matters: this is recognition from a commercial real estate publisher, rather than a newly announced legal appointment or an award presented by a bar association.[7][8] Jackson Walker identifies Coffey as the existing managing partner of its Houston office; the October announcement concerns her award, not a change in that position.[4]
A practice grounded in Houston property work
Coffey represents buyers and sellers in acquisitions and dispositions of land, office buildings and retail centers, and landlords and tenants in commercial leasing transactions.[4] Her firm biography also describes advice on City of Houston ordinances and government compliance, alongside residential property transactions and deed-restriction matters.[6]
The Connect CRE profile offers a more detailed picture of that work.[7] It reports that Coffey represents landlords in downtown Houston office buildings totaling nearly five million square feet and handles leasing, landlord-tenant disputes and operational matters for Sugar Land Town Square.[7] These assignments place ongoing property operations alongside transactions in her practice.[7]
The publisher also cites her representation of a developer on leasing for a Lower Westheimer mixed-use project and work on industrial property transactions in Pasadena and Katy.[7] Its account of her contribution to the firm's land-use practice specifically mentions Houston land-use regulations, tunnels and skybridges.[7]
Those details give the recognition a local foundation.[6][7] The work described in the sources concerns particular properties and the rules governing their use, rather than a general claim about influence in the real estate market.[6][7]
Leadership and an introduction to the profession
Alongside her Houston office role, Coffey serves on Jackson Walker's Management Committee, Compensation Committee and Houston Business Development Committee, according to the firm's announcement.[4] Connect CRE also describes her mentoring attorneys and supporting lateral and law school recruiting.[7]
Her involvement with students begins before law school: the award profile says she helps introduce high school and college students to real estate law.[7] That detail is relevant to the award's emphasis on mentorship, because it includes people still learning what legal practice can involve, as well as attorneys already working in it.[7][8]
Coffey has also participated in discussions of law firm leadership.[6] Her biography lists an April 2026 panel at the Texas State Bar Asian Pacific Interest Section annual conference titled "Moving Beyond the Partner Title: Perspectives on Leadership from Four Managing Partners," along with a managing partners panel at the Texas Minority Counsel Program in October 2024.[6]
For women considering careers in transactional law, the record offers a concrete example of a practice that includes client representation, office leadership and professional education.[4][6][7] The recognition draws those parts of Coffey's work together without suggesting that a single award measures the experience of women across the profession.
Legal training and community service
Coffey's professional biography lists Texas bar admission and a J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law, where she was a staff member and comment editor of the Texas Tech Law Review.[6] She also holds a B.A. from the University of Chicago and an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics.[6]
Jackson Walker's October announcement identifies her as a Central Houston Inc. board member and a member of the Greater Houston Partnership's Executive Women's Partnership.[4] It also notes her membership in the South Asian Bar Association of Houston and describes her Recipe for Success board service and Covenant House Executive Sleep Out Committee work as previous roles.[4]
The award adds industry recognition to that documented combination of legal practice, management and community involvement.[4][7] Read more reporting on women's professional achievements in the Influential Women in Law journal.
Sources
[4] https://jw.com/news/coffey-women-in-real-estate-awards-2026 — Jackson Walker: Priya Coffey named a Texas award winner [6] https://www.jw.com/people/s-priya-coffey — Jackson Walker: S. Priya Coffey professional biography [7] https://www.connectcre.com/awards/2026-women-in-real-estate-awards/texas/priya-coffey-helps-establish-jackson-walkers-land-use-practice — Connect CRE: Priya Coffey award profile [8] https://www.connectcre.com/stories/connect-cre-announces-the-2026-women-in-real-estate-award-winners — Connect CRE: 2026 Women in Real Estate award announcement