Kerrie Forbes stood behind a huge red ribbon on the tarmac at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport with a 30-seat JSX jet behind her.
It was 11 a.m. on April 28, the grand opening of JSX’s new Southern California airport terminal, which Forbes describes as her best day on the job since she joined JSX as chief legal officer in January 2024.
Orange County was the 2016 birthplace of JSX — a now Dallas-headquartered public charter jet operator offering business-class service to more than 350,000 passengers last year — and the site of its rebirth of sorts nine years later. The event also marked the end of a several-year litigation fight between JSX and local officials in Orange County, which is one of the jet operator’s busiest locations.
“The prior relationships among the county, the airport and JSX had been adversarial and unproductive,” said Forbes, who — along with JSX’s new VP of airport affairs, Ken Edmondson — reengaged with John Wayne Airport leaders about a new terminal.
“Changing up the players on our team helped to turn the tide,” Forbes said. “We focused on collaboration and working towards a solution that would benefit everyone. Over the course of the year, we developed good relationships in Orange County, solidified a game plan, moved to our new location, dismissed the litigation and celebrated with the ribbon cutting ceremony with the airport director and county board of supervisors.”
Legal industry experts say that Forbes, who was an in-house lawyer at Southwest Airlines for 16 years, was the perfect lawyer to be JSX’s first general counsel.
She is leading the public charter’s biggest challenge, which threatens JSX’s very existence.
“There has been an ongoing lobbying effort in [Washington, D.C.,] by some labor unions and Dallas airlines to try to regulate JSX out of business,” Forbes, whose duties include governmental and regulatory affairs, told The Texas Lawbook in an exclusive interview. “I spent a lot of time during my first year at JSX telling our story. We are a small, unique air carrier that has safely and securely flown millions of passengers on hundreds of thousands of flights over our nine-year history. We have robust safety and security standards in compliance with — and exceeding — federal aviation standards.”
“We provide a business-class travel experience, with complimentary Starlink wi-fi, snacks and drinks, and checked bags and room for both big and small dogs onboard,” she said. “And we offer travel to many airports that are not served by other carriers, like Scottsdale, Opa-Locka/Miami, Denver, Destin and Napa.”
Forbes proudly boasts that Travel + Leisure in July named JSX the No. 1 domestic carrier in its 2025 World’s Best Awards.
“Kerrie’s deep knowledge of aviation law — a complex and highly regulated industry — makes her an invaluable asset for her clients,” said Munck Wilson Mandala partner Mike Wilson. “Kerrie is a great leader because she has great instincts on selecting her team, empowers others to assume responsibility, provides clear objectives and trusts her team to execute the best strategy.”
Cozen O’Connor partner David Heffernan said Forbes and the JSX team are “so smart and creative and the issues they raise are always interesting and often novel.”
“On a personal level, Kerrie is warm and good-humored, very easy to work with,” Heffernan said. “She’s direct and clear in her requests and focus, which is always appreciated. She is a natural leader who makes everyone feel that their contribution is valued. It’s to Kerrie’s considerable credit that she took on the challenge of becoming the CLO of a relatively new, much smaller air carrier, and she has demonstrated that she has the legal abilities and personal qualities to succeed in that role.”
Forbes was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado.
“I have both the law and aviation in my blood,” she said.
Forbes’ father is a lawyer who never practiced law. Instead, he operated his family’s large egg farm, which produced eggs for King Soopers grocery stores for many years, and handled financial planning for the family. Her mother was a flight attendant for Continental Airlines before getting married and then became a stay-at-home mom who later became a successful wedding planner in Colorado.
Forbes met her husband Ross during their first year of college at Southern Methodist University.
“He had always wanted to be a lawyer, and he encouraged me to apply, too,” she said. “Ross has been my biggest supporter and cheerleader throughout my career.”
The couple, who have been married more than three decades, went to the Wake Forest University School of Law together. Ross Forbes is now head of litigation at Jackson Walker.
In 1996, Kerrie Forbes joined Jones Day in Dallas, first representing tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds during the company’s historic litigation battle with then Texas Attorney General Dan Morales and 40 other state attorneys general and then focusing on labor and employment litigation.
In 2003, Forbes said she “took a step back from my practice, moving to part time and staying at home for about a year” when her children were young. Two years later, a friend in the legal department at TXU, Michelle Morgan, convinced her to join the energy company as in-house counsel in 2005.
Forbes’ career in the airline world started in 2007 when she joined the legal department at Southwest as senior counsel for labor and employment.
“I have always loved to travel, and Southwest Airlines stood out as a company that was widely admired at the time for its culture, customer service and focus on employees,” she said. “The airline industry seemed both exciting and dynamic, and the chance to work for such a well-‘LUV’d’ brand was very appealing to me.”
Premium Subscriber Q&A: CLO Kerrie Forbes discusses her biggest accomplishments at JSX and what she looks for in hiring outside counsel.
In 2016, then-Southwest Chief Legal Officer Mark Shaw promoted Forbes to associate general counsel heading all large litigation matters.
Lauren Wu with Foxstone Recruiting approached Forbes in the fall 2023 about the position at JSX.
“It was the perfect time in my career to consider a move,” she said. “I was eligible for retirement from Southwest and had led both labor and employment and litigation teams at Southwest for many years. I was ready for a new and exciting challenge, and JSX was the perfect place for me. Moving to JSX felt a lot like starting at Southwest. It is a small, scrappy disruptor in the industry that people love.”
Forbes said being the CLO at JSX has allowed her to “learn new areas of the industry.” Her position includes managing the airline’s real estate, airport affairs, government affairs and aviation security work.
“JSX is such a unique air carrier, and we are constantly looking for new opportunities to do more and/or better,” she said. “There is never a routine day working at JSX.”
Jonathan Cohn, a partner at Lehotsky Keller Cohn in Washington, D.C., said Forbes is one of his favorite general counsel clients.
“In short, she cares. She loves her company, which she should — JSX is incredible,” Cohn said. “Because Kerrie is so kind — while being incredibly sharp, insightful and efficient — people around her orbit want to be kind, too. I have never heard her utter a harsh word about anyone. She also has stellar judgment, knowing what is important to a case and what is not. She does not waste time with minutiae. Finally, she is whip-smart. She understands complex legal issues immediately.”
“What I admire most about Kerrie is how she balances being a loving mom who clearly puts her family first with being a brilliant general counsel who provides practical and steady judgment for her company,” he said. “She also shows that a parent can work part-time or even take a year off when the kids are young, and not miss a beat, returning to legal practice and ultimately being a rock star general counsel at one of the most thrilling companies in the country.”
Fun Facts: Kerrie Forbes
- Favorite book: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. I read it to my kids when they were little. I love how it beautifully tells the story of the highs and lows of the very different chapters of our lives and the wonderful (and not so wonderful) people we connect with along the way.
- Favorite movie or TV show: The White Lotus. Mike White is a genius at capturing the dynamics of this sociodemographic group. And the locations are incredibly beautiful.
- Favorite drink: It depends on the time of day. Coffee with almond milk and stevia in the morning. Sparkling water during the day. Wine in the evening (Zinfandel if I’m in a red mood or Sancerre/French Sauvignon Blanc if I’m in a white mood).
- Favorite restaurant: I have a lot of favorites in Dallas (we eat out a LOT), but my current favorite for a date night is Knox Bistro. The food and service are both outstanding.