Erik Jones
A former Venable partner and co-chair of the congressional investigations practice, Erik rejoined the firm in 2020 after serving as senior public interest counsel under Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. In that role – his second stint in the office – Erik led the office's investigation into clergy sexual abuse in Illinois. He previously served as director of the policy bureau and assistant attorney general. In addition to acting as Attorney General Madigan's lead adviser on data security and privacy, he developed investigations and legislation on a range of privacy and technology issues, including patent trolls, payroll cards, and the effort to update Illinois law on data security for the first time in nearly a decade.
Erik's experience in government began in Congress, where he served as deputy general counsel and chief investigative counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. He helped create the Committee's Office of Oversight and Investigations and later served as its lead counsel on cybersecurity matters. Prior to his work in the Senate, Erik was counsel to the House of Representatives Energy & Commerce and Oversight & Government Reform Committees.
Erik played a significant role in Congress's work on data security, privacy, and technology issues, taking the lead in drafting and negotiating the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2010, as well as significant portions of the Cybersecurity Act. He led the Senate Commerce Committee's survey of cybersecurity practices among Fortune 500 companies and played an instrumental role in establishing the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework. He also directed the first federal investigation into the privacy practices of data brokers and managed the Committee's Internet governance portfolio, which included the decision by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to expand top-level domain names.
Experience
Government Experience
- Office of the Illinois Attorney General
- Senior public interest counsel
- Director of the Policy Bureau
- Assistant attorney general
- Counsel, U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee
- Counsel, U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
- U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Deputy general counsel
- Chief investigative counsel
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. University of Michigan Law School 2004
- Associate editor, Michigan Journal of Law Reform
- B.S. magna cum laude Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 2001
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Member, International Association of Privacy Professionals
- Member, American Council of Young Political Leaders
- Adjunct professor, Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law
Recognition
- Legal 500, Advertising and Marketing and Technology – Data Protection and Privacy, 2016
Community
Personal Activities
- U.S. House of Representatives candidate, 13th Congressional District, Illinois, 2018 – Received endorsements from the Chicago Tribune, the State Journal-Register, the Sierra Club, and the League of Conservation Voters, among others