Erik Jones brings extensive experience in the intersection of law and technology and governmental investigations to WBK. He is a leading authority on data privacy, cybersecurity, consumer protection, and the regulatory implications of disruptive technologies. Erik’s senior roles in both state and federal government provide him a unique and broad perspective for clients seeking to manage legal and regulatory risk.
Erik joins WBK from the Illinois Attorney General’s office, most recently serving as Senior Public Interest Counsel under Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. In that role - his second tour of duty in the office - General Madigan tapped Erik to lead the office’s investigation into clergy sexual abuse in Illinois. He previously served as Director of the Policy Bureau and Assistant Attorney General, where he was General Madigan’s lead advisor 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 began his career in government in Congress, serving as Counsel on the House of Representatives’ Energy & Commerce and Oversight & Government Reform Committees, and in the Senate as Deputy General Counsel & Chief Investigative Counsel for the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. In these roles, he led congressional investigations into a range of issues, from e-commerce practices and privacy to government contracting and environmental regulations. Notably, Erik served as lead counsel on the investigation that uncovered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was sending trailers with high levels of formaldehyde to victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Erik also played a significant role in Congress’s work on data security 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 important parts of the Cybersecurity Act. He also pushed for the establishment of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework, the public-private partnership for developing cybersecurity standards, and also directed the first federal investigation into the privacy practices of data brokers.
Between his stints in the Illinois Attorney General’s office, Erik was a Partner with a major Washington, DC, law firm and a Democratic candidate for United States Congress (IL-13). As a candidate, he received endorsements from the Chicago Tribune, the State Journal-Register, the League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, and many others. Erik began his legal career as an associate in the Washington, DC, office of an international law firm.
Selected Representations