Gregory F. Jacob, Partner

Gregory Jacob is a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office whose practice focuses on labor and employment law. Prior to joining Winston & Strawn, Mr. Jacob served in several high-profile positions in the federal government, including at the White House, Department of Justice, and Department of Labor.

Most recently, Mr. Jacob served as Solicitor of Labor, the third-ranking official in the Department of Labor. In this position, Mr. Jacob oversaw more than 600 employees, including 425 attorneys, and broadly managed the department’s most important litigation under more than 180 federal labor and employment laws.

Through his government experience, Mr. Jacob has acquired extensive knowledge on labor and employment issues, including FLSA, ERISA, FMLA, OFCCP, OSHA, and whistleblower law. He has filed numerous amicus and other appellate briefs on such matters in courts throughout the United States, including in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Before joining the Department of Labor, Mr. Jacob served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Labor; as Deputy Solicitor of Labor; as an Attorney Advisor in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel; and as Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, with responsibility for formulating policy on immigration, justice, disability, tort reform, and other legal issues.

Activities

Mr. Jacob regularly advocates for children who are victims of physical or sexual abuse, providing pro bono services through the national nonprofit organization Justice for Children. He received the Friend of Children Award in 2005, and has won groundbreaking appeals increasing protections for abused children in both Maryland (Fox v. Wills, 2006) and Hawaii (Doe v. Doe, 2009).

Mr. Jacob also serves as a senior editor for the independent law journal The Green Bag.

Education

Speeches and Publications

Selected Speeches

• 36th Annual Robert Fuchs Labor Law Conference, Suffolk University Law School, New DOL ERISA policies and other developments at the Department (October 2008)
• ABA Section on Labor and Employment Law Annual Conference, Whistleblower Developments under Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) (September 2008)
• ABA Equal Employment Law Committee Mid-Winter Meeting, Developments at OFCCP (March 2008)
• ABA Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee Mid-Winter Meeting, Developments in Wage and Hour Law and Immigration Policy (February 2008)
• ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee Mid-Winter Meeting, Developments in OSHA enforcement (March 2006)
  

Publications

• “’25’ – The 25th Amendment in Popular Culture,” The Green Bag 2d, Fall 2003
• “Without Reservation,” Chicago Journal of International Law, Spring 2004
• “The Power to Detain Enemy Combatants in War,” published by the ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security in Patriot Debates (2005)
• “Friends de jure, Friends du jour,” The Green Bag 2d, Winter 2006
• “Beware the Backdoor Immunity Bill,” Op-Ed, The Daily Record (March 16, 2006)
• “Malpractice that Must Be Punished,” Op-Ed, The Washington Post (Feb. 26, 2006)
• “Children Need a Voice,” Op-Ed, The Baltimore Sun (Feb. 23, 2006)
• “25 Returns,” The Green Bag 2d, Winter 2007