Gregory F. Jacob

Partner

Gregory Jacob is a partner in O'Melveny's Washington, DC office and a member of the Financial Services and Labor and Employment Practices. His practice focuses on employee benefits litigation and counseling, and he represents a variety of financial services companies, including banks, health care payors, and insurers. Prior to rejoining O'Melveny, 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 ERISA, FLSA, 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 US Supreme Court.

Mr. Jacob has also served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Labor; as Deputy Solicitor of Labor; as 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.

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 the Shine the Light on Children’s Rights Award in 2009, and has won groundbreaking appeals increasing protections for abused children in Maryland (Fox v. Wills, 2006) and Hawaii (Doe v. Doe, 2009).

Professional Activities

Admitted to Practice, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the Night Circuit
Law Clerk, Honorable Jacques L. Wiener, Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Honors, Recipient of First Star’s Shine the Light Award, 2009; Justice for Children’s Friend of Children Award, 2005
Senior Editor, The Green Bag
Author:

• “Department of Labor Threatens to Triple Overtime Misclassification Damages for Employers,” Employee Benefits Plan Review (July 2011), reprinted in ABA/TIPS Employment Law and Litigation Committee Newsletter (Fall 2011)
• “Avoiding Liability for Off-the-Clock Work in the Brave New World of the Blackberry,” Employee Relations Law Journal (Summer 2010), reprinted in ABA TIPS Corporate Counsel Committee Newsletter (Fall 2010)
• “25 Returns,” The Green Bag 2d, (Winter 2007)
• “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)
• “Friends de jure, Friends du jour,” The Green Bag 2d (Winter 2006)
• “Without Reservation,” Chicago Journal of International Law (Spring 2004)
• “’25’ – The 25th Amendment in Popular Culture,” The Green Bag 2d (Fall 2003)

Selected Speeches:

• National Association of Manufacturers, Regulatory Overreach and Labor Issues (April 2012)
• American Conference Institute National Forum on Wage & Hour Claims and Class Actions (Miami) (Jan. 2012)
• American Association of Builders & Contractors, Wage and Hour Issues Affecting the Construction Industry (Dec. 2011)
• IADC Corporate Counsel College, Developments in Labor & Employment Law (Chicago) (April 2011)
• DC Bar Association, Dodd-Frank Act: Robust Protections and Substantial Rewards for Whistleblowers (Nov. 2010)
• Corporate Counsel Institute, Wage and Hour Developments (Northwestern Law School) (Sept. 2010)
• Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), DOL’s Influence on the Development of ERISA Law (May 2010)
• National Association of Attorneys General, Misclassification of Independent Contractors (March 2010)
• 36th Annual Robert Fuchs Labor Law Conference, Suffolk University Law School, New DOL ERISA policies and other developments at the Department (Oct. 2008)
• ABA Section on Labor and Employment Law Annual Conference, Whistleblower Developments under Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) (Sept. 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 (Feb. 2008)
• ABA Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee Mid-Winter Meeting, Developments in OSHA enforcement (March 2006)