Jessica L. Rich

A former director of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection and the architect of the agency’s transformative privacy program, Jessica Rich is a widely respected authority on consumer protection, data privacy, and advertising matters. She uses the knowledge, experience, and insights gained from her 26-year FTC career to provide high-level strategic counsel that helps clients navigate an ever-evolving legislative, regulatory, and technological environment.

As Of Counsel and the firm’s Senior Policy Advisor for Consumer Protection, Jessica helps businesses, trade associations, and non-profits understand the shifting priorities of policymakers and regulators, engage effectively with legislative and regulatory processes, and ensure that their advertising, consumer privacy, and other public-facing practices are both effective and compliant. With thoughtful analysis and forward-looking counsel, Jessica provides clients with the clarity they need to achieve their business and public policy goals.

Jessica has been at the forefront of numerous consumer protection and privacy matters for decades. She built the FTC’s privacy program from a small team to the signature program it remains today, brought hundreds of cases to halt illegal conduct, and returned billions to injured consumers. Jessica led the development of the FTC’s rules protecting children’s privacy and data security and spearheaded influential workshops and reports on the Internet of Things, Big Data, data brokers, and mobile apps. While enhancing the agency’s technological resources and capabilities, she also expanded its outreach, launching a ground-breaking campaign (“Every Community”) to educate Black, Latino, and underserved communities about their rights and promote closer engagement with the FTC.

Following her FTC career, Jessica served as Vice President for Advocacy at Consumer Reports and as an Independent Consultant to Privacy for America, a business coalition focused on developing a framework for federal privacy legislation. She is also a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for Technology Law and Policy.

A prolific writer and author, Jessica is frequently called upon to testify before Congress on data privacy and consumer protection matters, with her perspectives and insights informing and shaping legislators’ approach to these issues.