Eric Dreiband represents clients in investigations, litigation, and counseling in civil rights, employment discrimination, whistleblower, wage and hour, and other matters. Prior to rejoining Jones Day in 2021, Eric served as the 18th Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and he also served as the 12th General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Under Eric's leadership, DOJ's Civil Rights Division set enforcement records for prosecutions of law enforcement officers and sexual harassment, religious liberty, and servicemember cases; charged the highest number of hate crimes cases in decades; significantly expanded resources for human trafficking prosecutions; prosecuted race and other forms of illegal discrimination in education, employment, housing, lending, and voting; reached historic disability rights settlements with several states; opposed unlawful COVID-19-related civil liberty restrictions; and successfully litigated to protect the Constitutional and civil rights of all people in the United States.
As EEOC general counsel, Eric led the Commission's litigation of the federal employment antidiscrimination laws, and he issued the Regional Attorneys' Manual, which established the policies of EEOC's litigation program. Eric also served at the Department of Labor (DOL) as deputy wage and hour administrator and directed DOL's enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other laws.
From 1997 to 2000, Eric served as a prosecutor in the Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr.
Eric has spoken and written extensively about civil rights and other employment laws, and he has testified about these subjects before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
"He is a persuasive advocate and his depth of experience is unparalleled"; "he is an effective litigator."Chambers USA
- Northwestern University (J.D. with honors 1992; Articles Editor, Law Review); Harvard University (M.T.S. 1989); Princeton University (A.B. 1986)
- District of Columbia; Illinois; U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eleventh, and District of Columbia Circuits; and U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois and the District of Maryland
- Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice (2018-2021); General Counsel, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2003-2005); Deputy Administrator, U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (2002-2003); and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr (1997-2000)
Best Lawyers in America
Chambers USA
Chambers Global
Legal 500 US
Fellow, The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers (2016)
Who's Who Legal — The International Who's Who of Management Labour & Employment Lawyers (2013)
Law360 MVP — Employment (2013)
Secretary of Labor's Exceptional Achievement and Compliance Assistance Awards (2003)
Special Commendation, Federal Deposition Insurance Corporation Inspector General (1999)
- Law Clerk to Judge William J. Bauer, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (1992-1994)