Jon is a Partner at KP. He started his lobbying career with the San Francisco law firm of Landels, Ripley and Diamond, which he left in 1996 to help start the predecessor firm to KP, the Kahl Pownall Companies. Jon leads KP’s advocacy efforts for financial services clients, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and the California Mortgage Bankers Association, among others. He also leads KP’s technology practice and has become a key voice on virtually all issues impacting Silicon Valley. Jon was the first outside lobbyist retained by Google (in 2006) and subsequently has been retained by other technology leaders, including Cisco, Airbnb, and Lyft. Jon also represents five large, national accounting firms (PWC, KPMG, EY, Deloitte and Grant Thornton). Jon’s other clients include NBC Universal, the California Restaurant Association and the Hertz Corporation.

Experience:

  • Played a leading role in managing the financial services industry’s response to several critical issues, including legislative efforts to address the effects of the recent financial crisis, to enact new financial privacy laws, and to develop appropriate rules for internet lenders
  • On behalf of several technology clients, helped negotiate a legislative compromise to enact new privacy legislation, and avoid a more onerous privacy initiative
  • Led a multi-year effort to reform California income tax apportionment rules and served on the executive committee for the campaign to defend the new rules from repeal at the ballot
  • Directed the legislative effort to authorize autonomous vehicles on public roads, and the development of regulations that will allow deployment of driverless vehicles

Community Involvement:

  • National Advisory Board, the Institute for Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley

Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree, Political Economy of Industrial Societies, University of California, Berkeley
  • Juris Doctor, Santa Clara University School of Law; Research Editor, Santa Clara Law Review; Judicial Extern, California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso

CONTACT INFORMATION
621 Capitol Mall, Suite 1900
Sacramento, CA 95814
Main: 916-448-2162
Fax: 916-448-4923
E-Mail: jross@ka-pow.com