Elliot Williams is a principal in The Raben Group’s Government Affairs Practice Group. With fifteen years of experience across all three branches of government, Elliot has worked with elected and appointed officials at the highest levels, and possesses a deep understanding of and contacts across the legislative and executive branches of government.

Elliot joined Raben after nearly eight years as a senior political appointee in the Obama administration. There he honed his skills in management, coalition building, implementing policy, advocating agency positions, and counseling senior leadership. He served as deputy assistant attorney general for legislative affairs at the Department of Justice, where he played significant roles in helping secure Senate confirmation for both Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. Prior to Justice, he spent several years as assistant director for legislative affairs at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Elliot previously worked as judiciary counsel to Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and started his career as a practicing attorney — first clerking for two federal judges, and then being accepted into the Attorney General’s Honors Program, where he served as a trial attorney in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Elliot is a CNN Legal Analyst and a regular SiriusXM guest host. He is a frequent media commentator, having appeared on NPR nationally and regionally, and written for the Washington Post, USA Today, CNN.com, HuffPost, The Hill, and NBC News THINK. Elliot was recognized in 2015 as one of “D.C.’s Rising Stars” by the National Law Journal and sits on the board of the Constitutional Accountability Center. He earned a law degree and master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree cum laude in art history from the University of Pennsylvania.

Jasmine Burton is a director in The Raben Group’s Issue Campaigns practice area, where she brings a strong background in education equity, public policy, and the law.

Prior to joining Raben, Jasmine worked in the Business Affairs Department of ABC Studios, where she negotiated agreements for above-the-line talent, crafted deal memos, and drafted short-form agreements for several of ABC’s shows. She also served as a judicial intern for the Federal District Court in Maryland and for Secretary John King at the U.S. Department of Education. In the short time that she was at the U.S. District Court, she drafted several memorandums, motion briefs, and client letters. While at the Department of Education, she presented to the entire Department the privacy policies on all forty-seven mainstream social media sites and researched how clients can ensure that their information and privacy are maintained on these various networking sites.

Jasmine holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Howard University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, as well as a minor in African and African American Studies. While at the University of Virginia, she was captain of the volleyball team, where she was honored as the State of Virginia Rookie of the Year and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the Year, as well as being named to the ACC All-Second Team and as an East-Coast Region All-American.

In her spare time, she is usually being overly competitive at a recreational volleyball game, attempting to relive her glory days or can be seen trying to explain to bystanders that Carlos Santana is the best guitarist of all time.

Jeremy Paris is a public affairs expert and policy counsel who uniquely combines federal and local experience. He joined Raben as principal after serving in senior roles on the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., and spearheading community and economic development projects in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. He has a track record of building strong collaborations to achieve significant community goals for public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders.

As chief counsel for Nominations and Oversight on the Judiciary Committee, Jeremy served as a lead staffer for Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) on four Supreme Court nominations along with numerous nominations to lower federal courts and the Department of Justice; assisted with oversight and investigations of the Department of Justice and the White House; and advised on legislation related to civil rights and constitutional issues. He later served as a special counsel, advising Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) on the nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch and assisting with the preparation of the Judiciary Committee’s Democratic staff for the nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Jeremy moved back to Cleveland to take part in the revitalization of his hometown. He served as the first Executive Director of the Group Plan Commission (GPC), a nonprofit organization formed by the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, and key civic stakeholders to reinvigorate Downtown Cleveland’s public spaces. Jeremy directed GPC’s work on a series of catalytic projects, including the recently completed transformation of Cleveland’s Public Square. Jeremy has also served as Strategic Advisor for Public Affairs for University Circle, Inc. (UCI), facilitating the development of a strategic plan to guide UCI’s growth, fostering the creation of stronger alliances between University Circle and neighboring communities, and increasing the long-term vibrancy and viability of University Circle’s Uptown District.

While raising his young family in the Cleveland area, Jeremy has continued to focus on efforts to grow and strengthen the community in Northeast Ohio, serving on numerous boards, including the Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation, the Shaker Heights Development Corporation, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, and the NE Ohio Chapter of the American Constitution Society.

Earlier in his career, Jeremy was a litigation associate at Akin Gump in Washington, D.C., and served as a law clerk to Judge Deborah K. Chasanow of the Federal District Court in Maryland. He is a graduate of Shaker Heights High School, Yale College, and Harvard Law School.