Jones Walker hires former DOJ privacy counsel Christina Baptista in Washington

By Atlas Watchline Staff · Corporate · August 10, 2026

Jones Walker LLP said Christina Baptista has joined the firm in Washington, DC, bringing nearly 16 years of Justice Department experience in privacy, cybersecurity and AI work.

Jones Walker LLP said Aug. 10 that Christina Baptista has joined the firm as special counsel in Washington, DC. The firm said she will work on privacy, cybersecurity, data governance and artificial intelligence.

Baptista will join the Litigation Practice Group, the compliance and securities team, and the privacy, data strategy and artificial intelligence team, according to the announcement.

Baptista worked nearly 16 years at the U.S. Department of Justice, the firm said. Her most recent DOJ role was senior counsel in the Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties and lead privacy counsel to DOJ's chief AI officer.

Jones Walker said she helped shape and implement DOJ's AI governance and compliance program, including work on the responsible procurement and use of high-impact AI systems. The announcement also said she represented the Federal Privacy Council before the Chief AI Officers Council, led the Data Brokers Working Group and authored DOJ policy on commercially available information.

The firm said Baptista advised on privacy issues in litigation and international privacy laws and directed breach responses. Before that, Jones Walker said, she spent a decade in DOJ's Executive Office for Immigration Review Office of the General Counsel, including six years as senior counsel and managing attorney.

In that role, Jones Walker said, she handled federal court litigation, privacy, records management, audits, contracts and policy development, and served as the agency's lead on civil class actions, mandamus, habeas, Bivens and Federal Tort Claims Act matters.

Bill Hines, Jones Walker's managing partner, said Baptista's experience advising on privacy and artificial intelligence at the highest levels of the federal government adds depth to the firm's capabilities. Baptista said she was excited to work with the firm on privacy, cybersecurity and AI matters.

The announcement said Baptista is a Certified Information Privacy Professional, United States, and has received the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award and the Director's Award for Legal Excellence from the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Jones Walker described itself as one of the largest 140 law firms in the United States and said it has offices in multiple states and the District of Columbia.

Sources

• PR Newswire release

Editorial note: This article was prepared with AI assistance and includes source attribution for reader review.

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