Jacob Osborn

Jacob R. Osborn is a partner and Co-Chair of Goodwin’s Global Trade practice. He also serves as the Co-Chair of Goodwin's remote office. Jacob is an expert in computer software and encryption, and his legal practice largely focuses on advising clients with respect to regulatory matters, including encryption law and regulations. He joined Goodwin in 2008, and prior to becoming an attorney, was a software developer for a telecommunications company. He holds bachelors degrees in mathematics and computer science, and a masters degree in electrical and computer engineering.

Jacob represents scores of clients in the cybersecurity, telecommunications, software, and SaaS industries, including Atlassian, Brave Software, Carbon Black, Cybereason, DigiCert, Dropbox, Fuze, Imperva, Markforged, Mimecast, OpenAI, Perforce, Recogni, Rubrik, Veracode, and Zendesk.

Jacob is also an international trade lawyer and specialist, playing a prominent role in the firm’s Global Trade practice. He has advised hundreds of clients regarding regulatory compliance with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), economic sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), particularly with respect to electronics, telecommunications, software, hardware, and encryption items.

Jacob also provides counsel in dozens of matters involving computers, software, encryption, cybersecurity, and data privacy and breach investigations. As an early user of blockchain technologies and an encryption regulations attorney, he is able to bridge the gap between the law and technology, providing clients with valuable legal guidance in areas of technical complexity. Throughout his legal career Jacob has litigated more than a dozen technology cases throughout the United States, including domain name disputes, matters involving intellectual property rights (e.g., patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets), and other litigation involving computer-related federal statutes (e.g., the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act).

JD, 2009

American University, Washington College of Law (cum laude)

MS, 2009

The Johns Hopkins University

BS, 2006

Xavier University