Jonathan Peterson joined Caplin & Drysdale as an Of Counsel in the Political Law Group in 2026, bringing deep government and private practice experience to help clients navigate the full spectrum of federal, state, and local laws that govern political activity, as well as enforcement actions and government inquiries.
Prior to joining Caplin & Drysdale, Mr. Peterson was an attorney in the Political Law practice group at a major national law firm, where he helped many of the nation’s most influential PACs, political parties, candidates and other political organizations achieve their political and policy goals. Mr. Peterson also previously worked at the Federal Election Commission, where he served as Counsel to the Democratic and Independent Commissioners and as an enforcement attorney in the FEC’s Office of General Counsel. Mr. Peterson’s combined government and private practice experience makes him uniquely suited to provide practical guidance to clients on matters that involve both legal and political risk.
Services
Mr. Peterson advises political committees, advocacy organizations, corporations, candidates, officeholders, and party committees on complex federal, state, and local laws that govern political activity -- including, federal, state, and local campaign finance laws, ethics and gift rules, lobbying compliance, voting rights, election administration, and related election and compliance matters. Mr. Peterson also counsels clients on Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) reporting obligations and responding to political law complaints, inquiries, and audits from enforcement agencies.
Mr. Peterson brings considerable experience helping clients navigate politically sensitive investigations before federal and state regulators. His FEC background positions him as a leading practitioner in representing clients in FEC enforcement actions and in advisory opinion requests. Recent successes include:
- Helping a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate obtain an advisory opinion allowing her to continue to receive payments from brands and companies as an influencer and content creator while running for office.
- Securing an advisory opinion permitting federal candidates and officeholders to fundraise for state ballot measure committees outside of the source and amount limitations of federal campaign finance laws.
- Helping a Democratic U.S. Senator obtain an advisory opinion authorizing her to establish a state committee to support state and local candidates under a separate contribution limit from her leadership PAC.
- Obtaining an advisory opinion on behalf of DSCC and Senate campaigns regarding the allocation of costs of paid ads funded through the party’s legal proceedings account and other accounts.
- Securing an advisory opinion on behalf of Democratic House candidates concerning redesignating contributions to a rescheduled primary election.
- Helping the DNC and DSCC obtain an advisory opinion allowing them to retain and use contributions that were untimely deposited due to their vendor’s conduct.
- Achieving a dismissal of an FEC complaint against a 501(c)(3) organization that alleged that it made impermissible payments to former candidates under its fellowship program.
Highlights
Mr. Peterson graduated from William & Mary Law School, where he served as a staff member on the William & Mary Business Law Review and was the recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Award for Distinguished public service. He also served as the President of the Black Law Students Association in addition to the Symposium Director of the Election Law Society. Mr. Peterson was named the William & Mary Election Law Society’s 2026 Alumnus of the Year.
Admissions & Education
Bar & Court Admissions
- District of Columbia
- North Carolina
Education
J.D., William & Mary Law School
B.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Government Service
Counsel to Commissioner, Federal Election Commission, 2019 - 2022
Enforcement Attorney, Office of General Counsel, Federal Election Commission, 2018 - 2019
Law Clerk, The Honorable Loretta C. Biggs, U.S. District Judge, Middle District of North Carolina, 2015 - 2017
