B. Todd Jones

B. Todd Jones represents companies, boards, executives, and other institutions confronting government investigations, internal investigations, allegations of fraud or misconduct, and significant organizational crises. Drawing on decades of experience in private practice, federal law enforcement, and senior institutional leadership, Jones helps clients determine what happened, assess their legal and business exposure, and make sound decisions when the stakes are high and the facts are still developing.

Jones' experience is unusual in its breadth. He has served twice as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, led a major federal law enforcement agency as the first Senate-confirmed Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), practiced as a business and white-collar litigator, and spent nearly a decade as a senior executive responsible for investigations and conduct matters at the National Football League. As a result, he has viewed consequential investigations from nearly every perspective – as a prosecutor and enforcement official, defense counsel, investigator, corporate adviser, and institutional decision-maker.

That perspective is central to his work at Robins Kaplan. Jones understands how prosecutors and government agencies evaluate evidence, establish investigative priorities, and make enforcement decisions. Just as importantly, his years in the private sector have given him an appreciation for the practical consequences of those decisions for a business and its leadership. He advises clients not only on what the law permits or requires, but on how investigative and litigation decisions may affect operations, governance, employees, business relationships, and institutional reputation.

Government and Internal Investigations

Jones represents companies and individuals facing federal investigations, subpoenas, grand jury proceedings, civil investigative demands, and other government inquiries. He also assists boards and senior management with sensitive internal investigations involving alleged misconduct, compliance failures, fraud, and wrongdoing by employees or executives.

His experience inside the Department of Justice provides clients with insight into how an investigation may develop and what government decision-makers are likely to consider important. His defense and private-sector experience provides the other side of that equation: how an organization can establish the facts, protect its interests, respond credibly, and avoid allowing an investigation to overwhelm the underlying business.

Jones is particularly valuable in matters where the legal issues cannot be separated from broader questions of governance, institutional credibility, and business judgment.

Fraud, Investigations, and Recovery

Jones also works with companies and institutions that believe they have been victims of fraud, financial misconduct, breaches of duty, or other wrongdoing. As part of Robins Kaplan's Fraud, Investigations and Recovery practice, he helps clients investigate suspected misconduct, assess the strength of the evidence, identify responsible parties, and determine whether affirmative litigation provides a practical path to recovering losses.

His enforcement background is especially useful at the investigative stage. Having spent years evaluating allegations and deciding whether evidence justified government action, Jones understands the difference between suspicious circumstances and a case that can ultimately be proved. Working with Robins Kaplan's trial lawyers, former federal prosecutors, and other investigative resources, he helps clients develop the evidence necessary to make that assessment and, where appropriate, pursue recovery through litigation.

Crisis Management and Institutional Leadership

Jones' practice is also informed by substantial experience leading institutions through periods of intense scrutiny.

He became Acting Director of ATF following the Fast and Furious firearms-trafficking controversy and subsequently became the agency's first Senate-confirmed Director. His tenure encompassed significant national events – including the Aurora theater and Sandy Hook mass shootings and the Boston Marathon bombing – and required coordination among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies while the agency itself faced significant congressional, media, and public scrutiny.

Those experiences shape the advice Jones gives institutional leaders today. He understands what it means to make consequential decisions with incomplete information while regulators, employees, boards, the media, and other stakeholders are demanding answers. He helps clients establish reliable facts, identify the audiences that ultimately will judge the organization's response, and make decisions capable of withstanding later scrutiny.

Sports Investigations, Integrity, and Conduct

Jones also advises leagues, teams, governing bodies, sports businesses, executives, and athletes on investigations, integrity, governance, and other sensitive matters.

Before returning to Robins Kaplan in 2024, Jones spent nearly a decade as Senior Vice President and Special Counsel for Conduct at the National Football League. He oversaw investigatory and disciplinary processes involving player and employee conduct and worked on emerging issues involving legalized sports betting and the integrity of the game.

That experience gives him an uncommon understanding of the legal, commercial, reputational, and governance issues facing modern sports organizations.

A Perspective Built for Difficult Matters

Clients typically call Jones when a problem does not fit neatly into a single legal category – when an investigation may become litigation, a regulatory matter threatens broader business consequences, allegations of wrongdoing require an independent assessment, or senior leadership must make decisions before all of the facts are known.

His approach is straightforward: establish the facts, understand the decision-makers and risks, determine what can actually be proved, and develop a strategy that serves the client's larger objectives.

Jones' value to clients ultimately comes from having made difficult decisions from multiple sides of the table. He understands how government investigates and exercises its authority, how companies and individuals defend themselves when that authority is brought to bear, and how institutional leaders must manage the consequences. He brings those perspectives together to help clients navigate their most consequential investigations, disputes, and crises.

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School, J.D.
• Macalester College, B.A. in Political Science

Representative Matters

U.S. v. Omer Abdi Mohamed (2009-2011): As Lead Counsel U.S. Attorney for the District of Minneapolis, led the prosecution of a high-profile terrorism recruitment case involving conspirators recruiting Somali Americans to fight abroad. The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a conspiracy to murder, kidnap, and maim abroad. (Prior to joining Robins Kaplan LLP)

U.S. v. Alan Green (2005): Led the defense in a federal criminal action of a sitting state district court judge in a high-profile public corruption case. In a following trial serving as co-lead defense counsel, the jury hung on all but one mail fraud count against the judge and returned a verdict only on the sole mail fraud count of conviction.

State of Minnesota v. Kirby Puckett (2003): Successfully defended Hall of Fame baseball player Kirby Puckett in a high-profile criminal trial involving allegations of sexual assault, obtaining a full acquittal at trial.

John Barlow v. Velma Throdahl (1995-1996): Successfully defended a municipal employee in a defamation lawsuit, resulting in the plaintiff dismissing the case with prejudice. (Prior to joining Robins Kaplan LLP)

Yvette Robinson, et al. v. Henry Cisneros, et al. (1994-1996): Successfully negotiated a settlement in a federal class action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in public housing assignments. (Prior to joining Robins Kaplan LLP)

U.S. v. Cassell Bobo, et al. (1993): Successfully prosecuted a major narcotics distribution and money laundering conspiracy involving California and Minnesota. Convictions >were upheld on appeal. (Prior to joining Robins Kaplan LLP)

U.S. v. Michael Severe, et al. (1993): Successfully prosecuted a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. The conviction was upheld on appeal. (Prior to joining Robins Kaplan LLP)

U.S. v. Alex Horne and Joseph Franklin (1993): Successfully prosecuted a case involving conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and operation of a crack house near a school. Convictions were upheld on appeal. (Prior to joining Robins Kaplan LLP)

U.S. v. Norberto Trevino-Rodriguez and Rosalio Trevino-Lopez (1992): Successfully prosecuted a multi-state cocaine distribution conspiracy. Convictions were upheld on appeal. (Prior to joining Robins Kaplan LLP)

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2026-2027 edition) 
• Listed in “500 Leading Global Investigations Lawyers,” Lawdragon (2026)
• Named to "Top Lawyers List," Minnesota Monthly (2025)
• Recipient of the Edmund J. Randolph Award from the Department of Justice (2011)
• National Black Prosecutors Association President's Award of Excellence (2011)
• Macalester College Alumni Citation - The Catharine Lealtad '15 Service to Society Award (2010)
• Named a "Minnesota Super Lawyer" by Super Lawyers (2002-2008)
• Named to the "Top 40 Criminal Defense Lawyers" by Minnesota Law & Politics (2007-2008)
• City of St. Paul Certificate of Recognition for service as Co-Chair of the St. Paul Police Chief Examination (Selection) Committee (2004)
• Inducted as Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers (2001)
• Navy Achievement Medals for service while on active and reserve duty in the United States Marine Corps (1989 and 1995)

Civic

• Marine Corps Heritage Foundation (2020-present)
• National Policing Institute, Board Member (2023-2026)
• University of Minnesota Foundation, Board of Trustees (2005-2009)
• University of Minnesota Law School, Institute for Law and Politics, Advisory Board Member (2007-2009)
• University of St. Thomas School of Law, Board of Governors (2000-2006)
• Twin Cities RISE! Board of Directors (2001-2003)
• State of Minnesota, Governor's Citizen Advisory Commission on Redistricting, Member (2001)
• Catholic Charities of St. Paul & Minneapolis, Board of Directors (1990-1996)

Professional

• American Bar Association

Speeches

• NFL Sunday Ticket Panel
  Minnesota FBA Antitrust Section, Minneapolis, Minnesota (February 5, 2026)
• Keynote Address
  Minneapolis NAACP 2025 Freedom Fund Dinner (September 13, 2025)
• Preparing a Game Plan: Incident Response and Preventing Corporate Crisis for Sports & Entertainment Legal Teams
  American Bar Association Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries, Las Vegas, Nevada (November 15, 2024)
• Law and Leadership in Public and Private Sectors  
  ​Robins Kaplan LLP Trial Advocacy Seminar, Minneapolis, Minnesota (October 30, 2024)

Articles

• “New NCAA Betting Policy Fits Trend Of Eased Restrictions,” Law360 (November 13, 2025)
• "The Evolving Role of Internal Corporate Investigations: Why Proactive Oversight Matters More Than Ever,"New York Law Journal (April 7, 2025)

Media Mentions

• "The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Investigations Lawyers," Lawdragon (July 10, 2026)
• "Lessons From a Legal Career in the Military, the NFL and Government," Legal Dive (September 11, 2024)
• "NFL Senior VP Rejoins Robins Kaplan’s White Collar Practice," Law360 (September 3, 2024)
• "Kirkland, Paul Weiss, Weil, McDermott and Other Top Firms Make Lateral Bonanza in NY," Law.com (September 3, 2024)
• "B. Todd Jones, Former MN U.S. Attorney and Director of ATF, Leaving NFL to Rejoin Robins Kaplan Law Firm," Star Tribune (September 3, 2024)
• "Code of Conduct," Macalaster College Alumni News (August 26, 2024)
• "Alumni Interrogatory: B. Todd Jones," Minnesota Law Magazine (May 15, 2021)