Jason R. Baron

Jason R. Baron is a professor of the practice in the College of Information at the University of Maryland, focusing his teaching and research on the application of AI to improving records preservation and access policies in the federal government. During his 33 years in government service, he served as the first appointed director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration, and before that as a trial attorney and senior counsel at the Justice Department. In those capacities, Baron acted as lead counsel on landmark lawsuits involving the preservation of White House email, and also played a leading role in improving federal electronic recordkeeping policies. Prior to his current faculty appointment, he served as Of Counsel in the e-discovery and information governance practice at Faegre Drinker LLP.

Baron currently is serving his third two-year term on the FOIA Advisory Committee. He is a past co-chair of the D.C. Bar’s E-discovery and Information Governance Committee, a past co-chair of The Sedona Conference’s Working Group on Electronic Document Retention and Production, and for seventeen years served as an advisory board member to the Georgetown School of Law Advanced E-Discovery Institute.

Among his awards while in federal service, Baron was a recipient of the Justice Tom C. Clark Outstanding Government Lawyer Award given by the Federal Bar Association, and is also the only government lawyer to have received the international Emmett Leahy Award, given for achievements in records and information management. He is also a winner of a Fed 100 Award. Baron is the author of over 100 publications on electronic recordkeeping, information governance and related subjects, and served as lead editor of the book Perspectives on Predictive Coding and other Advanced Search Methods for the Legal Practitioner, published by the American Bar Association. His recent published research involves the application of AI to the Freedom of Information Act.

In connection with various recordkeeping controversies, Baron has been featured on multiple occasions on CNN, as well as on MSNBC, NBC News, Good Morning America, and on NPR’s 1A and All Things Considered. He has been quoted in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and in dozens of other national and international media outlets.

Baron received his B.A. magna cum laude with honors from Wesleyan University, and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law.