Joel Jankowsky is one of three senior executive partners of Akin Gump and as such serves ex officio as a member of all the firm's committees. Mr. Jankowsky represents numerous clients on a variety of public policy matters, with an emphasis on entertainment, telecommunications and technology-related issues.
Prior to joining Akin Gump in 1977, Mr. Jankowsky was legislative assistant to the Honorable Carl Albert, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1972 to 1977. Mr. Jankowsky served as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps from 1968 to 1972.
Mr. Jankowsky received his B.B.A. in 1965 and his J.D. in 1968 from the University of Oklahoma. He is a member of the bars of Oklahoma and the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Military Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Jankowsky is active in numerous civic and community programs. He chairs the board of directors of the Close Up Foundation; serves on the board of directors of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C.; serves on the board of advisors of the Carl Albert Center at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma; and is a sustaining director of the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Mr. Jankowsky previously served as a member of the board of directors of the Bryce Harlow Foundation, as a member of the Page Review Commission for the U.S. House of Representatives and as a member of the board of trustees of The Potomac School of McLean, Virginia.
In 2010, the Bryce Harlow Foundation honored Mr. Jankowsky with the Bryce Harlow Business-Government Relations Award, which recognizes significant contributions to the advocacy profession through a lifelong career as an exemplary role model. He has also been recognized as a leading lawyer in 2010 by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of government relations.
In June 2011, Mr. Jankowsky was named one of The National Law Journal’s Most Influential Lawyers in the field of government affairs.