Biography

Eric Kniffin joined the Becket Fund in 2009. Since then, Eric has been active in defending the rights of religion and conscience in the workplace. Before coming to the Becket Fund, Eric worked for the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, where he enforced federal civil rights statutes protecting the rights of prisoners and houses of worship, and enforced the federal fair housing act. While with the Department, Kniffin prosecuted Donald Sterling, one of the largest landlords in California and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. The case settled for $2.73 million, Justice’s largest settlement in a housing discrimination case. Mr. Kniffin received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School in 2003, where he was an editor of the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy. He received his B.A. in philosophy from Wheaton College (Illinois) and a M.A. in Theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. After law school, Kniffin served as a judicial clerk to Judge Theresa L. Springmann in the Northern District of Indiana.

Bar Memberships: Northern District of Illinois; Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals; Illinois; District of Columbia