Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Expands Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice
24th January 2019
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the premier provider of legal services to technology, life sciences, and growth enterprises worldwide, announced today that Jan Dhont has joined the firm's privacy and cybersecurity practice as partner in the Brussels office.
Dhont has more than 20 years of expertise counseling corporations and public sector entities on European data and privacy issues. He helps companies identify and resolve privacy and cybersecurity compliance issues in the EU; design and implement their General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance programs; and respond to cybersecurity incidents. Dhont has specific experience with assisting companies in data protection authorities' investigations and representing them in privacy litigation. He works with global and U.S.-based public and private companies in several key industries, such as the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, retail, technology, insurance, and payments services sectors.
"Jan is a respected practitioner and one of the few lawyers in Europe who has been practicing EU data protection law at the highest level for more than 20 years. He has an impressive range of experience across data protection and cybersecurity—which are areas of significant concern for our clients," said Cédric Burton, a partner based in WSGR's Brussels office who is co-leader of the firm's privacy and cybersecurity practice and leads the European privacy practice. "Jan's addition expands our firm's EU team—which is among the largest in and around Brussels, and places us in a unique position to assist clients as they face increased scrutiny from data protection authorities."
Prior to joining WSGR, he was a partner at a global law firm since 2015, where he led its European data privacy practice. Dhont started his legal career at the Belgian Data Protection Authority. From 2000 to 2007, he was an associate at Hunton & Williams, and later Crowell & Moring, in each firm's Brussels office. In 2007, Dhont was involved in the establishment of Lorenz Law, a boutique law firm that focused on privacy and data security issues for U.S.-based public and private companies. Over the course of eight years, he successfully built a leading privacy practice from scratch.
Dhont received his J.D. from the University of Leuven in 1996 and his LL.M. from the University of Brussels in 1998.
Dhont is the third senior-level attorney to join the firm's privacy and cybersecurity practice in recent months. In December 2018, WSGR announced that Allison Bender joined WSGR's Washington, D.C., office as Of Counsel, and in October 2018, WSGR announced that Lore Leitner had joined WSGR's London office as Of Counsel. In addition, as of February 1, 2019, the firm's privacy and cybersecurity practice will include two more partners, Beth George and Matt Staples, who focus on cybersecurity and transactional privacy, respectively. Both were elected partner in December 2018.
For more information, please read the press release.
