Dechert LLP announced today the lateral acquisition of an elite privacy & cybersecurity team, consisting of partners Brenda Sharton and Karen Neuman. Ms. Sharton will serve as co-chair of Dechert’s global Privacy & Cybersecurity practice and Ms. Neuman will serve as global head of Privacy Counseling. The pair join Dechert from Goodwin Procter LLP.
Ms. Sharton is a pioneer and an internationally recognized expert and thought leader in privacy & cybersecurity law. She is one of only 20 lawyers in the U.S. ranked as a “Leading Lawyer” by The Legal 500 in Cyber Law, Data Protection & Breach Response. One of the first practitioners in this space, Ms. Sharton has handled hundreds of data breach investigations, including high-profile global cyberattacks brought by nation states and other threat actors, as well as defending regulatory enforcement actions brought in their aftermath by U.S. and global regulators. She has litigated landmark privacy cases, including one of the first online bank-hacking cases, and defended companies in class-action litigation cases across the U.S. A commercial litigator and first chair trial lawyer with 30 years of experience, Ms. Sharton has represented public and private companies, including numerous leading financial institutions, technology, life sciences and information security companies, among others, on their most sophisticated and complex cybersecurity, investigation and litigation matters.
Ms. Neuman is a highly-regarded, internationally recognized privacy lawyer and former Chief Privacy Officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where she was part of the senior leadership team. In that role, Ms. Neuman negotiated key data sharing terms between the United States and EU, and oversaw and enforced the DHS privacy and cybersecurity program. Ms. Neuman is a solution-oriented counselor to the world’s most sophisticated global companies, from Silicon Valley to the European Economic Area for cutting edge matters and the strategic architect of clients’ global privacy programs. She provides strategic privacy advice to organizations across a wide range of sectors on issues related to data-driven products, tools and services.
“Brenda and Karen are widely recognized as being among the country’s top cyber and privacy lawyers, advising the world’s largest companies on their most complex and high-stakes cybersecurity and privacy issues,” said Andrew Levander, chair of Dechert’s Policy Committee. “We are delighted to welcome them to our firm. The acquisition of this team strengthens our position as a go-to firm for bet-the-company privacy and cybersecurity matters.”
Christopher Harvey, global co-chair of Dechert’s financial services group, commented: “The depth of Brenda and Karen’s practice perfectly complements our firm. We are thrilled to welcome this team, with unparalleled expertise, to Dechert. Their addition is a key step forward in our strategy to expand and enhance our privacy and cybersecurity capabilities across all industries.”
Ms. Sharton commented: “We were impressed by Dechert’s leadership in innovation, and the breadth of its global platform, which make it ideal for our team to strategically partner with clients on cutting edge matters. The stakes have never been higher for companies, as they face attack from increasingly sophisticated threat actors seeking their most sensitive data.” Ms. Neuman added, “Dechert’s global reach will enhance our ability to advise clients under complex global privacy frameworks. We are excited to be working with our new colleagues around the world to elevate Dechert’s reputation as the premier privacy and cybersecurity practice.”
