FTC Commissioner Julie Brill To Co-Lead Hogan Lovells Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice as of 1 April

As co-director of the Privacy and Cybersecurity practice, Brill succeeds co-director and founding partner Christopher Wolf, who will transition to a senior status at the firm. She will be joined in leadership with Marcy Wilder, co-director of the Privacy and Cybersecurity practice; Harriet Pearson, leader of the firm’s Cybersecurity Solutions Group and Cyber Risk Services business unit; and Eduardo Ustaran, a partner in the firm’s London office, and leader of the firm’s European data protection practice.

“Julie brings immense substantive knowledge, enormous energy, and great enthusiasm to our privacy practice,” said Marcy Wilder, co-director of the firm’s Privacy and Cybersecurity practice. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with her, and are excited for the contributions she will bring to the firm.” “I can’t think of anyone better to take over my role than Julie Brill,” added outgoing practice co-director, Chris Wolf. “Her keen intelligence and reservoir of knowledge about privacy and data security law, combined with her commitment to consumer privacy, make her a natural leader for Hogan Lovells’ privacy practice.  I look forward to participating in her transition from public service to private practice.”

Brill was appointed to the FTC by President Obama and unanimously confirmed as a commissioner in 2010. She is known as “the Commission’s most important voice on Internet privacy and data security issues”, a “key player in U.S. and global regulations,” and “one of the top minds in online privacy.” Prior to serving on the Commission, Brill was an Assistant Attorney General in the States of North Carolina and Vermont for over 20 years. Before coming to the Vermont Attorney General’s office, she was an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York.

At the Federal Trade Commission Brill was also one of the key U.S. antitrust enforcers.  As a result, Brill also will be involved in Hogan Lovells’ leading antitrust practices.

“We are thrilled to have someone of Julie’s stature and caliber join the firm,” Steve Immelt, CEO of Hogan Lovells. “She is renowned as a global leader in privacy law and public policy, and is widely-recognized for her distinguished work at the FTC.  We are confident she will build upon her years of experience to provide exemplary client service and practice leadership.”

Brill has received numerous national awards for her work in the privacy sector. She received the 2014 Privacy Leader of the Year Award from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP); the New York University School of Law Alumna of the Year Award;   was named one of eight ” Government Stars” among the “2015 Attorneys Who Matter”; and was recently elected to the American Law Institute,  the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and improve the law.

Brill earned her B.A. from Princeton University magna cum laude, and her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she had a Root-Tilden Scholarship for her commitment to public service.

Authored by the HL Chronicle of Data Protection Team