Jeff Kosseff is Counsel in the firm’s Privacy and Cybersecurity practice group.  Mr. Kosseff brings experience counseling clients – ranging from start-ups to some of the world’s largest companies — on emerging privacy and cybersecurity legal issues.  He is the author of the treatise and textbook Cybersecurity Law, which was published by Wiley in February 2017, with a second edition published in 2019.

Mr. Kosseff advises companies on compliance with a wide range of privacy and cybersecurity laws. He helps companies ensure that their information security programs, business agreements, and privacy programs comply with state, federal, and international privacy laws and standards.  He has drafted privacy policies, negotiated data security and privacy provisions in contracts, and prepared incident response programs.

Mr. Kosseff helps companies respond to cybersecurity incidents, such as data breaches and denial-of-service attacks.  He often advises clients on structuring incident responses to increase the likelihood of the work product and communications being covered by a legal privilege.

Before becoming a lawyer, he was a journalist for The Oregonian newspaper and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting and recipient of the George Polk Award for national reporting.

Representative Experience

  • Designed comprehensive information security programs for compliance with state, federal, and international laws
  • Counsel clients on data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act
  • Drafted and negotiated contractual provisions regarding privacy and cybersecurity
  • Drafted external privacy notices and internal privacy policies
  • Oversaw forensic investigations into cybersecurity incidents
  • Counseled companies on federal, state, and international privacy laws and PCI-DSS
  • Advised companies on responses to data breaches
  • Led the development and implementation of information security policies and Privacy by Design programs
  • Advised clients on advertising law, FTC disclosure rules, DAA/NAI Codes, and endorsement guidelines
  • Litigated cybersecurity, privacy, and electronic surveillance issues in federal and state courts

Honors & Awards

  • Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US)
  • Privacy by Design Ambassador (Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario)

Publications and Speeches

  • Cybersecurity Law (Wiley 2017)
  • Defining Cybersecurity Law, Iowa Law Review (forthcoming 2018)
  • The Gradual Erosion of the Law that Shaped the Internet: Section 230’s Evolution Over Two Decades, Columbia Science and Technology Law Review (2017)
  • “Cyber-Physical Systems and National Security Concerns,” chapter in forthcoming book, Security and Privacy in Cyber-Physical Systems: Foundations and Applications (Wiley)
  • Presenter, Ten Reasons to Adopt the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, The Law & Policy of Cybersecurity Symposium, University of Maryland (2016)
  • Presenter, Preserving the Privilege During Breach Response, RSA Conference (2016)
  • The Hazards of Cyber-Vigilantism, Computer Law & Security Review (March 2016)
  • Positive Cybersecurity Law: Creating a Consistent and Incentive-Based System (symposium article), Chapman Law Review (2016)
  • The Cybersecurity Privilege, I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society (2016)
  • A New Legal Framework for Online Anonymity, IEEE Security & Privacy (Nov./Dec. 2015)
  • Presenter, Digital Rules of Engagement, UMSL Digital Media Marketing Conference (2015)
  • Law for Media Startups, guidebook published by Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the City University of New York, March 2015 (Co-Author)
  • Defending Section 230: The Value of Intermediary Immunity, 15 J. of Tech. Law and Policy 123 (University of Florida) (2010)

Civic Involvement

  • International Association of Privacy Professionals, Research Advisory Board (2017-present)
  • International Association of Privacy Professionals, Publications Advisory Board (2014-2016)

Memberships and Affiliations

  • International Association of Privacy Professionals

Education

Georgetown University Law Center, J.D.

  • magna cum laude
  • Order of the Coif
  • Georgetown Law Journal, Executive Articles Editor

University of Michigan, M.P.P., Economic Policy

University of Michigan, B.A., Economics

Previous Experience

  • Covington & Burling, LLP

Clerkships

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Hon. Milan D. Smith, Jr. (2011-2012)
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Hon. Leonie M. Brinkema (2010-2011)

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

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