Kirk Nahra, one of the nation’s most prominent and respected privacy and data security lawyers, has joined WilmerHale as co-chair of the firm’s best-in-class Cybersecurity and Privacy Group.
Mr. Nahra counsels clients, from large multinational companies to startups, in a wide range of industries globally, with particular expertise in health privacy and data security and substantial experience in financial privacy and security. He also is well versed in a broad range of other privacy and security matters, including Europe’s GDPR regime; children’s privacy issues; big data matters; data breach issues, and a wide range of enforcement and internal investigative matters.
Mr. Nahra will co-chair the Cybersecurity and Privacy Group along with fellow Co-Chair Benjamin Powell, a highly acclaimed leader in cybersecurity and national security law.
Many of Mr. Nahra’s clients are key players in the health care industry, such as health insurers and hospitals, or important service providers to the industry. He has counseled such clients on a variety of issues related to HIPAA rules, other federal and state laws and regulations, enforcement activities, internal investigations, data breach risk assessments and other areas of concern.
Another significant focus of Mr. Nahra’s has been the counseling of financial services companies on privacy and data security issues, dating back to the late 1990s and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s imposition of greater privacy requirements on the financial industry. Among other topics, he has extensive experience advising financial industry clients on data sharing and compliance obligations under both federal and state laws.
As a leader in privacy and data security law, Mr. Nahra has also demonstrated a commitment to advancing knowledge in the field through activities beyond his work for clients. He served for many years as a board member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals and served in privacy leadership positions with the American Bar Association and the American Health Lawyers Association. He also has taught on privacy issues at several law schools, including serving as an adjunct professor at the Washington College of Law at American University and at Case Western Reserve University. In addition, he currently serves as a fellow with the Cordell Institute for Policy in Medicine & Law at Washington University in St. Louis and as a fellow with the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology. He actively shares his privacy insights through numerous speeches and articles, and on social media.
“We’re thrilled to have Kirk, a longtime pacesetter in privacy and cybersecurity matters, join us in a leadership role at WilmerHale,” said Robert Novick, the firm’s co-managing partner. “Our already strong privacy and cybersecurity practice grows even more robust with his addition. That’s critically important given the increasing client demand for our expertise in this area due to new laws, the expectations of regulators and consumers, congressional investigations and enforcement actions at all levels of government.”
“I’ve been able to grow up with the development of privacy and security law over the past 20 years as one of the early lawyers in the field,” Mr. Nahra said. “At this stage of my career, being part of a well-established, highly regarded and leading privacy practice has immense appeal to me. WilmerHale is an exceptional platform for even greater success. I look forward to working with my new privacy and cybersecurity colleagues, among the best anywhere, and with lawyers across the firm whose clients could benefit from my knowledge and experience.”
Mr. Nahra received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University in 1984 and his law degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1987.