Ali A. Jessani counsels clients on privacy, cybersecurity and other regulatory risks related to data protection. He has particular experience advising companies on US state privacy compliance, including the California Privacy Rights Act and other comprehensive state privacy laws, and issues related to health privacy, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and state laws regulating non-HIPAA health data. His other areas of experience include advising clients on compliance with the Federal Trade Commission Act, international privacy obligations (including the General Data Protection Regulation), financial privacy laws and issues related to employee data, targeted advertising and biometrics. Mr. Jessani’s clients include healthcare organizations, data analytics providers, advertising agencies, social media platforms, large financial institutions, B2B companies, start-ups experimenting with cutting-edge technology and non-profits.

Mr. Jessani’s experience spans drafting policies and contracts, assisting with transactional matters, negotiating with counterparties on data issues, and providing practical, risk-based advice to his clients regarding their compliance obligations. He also guides companies with respect to their legal obligations after security incidents, as well as through state and federal regulatory investigations related to data protection. Mr. Jessani routinely provides counsel to clients on challenges related to emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI specifically, and advises companies on how they can adopt new and proposed uses of consumer information while accounting for issues related to data rights, integrity and governance. 

Mr. Jessani is a prominent thought leader in the data protection field. He regularly shares his experience on panels and at conferences. His written works have been featured in outlets such as Lawfare, Bloomberg Law, Law360 and LexisNexis and by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and the American Bar Association. His writings on the WilmerHale Privacy and Cybersecurity Blog earned him the 2023 JD Supra Readers’ Choice Award for data privacy law. He currently serves on the Publications Advisory Board for the IAPP and as an adjunct law professor at George Mason University. 

While pursuing his legal education, Mr. Jessani was an extern in the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division’s Voting Rights Section and an intern in the Voter Expansion Department of the Democratic National Committee. He was also executive editor of the Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy.

State Comprehensive Privacy Law Series

Read about the latest state privacy law activity in our Privacy and Cybersecurity Law blog post series. LEARN MORE

Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Blog Posts

Read about the latest developments on Big Data and AI law on our Privacy and Cybersecurity Law blog. LEARN MORE

Recognition

  • Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch 2025 list for technology law
  • Recognized as a "Rising Star" for consumer law in the 2024 edition of Washington DC Super Lawyers

Insights & News

Credentials

  • Education

    • JD, Duke University School of Law, 2018

      President, South Asian Law Students Association, Executive Editor, Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy
    • BS, Communication Studies, BA, Political Science, University of Miami, 2015

      magna cum laude
  • Admissions

    • District of Columbia

    • New York

  • Languages

    • Hindi

    • Urdu

Credentials

Notice

Unless you are an existing client, before communicating with WilmerHale by e-mail (or otherwise), please read the Disclaimer referenced by this link.(The Disclaimer is also accessible from the opening of this website). As noted therein, until you have received from us a written statement that we represent you in a particular manner (an "engagement letter") you should not send to us any confidential information about any such matter. After we have undertaken representation of you concerning a matter, you will be our client, and we may thereafter exchange confidential information freely.

Thank you for your interest in WilmerHale.