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.