FTC’s Janis Kestenbaum Strengthens Firm’s Nationally Recognized Privacy & Security Practice

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 3, 2014) - Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Janis Kestenbaum has joined the Washington, D.C. office as a partner in the firm’s Privacy & Security practice.  Janis was most recently Senior Legal Advisor to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, whom she counseled on an array of privacy, advertising and other consumer protection issues.

“Janis is incredibly talented and has deep experience with privacy and security issues that are top of mind to the FTC and industry,” said Jim McCullagh, co-chair of Perkins Coie’s Privacy & Security practice.  “She adds significant capacity and capability to our existing privacy practice and our clients will benefit immediately from her first-hand knowledge of FTC policy and enforcement from her experience at the highest levels of the agency as well as her familiarity with state, national and international regulatory regimes.”

“I am very excited about joining Perkins Coie’s highly regarded privacy practice,” said Janis.  “The group has a reputation for finding innovative approaches to consumer protection enforcement actions, such as negotiating the first ever privacy-by-design consent decree with the FTC and its recent representation of a leading mobile app developer before the FTC and state agencies.  In addition, Perkins Coie is known for providing practical counsel on a daily basis to its many prominent technology clients.”

At the FTC, Janis advised Chairwoman Ramirez on the full range of domestic and international privacy and data security matters before the Commission, including enforcement actions and policy issues involving the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, mobile, data security, the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor, big data and predictive analytics, data brokers, the Internet of Things, social networks, and online tracking, as well as advertising and marketing issues such as advertising substantiation, endorsements and telemarketing.  Janis also served on U.S. delegations to the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Data Privacy Subcommittee.  Previously, Janis served in the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices in the Bureau of Consumer Protection, where she investigated and prosecuted deceptive and unfair business practices, with a focus on online and print marketing, telemarketing, payment processing of credit card charges and malware.

Janis has extensive litigation experience.  She began her legal career in the Department of Justice’s Honors Program where, as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division, she defended the constitutionality of wide-ranging statutes and regulations in federal courts across the country.  She has also litigated commercial disputes on behalf of major corporations at two national law firms.  Janis earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School (where she was Book Review & Commentary Co-Editor of Harvard Law Review) and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Duke University.  Following law school, Janis clerked for the Hon. Edward R. Becker, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  She is a frequent speaker and panelist on privacy issues and is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals Education Advisory Board.

Perkins Coie’s Privacy & Security group represents some of the world’s leading Internet companies, wired and wireless communications providers, brick-and-mortar retailers and emerging online businesses.  Perkins Coie attorneys work closely with their clients to help them stay abreast of regulatory and statutory changes and industry initiatives related to mobile applications, online and mobile advertising, means of capturing location information, and cloud computing.  They are ranked by Chambers USA among the best firms in the nation for privacy and data security and were also were recognized by Law360 as a “Practice Group of the Year” in 2013.

Perkins Coie is a leading international law firm that is known for providing high-value, strategic solutions and extraordinary client service on matters vital to our clients’ success. With more than 1,200 lawyers in offices across the United States and Asia, we provide a full array of corporate, commercial litigation, intellectual property, and regulatory legal advice to a broad range of clients, including many of the world’s most innovative companies and industry leaders as well as public and not-for-profit organizations.

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