Former Senior FTC Officials Join Kelley Drye

Kelley Drye & Warren announced that Jessica L. Rich and Laura Riposo VanDruff have joined the firm’s Privacy and Advertising practice groups. Both attorneys are former top officials at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with Ms. Rich having served as Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) and Ms. VanDruff as an Assistant Director in BCP’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection (DPIP).

“Privacy law is changing at an exponential pace as numerous states enact new comprehensive privacy laws, and the FTC and State Attorneys General prioritize privacy and information security enforcement,” said Alysa Hutnik, Chair of Kelley Drye’s Privacy and Information Security practice. “Jessica and Laura are revered privacy law and policy trailblazers, and their addition further bolsters the firm’s capabilities, especially with respect to their specialized expertise in digital advertising and data analytics, information security, consumer financial services, data governance and data breach preparedness. Their experience and insight will be extremely valuable in helping our clients prepare for the future of privacy and evolving consumer protection law.”

Ms. Rich and Ms. VanDruff join an impressive list of former FTC officials at Kelley Drye, including the firm’s managing partner, Dana Rosenfeld, who served as Assistant Director of the BCP and attorney advisor to FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky, former Bureau Directors Bill MacLeod and Jodie Bernstein, as well as Aaron Burstein, who joined the firm in 2019, having served as senior legal advisor to FTC Commissioner Julie Brill.

“Jessica adds a level of privacy and advertising legal experience that is unmatched,” said Dana Rosenfeld, Managing Partner of Kelley Drye. “I had the pleasure of working with her at the FTC when we were counsel to our mentor Jodie Bernstein and helped her reshape the agency’s focus on emerging issues in electronic commerce and online privacy. Adding Jessica and Laura to the team strengthens an already impressive practice group that is key to the success of our clients and the firm.”

Ms. Rich served at the FTC for 26 years and led major initiatives on privacy, data security, and financial consumer protection. She is credited with expanding the FTC’s expertise in technology and was the driver behind FTC policy reports relating to mobile apps, data brokers and Big Data, the Internet of Things, and federal privacy legislation. She also directed the agency’s development of significant privacy rules, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Safeguards Rule. She is a recipient of the FTC Chairman’s Award, the agency’s highest award for meritorious service and the first-ever recipient of the Future of Privacy Forum’s Leadership Award. Ms. Rich is also a fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy. Prior to joining Georgetown, she was an Independent Consultant with Privacy for America, a business coalition focused on developing a framework for federal privacy legislation.

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