LONDON, October 2: Vishnu Shankar, who most recently served as the Head of Legal (Regulatory Enforcement) at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the United Kingdom’s lead privacy and cybersecurity regulator, joins Morgan Lewis as a partner resident in London. In his return to private practice, Vishnu will represent clients in advisory, regulatory enforcement, litigation, and crisis management matters involving EU and UK data protection, privacy, cybersecurity, international data transfers, artificial intelligence (AI), children’s online privacy, and other digital and technology regulatory laws across a range of industries, including financial services, technology, retail and ecommerce, asset management and private equity, payments and fintech, sports and entertainment, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, and transportation. He is also active in representing clients in India and South Asia.
“Ensuring the security of data and private information is top of mind for our clients, no matter their size or specific industry,” said Firm Chair Jami McKeon. “Vishnu, who brings insight into these important matters honed during his time in private practice and at the UK’s privacy and cybersecurity regulator, can assist the increasing number of clients who rely on Morgan Lewis for such high-stakes privacy and cybersecurity mandates.”
As the ICO’s Head of Legal (Regulatory Enforcement), Vishnu helped drive certain of its key investigations and enforcement actions involving the UK Data Protection Act 2018/General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), including relating to cybersecurity breaches. At the ICO, Vishnu worked closely with colleagues in the legal service, regulatory supervision service (including investigations – civil, cyber, and PDMIT and cybersecurity regulation directorates), and information access departments as well as other senior stakeholders to help advance the regulator’s priorities.
Prior to joining the ICO, Vishnu spent more than a decade in private practice, including as a partner, in London, New York, and Dublin, focusing on technology, data privacy, and cybersecurity law as well as intellectual property transactional matters. He also helped clients remediate high-stakes multijurisdictional cybersecurity breaches and defended clients in complex GDPR enforcement matters, including those involving AI and machine learning (ML) technologies.
“Privacy and cybersecurity remain a growing and important focus of our clients around the globe,” said J. Gordon Cooney, Jr., leader of the firm’s litigation practice. “A veteran privacy and cybersecurity lawyer, Vishnu adds breadth and depth to our existing data protection capabilities and technology industry team, adding to our ranks of practitioners who counsel clients on data and privacy matters, regulatory enforcement and investigations and any resulting litigation, and data incident response.”
“Vishnu’s government agency background is unique in the London and EU market,” said Frances Murphy, managing partner of the firm’s London office. “Combined with his broader privacy knowledge—including as it relates to both the UK and EU GDPR—Vishnu is a fantastic addition to our office and our firm, and we look forward to working with him.”