Data Protection, Privacy & Security Counsel Attorney

Job Description

Job Description

Data Protection, Privacy & Security Counsel Attorney

Direct Counsel is seeking an experienced Counsel with approximately 8-15 years of relevant experience to join an Am Law 100 firm's nationally recognized Data Protection, Privacy & Security practice in its Palo Alto office. This opportunity is ideal for an attorney with significant experience advising technology companies on privacy, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence governance, and data protection matters throughout the corporate lifecycle.

Responsibilities:

• Advise technology companies on U.S. and international privacy and data protection laws, including state privacy statutes and global privacy frameworks.

• Counsel clients on AI governance, responsible AI deployment, data usage practices, training data considerations, and emerging regulatory requirements.

• Draft, review, and negotiate privacy and data security provisions in commercial, technology, SaaS, licensing, cloud services, strategic partnership, and vendor agreements.

• Support venture-backed and high-growth companies throughout their corporate lifecycle, including privacy compliance program development and product launches.

• Conduct privacy and cybersecurity due diligence for venture financings, mergers and acquisitions, investments, and strategic transactions.

• Advise clients on incident response preparedness, regulatory investigations, breach notification obligations, and security governance frameworks.

• Develop privacy notices, policies, data processing agreements, consent mechanisms, and internal governance documentation.

• Partner with product, engineering, security, and executive leadership teams to implement privacy-by-design and AI governance principles.

• Collaborate with attorneys across emerging growth, venture capital, technology transactions, and M&A practices.

Qualifications:

• Approximately 8-15 years of relevant experience in privacy, cybersecurity, technology transactions, and/or regulatory counseling.

• Significant experience advising technology companies on privacy and data governance matters.

• Deep familiarity with California privacy laws, consumer privacy regulations, data security requirements, and emerging AI regulations.

• Experience advising venture-backed companies, software companies, AI companies, cloud providers, digital platforms, or other technology-focused businesses.

• Strong drafting, negotiation, and client counseling skills.

• Ability to independently manage sophisticated matters while collaborating across multiple practice groups.

• Experience with AI, SaaS, cloud, marketplace, or platform product counseling preferred.

• Venture capital and emerging company experience preferred.

• Experience with transactional privacy and cybersecurity due diligence, cross-border data transfers, AI governance, regulatory investigations, and incident response is a plus.

• J.D. from an accredited law school with strong academic credentials.

• Active admission to the California Bar required.

Location: Palo Alto, CA (hybrid).

Compensation: $200,000-$500,000 annually, depending on geographic market, experience, and qualifications, plus comprehensive benefits.