Fenwick’s Helen Christakos Honored as One of California’s Top Cyber Lawyers by Daily Journal
Fenwick's Helen Christakos has been named among the top cybersecurity lawyers in California by the Daily Journal for the third time.
Christakos helps technology and life sciences companies navigate the complex and ever-changing privacy, internet and cybersecurity laws governing the collection, use, storage and disclosure of information. She leverages her real-world understanding of industry practices to help companies assess their legal obligations and risks, and helps design and implement practical, cost-effective plans for mitigating these risks.
Christakos has been the lead privacy and cybersecurity attorney in major transactions—including mergers and acquisitions, asset purchases, initial public offerings and special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transactions—with a combined value of more than $16 billion this past year.
"It's been extraordinarily busy, a record year," Christakos told the publication. "The overall economic forces and the coronavirus haven't impacted tech industries the way they have other sectors. The products and services our clients produce have been critical in keeping the infrastructure going."
Christakos also emphasized the growing importance of online privacy law.
"In this state, we started with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. It's been fascinating to watch it expand dramatically,” Christakos said. “Even in the M&A space, five years ago, cybersecurity was just a five-minute add-on to corporate diligence. Now often we're the first in the door to see whether privacy issues ill affect the structure and the timing, and even whether a deal can go forward."
The Daily Journal highlighted some of Christakos’ noteworthy work over the past year, including representing Nextdoor in its combination with Khosla Ventures Co. II, a SPAC sponsored by an affiliate of Khosla Ventures. Christakos also represented Bill.com in its $2.5 billion acquisition of Divvy and Stripe in its agreement to acquire TaxJar.
The full list of 2022 Top Cyber Lawyers is available through the Daily Journal (subscription required).