WASHINGTON, D.C., February 27, 2018 – ZwillGen has appointed two new Shareholders and two new Practice Chairs and has added a new attorney in Boston to support its growing Massachusetts client base.
Melissa Maalouf and Kandi Parsons have been voted in as Shareholders in the Washington, D.C. office. Also in the D.C. office, Jeff Landis has been tapped as the Chair of the litigation team and Mason Weisz is officially leading the international practice from the New York office.
“The contributions that Melissa, Kandi, Jeff, and Mason have made to ZwillGen on the client side have helped raise ZwillGen’s profile as the go-to firm for privacy advice and litigation. The way they thoughtfully approach challenges and propose solutions while anticipating potential regulations has helped clients expand their services and offerings with confidence,” said Marc Zwillinger, ZwillGen’s Founder and Managing Member. “Internally, they are all natural leaders and contribute to the firm culture of collaboration and comradery. I am really happy to see them take on these expanded roles.”
Also, in recognition of the growing importance of its Boston-based clients, ZwillGen has hired Michelle Anderson, a privacy lawyer formerly with DLA Piper, to work on international and domestic privacy matters. Michelle will also be available for on-site work with clients in the Boston area. As Marc Zwillinger said, “Having called Boston home for eight years, I have a special fondness for the city and its growing technology and online community. It will be excellent having an experienced lawyer working collaboratively across the firm while serving local clients.”
Melissa Maalouf – Melissa advises clients on both U.S. and international data privacy and security issues. She counsels providers of wearables, Internet-connected devices, and mobile applications on integrating “privacy-by-design” concepts into their products and in complying with the EU GDPR. She also assists clients in drafting appropriate website disclosures, implementing legally-compliant e-commerce flows, responding to FTC Section 5 and state AG enforcement actions, analyzing advertising claims, and advising on children’s online privacy and safety issues.
Kandi Parsons – Kandi counsels clients regarding U.S. and international privacy, security, and marketing laws, including COPPA, FCRA, CAN-SPAM, the GDPR and education laws. She helps clients build privacy into their products, draft product terms and internal company policies, and conduct comprehensive training and privacy and security audits. Drawing on her eight-year tenure in the FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Kandi assists clients in responding to federal and state regulatory investigations. While at the FTC, Kandi served on detail to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Jeff Landis – Jeff represents clients in litigation, with a particular focus on defending media and technology companies in class action lawsuits brought under federal and state privacy statutes. He also assists clients in responding to law enforcement requests for user data and in formal investigations and informal inquiries conducted by the DOJ and states’ Attorney General Offices. Jeff has served as trial counsel in matters pending before judges, juries, and arbitration panels.
Mason Weisz – Mason advises on international privacy and data protection issues. He focuses on creating business-friendly strategies for navigating differences in foreign and U.S. law, including in relation to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), ePrivacy rules, Privacy Shield, Standard Contractual Clauses, and other data transfer mechanisms. His practice covers areas such as data collection, product design, advertising technology, marketing, data licensing, data security, children’s privacy, health privacy and financial privacy.
Michelle Anderson – Michelle guides clients through multi-jurisdictional privacy and security issues relating to the collection, use, disclosure, security, and transfer of personal information. She regularly advises clients on the GDPR, cross-border data transfers and Privacy Shield, drafting and implementing privacy policies, breach notification and remediation, consumer protection, children and student privacy, vendor agreements, and privacy due diligence in acquisitions.
