Helen Christakos
Partner
Silicon Valley
Helen Christakos
Partner
Silicon Valley
Contact details
Helen leads A&O’s U.S. Privacy and Data Security practice and has broad experience spanning transactional, counseling and contentious matters. She provides cutting-edge legal advice by blending her privacy and data security legal experience with a business-oriented approach.
She has significant experience negotiating the privacy and cybersecurity issues in M&A, private equity, financings, IPOs, SPACs, asset purchases and other commercial transactions, product counseling (developing products and services that comply with privacy and data security laws), developing privacy and security policies, and managing cybersecurity incidents and breaches.
She has represented clients ranging from emerging start-up ventures to global public companies in developing, licensing, selling, acquiring, protecting, and commercially exploiting data assets. Helen advises companies on changing and complex privacy, internet and cybersecurity laws governing the use, storage and disclosure of information.
In addition to her law practice, Helen is Adjunct Professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, where she developed the curriculum for and teaches the school’s inaugural cybersecurity law class.
Helen is ranked as one of California’s Top Cyber Lawyers by The Daily Journal from 2019-2022.
Expertise
Practices
Sectors
Qualifications
Professional
Academic
J.D., University of California, Berkeley
Fulbright Scholar, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
M.Phil., Cambridge University
B.A., Vassar College
Experience highlights
Advising Bill.com (now Bill) on data privacy and cybersecurity matters in its USD2.5nn acquisition of Divvy, its USD625m acquisition of Invoice2go and Finmark.
Advising Trip Actions on data privacy and cybersecurity matters related to its IPO
Advising a global platform for retail companies on numerous global data breaches, post-incident response, remediation and tabletop exercises.
Conducted a global privacy audit for a food and beverage company. Developed internal privacy and cybersecurity policies. Conducted privacy and cybersecurity trainings for company personnel. Drafted an external consumer privacy policy. Counseled the client on privacy matters relating to behavioral tracking and targeted advertising. Revised form customer and vendor agreements to comply with internal policies. Renegotiated existing vendor agreements to confirm with internal privacy and cyversecurity policies.
Related articles
Publications: 07 June 2023
The ransomware hostage’s dilemma - should you pay the price?
Paying a cyber ransom will, allegedly, secure your data and give you back control of your systems. But there are legal, operational and ethical risks to consider.
Publications: 25 May 2023
Happy birthday, GDPR – five lessons from five years of EU data protection law
Publications: 18 May 2023
Publications: 04 May 2023
Expertise
Practices
Sectors
Qualifications
Professional
Academic
J.D., University of California, Berkeley
Fulbright Scholar, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
M.Phil., Cambridge University
B.A., Vassar College
Other noteworthy experience
Data privacy and cybersecurity matters for:
- Peloton Interactive on its $420 million acquisition of Precor, one of the largest global commercial fitness equipment providers with a significant U.S. manufacturing presence.
- Meta on its acquisitions of Camouflaj and Lofelt.
- Stripe on its acquisition of TaxJar, a leading provider of sales tax software for internet businesses.
- Coinbase in its acquisitions of skew, Unbound Security and Polychain.
- Graybug Vision on its merger agreement with CalciMedica, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing first-in-class therapies for life-threatening inflammatory diseases.
- Remitly on its IPO.
Privacy and Cybersecurity product counseling for:
- A Fortune 100 company on privacy and cybersecurity matters regarding its AR/VR game.
- A leading telecommunications company on implementing privacy by design for a mobile device designed for children under 13. Developed a COPPA-compliant privacy policy for the device and drafted and negotiated vendor and OEM agreements relating to the device.
Cybersecurity counseling and breach incidences:
- A medical device company on managing a HIPAA data security breach involving patient data.
- An interactive learning platform for elementary school children in a global data security breach.
