Former NSC Adviser Christopher Fonzone Joins Sidley in DC
Sidley Austin LLP has announced that Christopher Fonzone, former National Security Council (NSC) legal adviser and deputy assistant and counsel to the President, has joined the firm as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office. He will be a member of Sidley’s global Privacy and Cybersecurity practice.
Fonzone has years of experience advising high-level government officials on some of the most pressing national security issues of our time. Most recently, he provided counsel to the National Security Advisor, NSC staff and other White House officials on legal matters concerning cybersecurity, foreign investment issues and trade sanctions, intelligence, military and counter-terrorism operations, and international disputes. He played a pivotal role in helping to develop the Obama Administration’s Executive Orders on cybersecurity and position on key legislation designed to enhance the deployment of cybersecurity defensive measures and facilitate the sharing of cyber threat information between the public and private sectors. Prior to his time at the White House, Fonzone held positions within the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense, where he advised senior officials on a wide array of domestic and international legal issues, including those involving national security, military operations and litigation.
“Chris is an extraordinarily accomplished lawyer with significant high-level policy experience and an impressive background providing counsel on complex cybersecurity issues,” said Alan Raul, founder and co-leader of Sidley’s global Privacy and Cybersecurity practice. “We are proud to have Chris become a key member of our practice and join a growing number of notable recent additions to our privacy and cybersecurity group. We are very excited to welcome him to the team and look forward to working with him to expand our privacy and cybersecurity work in the defense and intelligence sectors.”
Sidley’s Privacy and Cybersecurity practice has grown this year, and now has more than 70 lawyers worldwide focused on U.S. compliance and litigation, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and Asia’s fast-evolving privacy regimes. In addition to internal growth, the practice has recently added lawyers in the privacy and cybersecurity space including:
• Wim Nauwelaerts, a leading EU data protection lawyer, who is a new partner in Brussels;
• Tim Muris, former Federal Trade Commission chairman, now senior counsel in Washington, D.C.;
• Anthony Gardner, former U.S. Ambassador to the EU, now senior counsel in Brussels and London; and
• Kate Heinzelman, who joined the firm’s privacy, cybersecurity and healthcare practices as counsel in Washington, D.C., following her service as deputy general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services and associate White House counsel.
