Boies Schiller Flexner LLP today announced that Mark Mao will join the firm’s San Francisco office as a partner, helping to expand and lead the firm’s data privacy practice nationally and internationally. Mao is one of the country’s leading experts in the privacy field, particularly in emerging technologies. He is well-known for helping organizations worldwide at all stages of growth leverage their intellectual property while mitigating their privacy risks.
BSF Chairman David Boies said: “We are delighted to welcome Mark to our San Francisco office. Mark’s unmatched knowledge and experience in data privacy issues will further strengthen the Firm’s active data privacy practice. Mark is an innovative litigator who is valued by his many clients for his ability to develop successful business-oriented solutions to their IP and other challenges. He is a great fit for our firm.”
Mao has resolved more than 400 cases in litigation and advised major organizations on hundreds of products and services. He has handled more than 100 data breaches and incidents, involving numerous variants of attacks and vulnerabilities. He has also resolved numerous consumer class action disputes related to evolving privacy and regulatory issues, such as in the areas of data breach and misuse, privacy-based product liability, wiretap acts, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and unfair and deceptive acts and practices litigation. Mao joins Boies Schiller Flexner from Troutman Sanders LLP, where he led the Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Information Governance practice. His clients include some of the largest social media companies and emerging technologies in the world, including numerous Fortune 100 companies.
Jonathan Schiller, BSF’s Managing Partner, said: “Mark’s expertise in data privacy, a complex and emerging area of law, will greatly benefit the firm’s clients. I am particularly excited about working with Mark to expand our Pacific Rim practice given his fluency in Mandarin and his experience managing difficult cross-border disputes.”
Quyen Ta, the joint Administrative Partner of Boies Schiller Flexner’s San Francisco office, said: “Mark has become one of the country’s most sought-after litigators and advisors in the privacy and cybersecurity fields. He is also a tremendous mentor and has opened the doors for many diverse lawyers. Having known Mark for nearly two decades, I am excited to work with him to grow BSF’s practice in California, Asia, and beyond.”
Mao said, “Boies Schiller Flexner is widely recognized for its world-class practices. I look forward to working with BSF’s talented lawyers to help the Firm’s clients navigate the complex challenges in the world of IP and data privacy law.”
Mao is certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals and was one of its first Fellows of Information Privacy. He is also a Certified Information Privacy Technologist and a Certified Information Privacy Professional for the United States. Mao also sits on the Executive Council of the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD), an organization which comprises more than 300 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners working to build a more open and diverse legal profession. He received his B.A. with Highest Honors from the University of California, Berkeley and graduated from the University of California Berkeley School of Law. Prior to law school, he served as an IT consultant at Arthur Andersen Consulting LLP.