Press Release
Press Release
05.27.14
WASHINGTON, DC — Pillsbury announced that Brian E. Finch, a leading authority in cybersecurity, has joined the firm today as a partner in the Public Practices section in Washington, DC, where he will represent major corporations in their public policy and their global security strategy and compliance needs.
Finch will also be a leader of Pillsbury’s new multi-disciplinary, multi-office Global Security team. The team includes top practitioners in privacy and data protection, liability mitigation, risk transfer and insurance coverage and recovery, corporate governance, global sourcing, regulatory counseling, and government affairs.
A well-known lobbyist, Finch counsels clients on regulatory and government affairs issues involving the Department of Homeland Security, Congress, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies. He is also a leading authority on the SAFETY Act (“Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies”) and drafted some of the first applications for security vendors under the 2002 statute. The SAFETY Act provides important legal liability protections for providers of Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technologies - whether they are products or services.
Finch comes to Pillsbury from Dickstein Shapiro, where he led the Global Security Practice in the firm’s Government Law & Strategy group.
Finch’s representative clients include Fortune 50 companies, leading cybersecurity vendors and integrators, professional sports leagues, professional sports teams, owners of large real estate properties in lower Manhattan, real estate investment trusts, and electric and gas utility trade associations. He advises companies on critical legal and business strategies for preventing, mitigating, defending and recovering from risks arising from a broad range of threats, including cyber-attacks and acts of terrorism.
“Cybersecurity is top of mind for every Fortune 100 company. Brian bolsters Pillsbury’s already extensive cybersecurity and risk management capabilities while adding a whole new dimension in anti-terrorism,” said Pillsbury Chair James Rishwain, Jr. “We believe his practice will be valuable to Pillsbury clients—particularly those in the vital international sectors for energy, infrastructure, technology and financial services.”
Since drafting some of the first applications involving the SAFETY Act, he has prepared dozens of additional SAFETY Act applications for clients seeking liability protection for a variety of anti-terrorism products and services. He also counsels companies on matters related to the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) law and is a well-known advocate on Capitol Hill for security issues.
“We are delighted to have Brian joining our team in Washington, DC,” said International Trade partner Nancy A. Fischer, leader of the firm’s 60-lawyer Public Practices and Government Law & Strategies sections. “His work on regulatory and public policy issues, particularly in cybersecurity, dovetails nicely with our existing capabilities and adds new elements of interest to our clients with government contracts in defense, energy and financial services, among other sectors.”
“Pillsbury has steadily built a strong team with leading lawyers advising on cybersecurity, cyberinsurance and risk management. That, combined with their highly regarded culture, made Pillsbury my first choice for a new firm,” Finch said. “I look forward to collaborating with a great group of professionals and expanding our legal service offerings for all of our clients, especially in the up-and-coming areas of proactive liability mitigation counseling for companies under threat of physical or cyberattack, securities litigation involving all manner of cyber and data losses, and in the increasingly important areas of government contracting, corporate governance and data security.”
Finch writes a weekly column and makes regular appearances as a homeland and cybersecurity commentator on the Fox Business Channel and is often quoted in top business and political publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Politico and The Hill. In 2011, the Washingtonian magazine named him as one of the top federal lobbyists under age 40, and he was just named by Law360 as a “Rising Star” in privacy, one of only three lawyers nation-wide to receive that honor.
Finch received both his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and his M.A. in Security Policy Studies from The George Washington University in 1999. He graduated from Cornell University in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in Policy Analysis.
About Pillsbury’s Government Law & Strategies Practice
Pillsbury’s bipartisan Government Law & Strategies lawyer-lobbyists advise Fortune 500 companies, financial services companies, foreign governments, real estate companies and energy companies. Pillsbury’s Government Law & Strategies Practice has been named by Chambers USA as a leading practice for 2006-2013.
About Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Pillsbury is a full-service law firm with an industry focus on energy & natural resources, financial services including financial institutions, real estate & construction, and technology. Based in the world's major financial, technology and energy centers, Pillsbury counsels clients on global business, regulatory and litigation matters. We work in multidisciplinary teams that allow us to understand our clients’ objectives, anticipate trends and bring a 360-degree perspective to complex business and legal issues—helping clients to take greater advantage of new opportunities, meet and exceed their objectives and better mitigate risk. This collaborative work style helps produce the results our clients seek.