Q&A with Arent Fox’s New Cybersecurity and Technology Staff Director

Below are answers to a few key questions we here at Interactive Counsel asked Alex about his work, and how it will fit into our efforts to address our clients’ data collection and privacy concerns:

Q: Alex, what did you do before joining Arent Fox?

I have held a number of positions on Capitol Hill, but most recently I served Chairmen Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Pat Meehan (R-PA) as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Q: What else have you worked on?

I have more than a decade of Capitol Hill experience, including most recently as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity. In that role, I managed the professional staff, attorneys, and policy advisors for the subcommittee that oversees the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to secure critical infrastructure, including all activities related to cybersecurity, technology development, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense. I recently played a key role in the drafting of five cybersecurity bills that were passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in December 2014 that will bolster the security of the federal information system.

I also held positions such as legislative director and professional committee staff and in the government relations department of a large, multinational technology company. In those positions, I worked on tax, trade, immigration, labor, and cybersecurity policy issues.

Q: How will you fit on the team?

With my insight and knowledge of the tech and cybersecurity space, I will act as a key advisor to the Privacy group on policy and legislative issues. Having witnessed the reaction on the Hill to some of the largest breaches in recent history, including the most recent breach against Target, I can provide strategic guidance to clients in a similar position as well as help to develop and manage a data security policies that complies with government regulations. I will also work with Arent Fox clients on navigating federal policy and lobbying issues in the cybersecurity, data privacy and breach spaces.

For more information about Alex, click here.