Internet Privacy Leader Awarded 2015 IAPP Privacy Vanguard Award

Christopher Wolf Recognized for His Leadership in Privacy at Privacy. Security. Risk 2015

LAS VEGAS – Sept. 30, 2015The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the largest organization of privacy professionals in the world, recognized Christopher Wolf, Partner and Director of the Privacy and Information Management practice at Hogan Lovells US, LLP and Founder/Co-Chair of the Future of Privacy Forum, with the IAPP Privacy Vanguard Award. Wolf received the award during the awards breakfast at Privacy. Security. Risk 2015 in Las Vegas today.

Wolf was presented the 2015 IAPP Privacy Vanguard Award for his work as a trailblazer in privacy law. He is one of the first practicing attorneys to focus on privacy law as a full-time endeavor, following his litigation win in 1998 against the US Navy for violating the electronic privacy rights of a gay sailor in McVeigh v. Cohen. Wolf has been practicing law since 1980 and helps to lead a team of 27 full-time privacy lawyers at Hogan Lovells. In 2008, Wolf founded the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), a think tank dedicated to advancing consumer privacy.

“Chris is a pioneer in privacy and data protection, and a true ambassador for our profession,” said Jules Polonetsky, Co-Chair and Executive Director of the Future Privacy Forum. “While counseling clients, he has founded a think tank, helped lead organizations supporting civil rights and the arts, fighting poverty and assisting the home bound.  And he has done so with grace and class at all times. 

Wolf is called by many the “Dean of the Industry.” The Washingtonian Magazine dubbed him a “Tech Titan." He originated and edited the first privacy law treatise published by the Practising Law Institute and has written and lectured widely on the subject of privacy law. Wolf has testified in Congress and before the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board, participated in the 2014 White House Big Data Workshops, and served as a panelist at numerous FTC privacy-related workshops. Wolf is a member of the prestigious American Law Institute and a member of its working group on privacy law.

In addition to founding FPF, Wolf worked with law professors Dan Solove and Paul Schwartz to create the Privacy Law Salon, a semi-annual gathering of privacy lawyers. He also has supported and participated in the Privacy Law Scholars Conference since its founding. In 2013 Chris co-authored (with Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman) a book entitled Viral Hate: Containing its Spread on the Internet (Macmillan Palgrave) addressing the tension between privacy and countering hate speech.

“Chris Wolf epitomizes a privacy vanguard. His commitment to internet privacy brought awareness to an aspect of the industry previously un-thought of,” said J. Trevor Hughes, CIPP, president and CEO of the IAPP. “He continues to grow the industry through his investment in both law and academia. I’m proud to honor Chris’s past, current and future work at P.S.R. 2015.”

The IAPP Privacy Vanguard Award highlights a privacy professional who showcases leadership, innovation and knowledge of privacy and data protection. The recipient positively impacts the privacy industry through personal and communal achievements throughout their career. The IAPP Board of Directors' Executive Committee selects the recipient from a distinguished list of nominees.

About the IAPP

The International Association of Privacy Professionals is the world’s largest association of privacy professionals with more than 23,000 members across 83 countries. The IAPP is a not-for-profit association that helps to define and support the privacy profession globally. More information about the IAPP is available at www.iapp.org.

Media contacts:
Lindsay Hinkle
lhinkle@iapp.org
o) 603-427-9200 (c) 603-674-0266