Heather Zachary
Heather Zachary is a partner in WilmerHale’s Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Communications group in Washington, D.C. She counsels and advocates for clients on a wide range of privacy, data-security, and consumer protection issues—from routine matters to cutting-edge issues where the law is far from clear. Among other things, she assists clients in preventing and responding to deceptive and unfair trade practices under the FTC Act and state analogues; developing and implementing online, internal, and mobile app privacy policies and procedures; complying with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Right to Financial Privacy Act, Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, and other laws protecting consumer financial data; navigating complex and often conflicting foreign laws across six continents that regulate data protection, marketing, and international data transfers; investigating, reporting, and remediating data breaches and other security incidents; protecting and exploiting “big data” obtained by tracking consumers online and offline, including through mobile devices and apps; crafting comprehensive information-security programs and policies for consumer data and confidential business information; negotiating and drafting privacy and security contract terms setting forth obligations for clients and their service providers; complying with marketing requirements arising under laws such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the CAN-SPAM Act; and configuring transactions and new product offerings to avoid privacy and data-security pitfalls
Heather was selected as a leader in telecom, broadcast, and satellite law in the 2012, 2013, and 2014 editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers in Business, and she was recommended in the area of data protection and privacy law in the 2013 and 2015 editions of The Legal 500. She also was named to the 2015 “Women Worth Watching” list by the Diversity Journal and recognized among Washington DC's 2015 Trending 40 Lawyers Under 40 by Bisnow Ventures. She regularly presents webinars and participates in panels on privacy and data-security issues.
Heather received her J.D. in 2001 from Yale Law School, where she chaired the Articles Committee of the Yale Law Journal, and her B.A. in 1998 from the University of Southern California.