The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers

Donna Wilson (Manatt), Erin Nealy Cox (Kirkland) and Noah Phillips (Cravath)

We are thrilled to share our newest guide – and honor the 500 global cyber lawyers recognized here.

There is little in life or law that isn’t encoiled in the digital world these days. And these are the lawyers who connect it all – data and security, innovation and inspiration, litigation and exploration.

Defining what exactly a leading cyber lawyer is was part of the mission. The core of this guide are the privacy and data security specialists who began forming this practice well over a decade ago as companies experienced data breaches and attorneys scurried to become designated as privacy specialists.

But a deep dive on what lawyers and firms globally consider to be cybersecurity these days uncovered a world robust with former intelligence officers, hackers, government officials learning to parse competition claims regarding data sets, tech dealmakers turned to for their way around cyber protocols as deal points, litigators who defend Big Tech from claims of biometric privacy invasion. Robustly represented are former prosecutors and other government leaders whose portfolios detail vast experience in cyber crime security and prosecution.

Take TikTok as an example of the vast layers of legal regulation, national security, technology and consumer protection embedded in its affairs. We’re fascinated to watch the legal teams assemble to parse demands it be sold.

Specialists in regulation of drones and autonomous vehicles are represented here, alongside the legal world’s leading minds in national security, who guide on often old battles fought with new weapons.

To create this list – our inaugural edition – we weighed nominations, independent research and views of peers. This guide is 39 percent female and 19 percent inclusive. Those noted by an asterisk are esteemed members of our Hall of Fame.