Photo of William E. Ridgway

William E. Ridgway

Partner, Skadden

1.312.407.0449william.ridgway@skadden.com

320 S. Canal St.
Chicago, IL 60606

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William E. Ridgway is co-head of Skadden’s global Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Practice. He is a former federal prosecutor with extensive trial and investigations experience who advises companies on their most sensitive cybersecurity, data privacy, artificial intelligence and white collar matters.

Lawdragon Honors

Honor Year Practice
The 2026 Lawdragon 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors 2026 Cybersecurity, Privacy, Incident Response, AI
The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management 2026 Investigations, Litigation, Cyber, White Collar
The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America 2026 White Collar, Investigations, Cybersecurity
The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators 2025 International Litigation, esp. Cybersecurity
The Lawdragon 500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management 2025 Investigations, Litigation, Cyber, White Collar
The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers 2025 Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
The 2025 Lawdragon 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors 2025 Cybersecurity, Privacy, Incident Response, AI
The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America 2025 Litigation, esp. Cyber & White Collar
The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators 2024 International Litigation, esp. Cybersecurity
The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers 2024 Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America 2024 Litigation, esp. Cyber & White Collar

Ridgway has been recognized as a leading lawyer for crisis management, cybersecurity, data privacy, artificial intelligence and high-stakes white collar matters by several industry outlets. He regularly leads the defense of investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, state attorneys general, the California Privacy Protection Agency and other U.S. and foreign regulators. These investigations frequently involve matters related to cybersecurity, data privacy, artificial intelligence, the False Claims Act, financial fraud and trade secret theft.

Ridgway has led the incident response and associated investigations for some of the most high-profile cybersecurity incidents in recent years, and his clients include financial institutions; technology, energy, insurance and health care companies; defense contractors; data brokers; and e-commerce retailers. He also often leads privacy and data security investigations and litigations around the country.