Chris Conrad is an associate in Ropes & Gray’s data, privacy & cybersecurity group. He advises technology companies, financial institutions, healthcare businesses, universities, and private equity firms on transactional due diligence, data governance, federal contracting requirements, cybersecurity preparedness, and class action defense.
Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, Chris worked as a trial and appellate litigator at a defense-side global law firm and a plaintiff-side boutique specializing in class actions and mass arbitrations. He clerked for Judge Thomas Ambro of the Third Circuit and Judge Liam O’Grady of the Eastern District of Virginia. He graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where he served on the senior board of the Georgetown Law Journal, and earned his master’s degree in Security Policy Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs. He previously worked as a business management consultant for aerospace & defense businesses, private equity firms, and hedge funds.
Chris maintains an active pro bono practice and serves as lead counsel to a death row inmate in capital habeas proceedings in the Northern District of Alabama. He is co-chair of the Young Lawyers Committee for the Northern Virginia Federal Bar Association.
Experience
- Conducting due diligence on cybersecurity and data privacy issues in multi-billion-dollar transactions.
- Advising global financial firms on enforcement actions brought by NYDFS.
- Developing crisis response tabletop exercises for investment firms, software businesses, and healthcare companies.
- Negotiating data privacy, cybersecurity, and AI provisions in commercial contracts.
- Overseeing data breach investigations and global regulatory notifications.
- Representing technology firms in their defense of civil wiretapping claims and data breach class actions.