DR. CHRISTOPHER KUNER
DR. CHRISTOPHER KUNERSenior Of Counsel
Privacy & Data Security
Consumer Regulatory & Privacy
Dr. Christopher Kuner is Senior Of Counsel in the Brussels office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where his practice focuses on European and international data protection and privacy compliance.
Christopher has represented clients in their dealings with the European Commission, the Article 29 Working Party, and European and national data protection authorities. He also successfully negotiated the European Commission's landmark adequacy decisions regarding the standard contractual clauses for controller-to-controller and controller-to-processor transfers, and has drafted a binding corporate rules (BCRs) application checklist approved by the Article 29 Working Party. In addition, he has assisted multinational clients in complying with the requirements of European data protection law, such as drafting data transfer agreements, joining the U.S. safe harbor system, adopting BCRs, dealing with employee data issues, and performing data protection audits.
Recognized as a leading data protection and privacy attorney in the major legal directories, Christopher is highly active in business associations, and serves as chairman of the Task Force on Privacy and the Protection of Personal Data of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. He is a frequent speaker and author on related topics and serves as the editor-in-chief of International Data Privacy Law, a journal published by Oxford University Press. He also has served as a visiting fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute and is an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for European Legal Studies of Cambridge University. He is involved in leading international organizations dealing with privacy issues, such as the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Prior to joining the firm, Christopher was a partner in the Brussels office of Hunton & Williams. Earlier in his career, he worked in the Brussels office of Morrison & Foerster and in the Frankfurt and Stuttgart offices of German law firm Gleiss Lutz. He is fluent in German and English.
EDUCATION:
- Doctorate in Law, Tilburg University Law School (The Netherlands), 2013
- LL.M., International Legal Studies, New York University School of Law, 1991
- J.D., Notre Dame Law School, 1984
Editor-in-Chief, Notre Dame International and Comparative Law Journal - B.A., Classics, Lawrence University, 1980
Cum Laude
- Recognized as a leading practitioner in EU Privacy in The International Who's Who of Internet,
E-Commerce & Data Protection Lawyers 2012 - Honorary Fellow, Centre for European Legal Studies, Cambridge University
- Honored among the "Best Law Firm Writers of 2010" by the Burton Foundation
- Recognized as a "leader in his field" in the 2006-2008 and 2010 editions of Chambers Global
- Named the "go-to person for EU privacy" in Computerworld's "Best Privacy Advisers in 2008" survey
- Chairman, International Chamber of Commerce Task Force on Privacy and the Protection of Personal Data, 2002-present
- Founder and Former Chairman, European Privacy Officers Forum
- Research Fellow, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen (Denmark), 2010-present
- Fellow, Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society, Tilburg University (The Netherlands), 2010-present
- Visiting Lecturer and Fellow, Cambridge University, 2012
- Guest lecturer in data protection and IT law, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (Austria), 2004-2011
- Visiting Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University, 2009
- Transborder Data Flows and Data Privacy Law, Oxford University Press, May 2013
- "Where Is the Regulation of Transborder Data Flows Headed?" Privacy Perspectives, International Association of Privacy Professionals, April 23, 2013
- "'You Just Don't Understand': The Current EU-U.S. Privacy Battles," Privacy Perspectives, International Association of Privacy Professionals, February 28, 2013
- "The European Commission's Proposed Data Protection Regulation: A Copernican Revolution in European Data Protection Law," Bloomberg BNA's Privacy & Security Law Report, February 6, 2012
- "The New EU Standard Contractual Clauses for International Data Transfers to Data Processors," Bloomberg BNA's Privacy & Security Law Report, April 19, 2010
- Co-author with C. Burton, "Study on Online Copyright Enforcement and Data Protection in Selected Member States," DG Internal Market and Services, European Commission, April 2010
- "Data Protection Law and International Jurisdiction on the Internet (Parts 1 and 2)," 18(3) International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 2010
- "Onward Transfer of Personal Data Under the U.S. Safe Harbor Framework," Bloomberg BNA's Privacy & Security Law Report, August 17, 2009
- "Membership in the U.S. Safe Harbor Program by Data Processors," Bloomberg BNA's Privacy & Security Law Report, May 12, 2008
- European Data Protection Law: Corporate Compliance and Regulation, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2007 (Chinese edition published in 2008 by Law Press China)
- European Data Privacy Law and Online Business, Oxford University Press, 2003
- Internet für Juristen, Verlag C.H. Beck, 1996 and 1999
- Speaker, 33rd International Conference of Privacy and Data Protection Commissioners, Mexico City, Mexico, November 2011
- Speaker, International Data Protection Conference of the Hungarian EU Presidency, Budapest, Hungary, May 2011
- Presenter, "Study for DG Internal Market of the European Commission on the Interaction of EU Data Protection Rules and Online Copyright Enforcement," European Commission Roundtable, Brussels, Belgium, November 2010
- Steering Committee Member and Chairman of Panel on Conflict of Laws and Data Protection, 32nd International Conference of Privacy and Data Protection Commissioners, Jerusalem, October 2010
- Presenter, "Regulation of Transborder Data Flows under Data Protection and Privacy Law: Past, Present and Future," OECD Working Group on Information Security and Privacy, Paris, France, October 2010
- Speaker, 31st International Conference of Privacy and Data Protection Commissioners, Madrid, Spain, November 2009
- Speaker, European Commission Data Protection Conference, Brussels, Belgium, May 2009
- Brussels Bar B-List
- State Bar of New York
