CLA Announces Lisa Kim of the California Privacy Protection Agency as California Privacy Lawyer of the Year

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (February 16, 2023) – During the Inaugural Annual Privacy Law Summit hosted by the Privacy Law Section of California Lawyers Association (CLA), Lisa Kim, Senior Privacy Counsel and Advisor to the California Privacy Protection Agency, was recognized as the 2023 Privacy Lawyer of the Year. The special award was presented during a ceremony culminating a two-day summit that took place February 9-10, 2023, at the UCLA Luskin Center in Los Angeles, California.

The California Privacy Lawyer of the Year Award recognizes an individual that has made meaningful contributions to California’s privacy laws. Formerly a Deputy Attorney General in the Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit of the Consumer Law Section of the California Department of Justice, Ms. Kim has been the driving force behind drafting regulations to implement the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including recent amendments enacted through the California Privacy Rights Act. During the award ceremony, Stacey Schesser, California Supervising Deputy Attorney General, and Ashkan Soltani, CPPA Executive Director, praised Ms. Kim for her exceptional dedication and hard work, with echoing comments made by CPPA Board Chair Jennifer Urban.  

“I am deeply honored to be the first recipient of the California Privacy Lawyer of the Year award,” said Lisa Kim.  “I knew that when the CCPA passed, my professional life would never be the same. I was the lucky one that got to put pen to paper to actually make the CCPA work for consumers and businesses alike and the weight of that responsibility was not lost on me. The regulations were a true labor of love, and to receive this award on behalf of that work confirms that we did a good job.  A really good job.”

The Privacy Law Summit welcomed more than 200 people to the UCLA campus. It featured speakers representing top privacy regulators from the California Attorney General’s Office, the Federal Trade Commission, and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office, as well as a wide range of practitioners from diverse settings worldwide. The Summit addressed topics relating to the California AG’s recent CCPA enforcement action against Sephora, digital advertising, the new California teen/children’s privacy law, artificial intelligence, data ethics, health privacy, cybersecurity, and more. 

“This conference was an important step towards building out the California privacy community by convening regulators and privacy lawyers and civil society groups to share perspectives on the most important issues of the day,” said CLA Privacy Law Section Chair Sheri Porath Rockwell. “We were especially grateful to have had leaders and staff from the California AG’s office and the California Privacy Protection Agency in attendance in such an intimate setting that allowed for meaningful connection.”

The Inaugural Privacy Law Summit convened at a strategic and pivotal moment when California’s laws have become the de facto US privacy laws, and it has the first state privacy agency in the nation. Indeed, California lawyers are well-positioned to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of privacy and cybersecurity worldwide.

“In celebrating Lisa Kim, we also celebrate the incredible vision of Privacy Law Section Chair Sheri Porath Rockwell, Counsel at Sidney Austin LLP, and section leaders including Jeewon Serrato, Partner at Baker Hostetler, and Hailun Ying, Senior Lead Council of Privacy at Redbox,” said Jeremy M. Evans, President of CLA. “Their leadership reflects the section’s relentless drive to elevate the importance of privacy law by recognizing the trailblazers in the industry, like Lisa Kim. Their vast connections to the leaders in privacy law benefit not just attorneys, but the communities we, as attorneys, represent.”

Founded in 2020, the mission of the Privacy Law Section of CLA is three-fold: to bring together privacy practitioners working in diverse settings, provide members with a range of unique educational opportunities, and create a community that allows for an exchange of ideas and technical know-how. Recognizing CLA’s unique role in the discussion, the Privacy Law Section also advocates for the public by engaging with California legislators, regulators, and businesses to ensure privacy laws and regulations protect consumers and foster innovation. 

To learn more about the Privacy Law Section of CLA, or the Inaugural Annual Privacy Law Summit, visit https://calawyers.org/section/privacy-law/. Recordings of the sessions will be available in the coming weeks. 

About Lisa Kim

Lisa Kim is the Senior Privacy Counsel and Advisor at the California Privacy Protection Agency. As the Agency’s top privacy protection legal expert, she provides analyses and legal and policy recommendations to the Agency’s Board and Executive Director, and advises on privacy and data security across all the Agency’s divisions, which include Legal, Policy and Legislation, Public Affairs, Enforcement, Information Technology, and Administration. Lisa led the Agency’s team in drafting new regulations that operationalize the California Privacy Rights Act’s amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act, including regulations that clarify the law’s data minimization principles, prohibition on dark patterns, and requirements for an opt-out preference signal. Prior to joining the Agency, she was a Deputy Attorney General at the Office of the California Attorney General, where she enforced state and federal privacy laws and drafted the regulations first implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act. Lisa received her J.D. at UC Berkeley’s School of Law and her B.A. magna cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles.

About California Lawyers Association

Established in 2018 and headquartered in Sacramento, California Lawyers Association is the statewide voluntary bar association for all California attorneys. CLA’s mission is to promote excellence, diversity, and inclusion in the legal profession and fairness in the administration of justice and the rule of law. Visit us at www.calawyers.org to learn more about CLA or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.

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Media Contact: Traci Rockefeller Cusack at 916-213-4373 or traci@trockcommunications.com