Venable LLP announced that experienced investigative attorney Janet C. Fisher has joined the firm’s Washington, DC, office as a partner in its Commercial Litigation Group. Ms. Fisher was most recently a member of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, where she handled classified counterterrorism and counterintelligence matters. She will work closely with the firm’s white collar and government investigations groups.
Ms. Fisher joins a practice that boasts a deep roster of former senior federal and enforcement attorneys, from the Justice Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, state AG offices and other agencies, including Benjamin Civiletti, who served as the Attorney General of the United States. Last month, Venable added Jan Handzlik, one of the nation’s foremost white collar defense attorneys, as a partner in the Los Angeles office.
At the National Security Division (NSD) since 2006, Ms. Fisher participated in numerous counterterrorism matters and prosecutions brought under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The NSD was formed after 9/11 to facilitate information-sharing among key law enforcement agencies including the FBI, CIA, and NSA. As an active member of the NSD, Ms. Fisher regularly participated in matters that required a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information Access (TS/SCI) Security Clearance and ex parte hearings before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. In addition to investigating homeland security matters, she regularly worked with telecommunication and internet companies, including those in the rapidly growing social media space. National Security, domestic and international law enforcement authorities regularly seek information stored and collected by these businesses.
Ms. Fisher’s responsibilities at the NSD included preparing legal memoranda on legislative matters related to FISA, on criminal exploitation of new technologies, and on various matters before Congress. She participated in the appellate briefing for the case arising out of the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. In 2010, she received the Assistant Attorney General’s Commendation Award for Superior Performance.
Before joining the Justice Department, Ms. Fisher was a litigation associate at Williams & Connolly in Washington, DC. There, her commercial representations included appearing before the U.S. Supreme Court in a biotech industry dispute and representing a major insurer on appeal of a case involving the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.
At Venable, Ms. Fisher will focus on the intensifying security, privacy, and compliance issues related to social media, where rapid innovation and global reach have overwhelmed the scope of current law and regulatory oversight. She will help clients navigate the dense web of federal and state statutes regarding online transactions and data storage and comply with privacy and disclosure requirements. Venable’s Privacy and Data Security Group is nationally recognized in the top band of Chambers USA.
Ms. Fisher also expects to advise clients in the emerging business of cyber-insurance, including reviewing security measures that affect premiums. Companies are actively seeking input on comprehensive federal legislation currently in development.
At his Senate confirmation hearings this past June, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta suggested that a successful cyber-attack on the U.S. financial system, electrical grid or government and security systems would amount to “the next Pearl Harbor,” a disaster that can only be avoided through aggressive, forward-looking prevention. Panetta’s comments were made even more resonant by the Pentagon’s subsequent announcement that cyber-attacks originating from foreign countries would be considered acts of war. The nonprofit Intelligence and National Security Alliance reports that U.S. businesses and government entities are targeted by hackers, cyber criminals and even foreign states on a daily basis.
“For a young lawyer with a long career still ahead of her, Janet Fisher has gained considerable high-level experience working on major business litigation matters and in the upper reaches of the government intelligence community,” said Geoffrey Garinther, head of Venable’s Litigation Division. “Janet’s litigation background, combined with her deep knowledge of emerging communications technologies and the security challenges they face, give her the rare ability and experience to counsel businesses in the developing area of cyber security law. We are very pleased to have her as part of our Commercial Litigation Group.”
Ms. Fisher said, “In addition to having a robust and well-rounded litigation team, Venable is well known for grooming former government lawyers and its willingness to develop and support practices within cutting-edge areas of law. I expect to be contributing significantly to various aspects of the commercial lit group but am especially interested in applying the knowledge I gained at NSD in helping companies strengthen their cyber security policies, including protocols around their use of social media. These areas are still growing and defining themselves and I’m excited to join a practice that enables me to engage with them head-on.”
Ms. Fisher is a 1998 graduate of Harvard Law School, where she was supervising editor and later articles editor of the Journal on Legislation. She earned a BS with Honors from Cornell University in 1995 in Industrial and Labor Relations. From 2000 to 2001 she clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Richard Roberts of the District of Columbia.
