Helen Christakos
Helen leads the US Privacy Team and has broad experience spanning transactional, counseling and contentious matters.

She provides cutting-edge legal advice by blending her privacy and data security legal experience with a business-oriented approach. She has significant experience negotiating the privacy and cybersecurity issues in M&A, private equity, financings, IPOs, SPACs, asset purchases and other commercial transactions, product counseling (developing products and services that comply with privacy and data security laws), developing privacy and security policies, and managing cybersecurity incidents and breaches. 

She has represented clients ranging from emerging start-up ventures to global public companies in developing, licensing, selling, acquiring, protecting, and commercially exploiting data assets. Helen advises companies on changing and complex privacy, internet and cybersecurity laws governing the use, storage and disclosure of information. 

In addition to her law practice, Helen is Adjunct Professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, where she developed the curriculum for and teaches the school’s inaugural cybersecurity law class. 

Helen is ranked as one of California’s Top Cyber Lawyers by The Daily Journal from 2019-2022. 

Expertise

Industries

Experience

Representative matters

Corporate and M&A
  • CSW Industrials on its USD313.5 million acquisition of Aspen Manufacturing.
  • RHI Magnesita N.V. on its acquisition of Resco Products, Inc.
  • TravelPerk on its acquisition of Yokoy Holdings AG.
  • W. T. Byler Co., Inc. on its sale to Quanta Services, Inc.
  • Boomi on its acquisition of Rivery Technologies.
  • Despegar on its sale to Prosus N.V.
  • Randstad on its acquisition of Torc, a next-generation AI-powered talent marketplace platform.
  • Cube Content Governance Global Limited (CUBE), a global leader in automated regulatory intelligence and a portfolio company of Hg, a leading investor in European and transatlantic software and services businesses, in its acquisition of the regulatory businesses of Thomson Reuters Corporation.
  • The Run Buddy Ltd (Runna), the world’s #1 rated personalised running coaching app, on the acquisition of its entire issued share capital by Strava, Inc. (Strava), the US-based social network for activity and fitness tracking.
Commercial Transactions
  • A Fortune 100 company and all of its subsidiaries in negotiating an enterprise agreement for data storage and processing services.
  • Drafted and negotiated master services agreements and numerous related agreements for replacing the telematics devices on a global transportation company’s fleet of airplanes, trucks and smart vehicles.
  • A cloud data storage service provider in developing form agreements.
Privacy Product Counseling
  • A Fortune 100 company on privacy and cybersecurity matters regarding its AR/VR game.
  • A Fortune 100 company on privacy and cybersecurity matters regarding its home assistant device.
  • Multiple private equity and investment funds in privacy and cybersecurity matters.
Privacy Policies
  • Routinely advise companies in numerous industries on CCPA/CPRA, VCDPA, CPA, CTDPA, UCPA and ICDPA compliance, including data mapping, drafting privacy and data security policies, DPAs, cookie policies, implementing opt-out mechanisms and adhering to other data subject requests, and vendor contract review and renegotiation.

Qualifications

Admissions

Registered Foreign Lawyer, England and Wales, 2024

Academic

J.D., University of California, Berkeley

Fulbright Scholar, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

M.Phil., Cambridge University

B.A., Vassar College

Languages

French, German, Greek
Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.