Jessica Rich and Laura Riposo VanDruff, Two Former Senior FTC Officials, Join Kelley Drye’s Privacy and Advertising Practices

Jessica L. Rich and Laura Riposo VanDruff, Two Former Senior FTC Officials Further Bolstering Kelley Drye’s Privacy and Advertising PracticesWe are thrilled that Jessica Rich and Laura Riposo VanDruff have joined the firm’s Privacy and Advertising practice groups. Both attorneys are former top officials at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with Rich having served as Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) and VanDruff as an Assistant Director in BCP’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection (DPIP).

Jessica and Laura join our impressive list of former FTC officials, including the firm’s managing partner, Dana Rosenfeld, who served as Assistant Director of BCP and attorney advisor to FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky, former Bureau Directors Bill MacLeod and Jodie Bernstein, as well as Aaron Burstein, having served as senior legal advisor to FTC Commissioner Julie Brill.

Jessica served at the FTC for 26 years and led major initiatives on privacy, data security, and financial consumer protection. She is credited with expanding the FTC’s expertise in technology and was the driver behind FTC policy reports relating to mobile apps, data brokers and Big Data, the Internet of Things, and federal privacy legislation. She also directed the agency’s development of significant privacy rules, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Safeguards Rule. She is a recipient of the FTC Chairman’s Award, the agency’s highest award for meritorious service and the first-ever recipient of the Future of Privacy Forum’s Leadership Award. Jessica is also a fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy. Prior to joining Georgetown, she was an Independent Consultant with Privacy for America, a business coalition focused on developing a framework for federal privacy legislation.

Laura also brings significant experience to Kelley Drye. As Assistant Director for the FTC’s Division of Privacy & Identity Protection, Laura led the investigation and prosecution of matters relating to consumer privacy, credit reporting, identity theft, and information security. Her work included investigation initiation, pre-trial resolution, trial preparation, and trial practice relating to unreasonable software security, mobile operating system security update practices, and many other information privacy and identity protection issues. She joins the firm from AT&T where she served as an Assistant Vice President – Senior Legal Counsel advising business clients on consumer protection risks, developing and executing strategies in response to regulatory inquiries, and participating in policy initiatives within the company and across industry.

Jessica and Laura are an impressive duo and are sure to be an asset to our clients as they prepare for the future of privacy and evolving consumer protection law.

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