Clara Hainsdorf
Biography
‘Clara Hainsdorf is an excellent commercial lawyer and a trusted advisor with an outstanding track record. The level and quality of her legal services are unmatched and she is a pleasure to work with.’
Overview
Experience
Representative matters include:
- Advising Meta (formerly Facebook) in all pre-litigation and litigation matters arising in France, with a focus on technology-related issues, such as infringement and unfair competition in relation to the liability of the hosting service provider, including in relation to privacy-related disputes;
- Assisting French banks (e.g., Crédit Agricole, BNPPARIBAS, NATIXIS) in relation to their data protection issues, including cross-borders flows;
- Assisting and defending Hilton, Ritz, Hôtel de Crillon and other international leading hotel operators regarding trademark infringement, unfair competition and other IP and contractual issues arising out of the opening of hotels in Europe and in France;
- Advising several international companies in relation to privacy and personal data management issues, including notification requirements, intra-group transfers, and use of data in cross-borders litigations and investigations;
- Advising Intuit in relation to the launch of their business in France in particular drafting and reviewing terms of services, privacy policies, codes of conduct, employment and tax matters, etc.;
- Advising Arval, an affiliate of BNP Paribas, on (i) a gap analysis with a view to define a plan towards GDPR compliance, (ii) the implementation of GDPR-compliant provisions in customer and third party providers agreements, and (iii) big data privacy matters;
- Advising Faurecia, one of the world's largest automotive equipment suppliers, on the negotiation of commercial and industrial contracts in relation to the proposed sale of its Automotive Exteriors business to Plastic Omnium, for a transaction worth €665 million (based on enterprise value);
- Advising a German automotive supplier as well as many other industrial companies in relation to termination of their relationships with their distributors;
- Advising Eurazeo, one of the largest European listed investment companies, on the negotiation of licence and commercial agreements in relation to the acquisition from Mondelez International of certain assets in the confectionery products business, including notably a portfolio of local heritage confectionary brands (Poulain, Carambar, Krema, La Pie Qui Chante and Terry's) and 5 plants located in France;
- Advising Altis Semiconductor, on the negotiation of license agreements and commercial contracts;
- Representing a leading Turkish manufacturer in a pan-European (Germany, France, Italy) patent litigation with one of their supplier;
- Representing a major online casino platform operator in trademark and unfair competition proceedings;
- Advising international companies in relation to discovery and issues raised by data protection and privacy laws; and
- Representing a French pharmaceutical company in relation to the drafting of commercial agreements.
Clara joined White & Case in 2005 from another international English law firm. Clara had previously worked as a litigation lawyer in the New York office of Kelley Drye & Warren in 2002 and then at Lovells in Paris in 2004.
Clara is a frequent speaker, author and commentator on privacy, technology and fintech issues. She participated in the creation of a series of workshops (called "White & Case Tech Lab") to highlight data & tech updates:
- Material and territorial fields of the IA Regulation, with the participation of Julien Escribe, Partner et Managing Director, SEMEA region, Information Services Group, November 2024
- AI & Tech: news 2024, Webinar, June 2024
- Exploring the Interconnections of GDPR, Data Act, and Data Governance Act, April 2024
- AI & Cybersecurity: news 2024, Webinar, February 2024
- Generative artificial Intelligence: update on rules and use cases, with the participation of Ludovic Gibert, Chief Data Officer & Innovation Leader for Global Coverage and Investment Banking at Crédit Agricole CIB, December 2023
- The end of third-party cookies - issues and reflections with Sabrina Bouguessa, Data Privacy Lead (Southern Europe) Google, June 2022
- May 2022: NFTs: new legal issues with Gabrielle Dorais, Head of Legal, Sorare
- November 2021: New data privacy and security legislation in China: presentation and implications
- June 2021: Update on recent Data and Tech trends
- June 2020: Update on recent Data and Tech trends
- November 2020: Update on recent Data and Tech trends
Panel moderator, "Investing wisely and the AI Frenzy" during IPEM Paris 2024, September 2024
Speaker, Lexology Masterclass on "NIS 2 Directive: Navigating the challenges of implementation, impact, and scope", with partner John Timmons, June 2024
Speaker, Cercle Montesquieu, "Protection of know-how and innovation", March 2024
Speaker, panel "Update on the GDPR" during the Privacy Law Forum 2024, March 2024
Clara was a panel speaker at Viva Technology 2023, "Does Privacy still exist" alongside Nia Cross Castelly (Co-Founder & Legal Lead; Checks; Google), Andy Yen (Founder & CEO, Proton | Privacy by default), in June 2023
Clara participated in an event organised by the London office: "Demystifying data transfers" in June 2022
Clara participated, with Jean-Lou Salha, White-Collar partner and Mickael Rivollier, Competition Counsel, in the Rencontre 19 Place Vendôme on the theme: "Investigations by the authorities: How to establish its defence strategy? Which answers should I prefer? A cross-examination of competition, criminal law and personal data issues" in September 2022
Clara participated in the Cercle Montesquieu Health Commission on the theme "Cross-reference on IP health data" in December 2022
Clara participated, with Valérie Menard, Employment Compensation & Benefits partner, in internal coaching: "Coaching – Pilot": Quality of life at work and performance – reading grids and tools for the lawyer in hybrid work situations", in May 2021
Publication, co-authored by Clara Hainsdorf on AI Watch: Global regulatory tracker – France, July 2024
Client alert co-authored by Clara Hainsdorf on The pre-final text of the EU's AI Act leaked online, February 2024
Client alert co-authored by Clara Hainsdorf on Dawn of the EU's AI Act: political agreement reached on world's first comprehensive horizontal AI regulation, December 2023
Client alert co-authored by Clara Hainsdorf on US and EU Approve Framework for Personal Data Transfers, August 2023
Series of articles co-authored by Clara Hainsdorf on AI, edition 1 to 5, AI Legal News Summer Roundup, July-September 2023
Article authored by Clara Hainsdorf on "GDPR five years later" (RGPD cinq ans après), Le mot de la semaine - Semaine Juridique, June 2023
Interview on "GDPR five years later" (RGPD cinq ans après), Le Club des juristes, June 2023
Article authored by Clara Hainsdorf on "ChatGPT and generative AI: how to empower innovation?" (ChatGPT et IA génératives : comment responsabiliser l'innovation ?), Option Droit & Affaires, May 2023
Article co-authored by Clara Hainsdorf, Agathe Malphettes and Alexandre Salehi entitled "Platform transparency: the state of play of a constantly evolving regime" (Transparence des plateformes : état des lieux d'un régime en constante évolution), Option Droit & Affaires, May 2023
Article co-authored by Clara Hainsdorf, Bertrand Liard and Caroline Lyannaz on "A look back at the first major case involving the protection of intellectual property in the era of NFTs" (Retour sur la première affaire d'ampleur impliquant la protection de la propriété intellectuelle à l'ère des NFT), Option Droit & Affaires, February 2023
Article / Tool co-authored by Clara Hainsdorf "White & Case Global Non-Compete Resource Center (NCRC)", regular updates, March-July 2023
Co-author, "Technology M&A (France chapter)", Getting the Deal Through, each year since 2019
Co-author, "Technology Disputes (France chapter)", Getting the Deal Through, each year since 2020
Co-author, "TMT Global Practice Guide2021 (France chapter)", Chambers Practice Guide, each year since 2021
Co-author, "ICLG Data Privacy & Data Protection (France chapter)", ICLG, each year since 2022
Clara and Bertrand Liard have co-authored the article « The Rapid Evolution of Data Protection Laws », for ICLG in August 2022
Clara has participated, with Valérie Menard, to the video « Litigation & GDPR: Employees' Access to their Personal Data », in September 2022
Clara and Bertrand Liard have co-authored the Client Alert « Lexology GTDT: Technology Disputes 2021 », in February 2021
Clara et Bertrand Liard have co-authored, with Saam Golshani and Guillaume Vitrich, the article « TMT 2021: France chapter » for Chambers & Partners in March 2021
Clara has co-authored, with Valérie Menard and Jean-Lou Salha, the article « Confidentialité des enquêtes internes : maîtrisez les enjeux RGPD, social et pénal ! » for the Magazine des Affaires in May 2021
Clara has co-authored the article « Données et sécurité - Partage, accès et transferts de données personnelles : un enjeu politique et économique majeur » for the Semaine Juridique / Club des Juristes in November 2021
Interview linked to the article: Données et sécurité, par Clara Hainsdorf - Le Club des Juristes in November 2021
Co-author, GDPR Guide to National Implementation, A practical guide to national GDPR compliance requirements across the EEA, November 2019
Co-author, GDPR Handbook: Unlocking the EU General Data Protection Regulation, A practical handbook on the EU's new data protection law, September 2017
Recommended by Legal 500 EMEA 2024 for Data Protection & Data Privacy in France:
'Clara Hainsdorf and Bertrand Liard have great client care and listening skills.'
'Clara Hainsdorf and Bertrand Liard are very pleasant. Their direct approach and the ease with which we can work is a real plus. Their client contact is excellent, in addition to their impeccable expertise.'
'Clara Hainsdorf has always taken the time to fully understand our business, the software products involved in a specific dispute and the technical details of the particular project. She has been very successful in navigating through tough legal challenges and her level of sophistication and analysis has always given us a major advantage over opposing counsel and resulted in excellent outcomes for us.'
'Clara Hainsdorf is an excellent commercial lawyer and a trusted advisor with an outstanding track record. The level and quality of her legal services are unmatched and she is a pleasure to work with.'
Recommended by Who's Who Legal 2024 in the following categories: France – Data
Recommended by IAM Patent 1000 2024: The World's Leading Patent Practitioners:
"Helping clients get the most out of their innovations, Clara Hainsdorf has a keen eye for commercialisation opportunities and knows exactly how to maximise the value of intangible assets. She is extremely adept at drawing up large-scale commercial agreements, including significant licensing and R&D agreements for leading companies."
Awarded "Privacy & Data Protection Lawyer of the Year" by the Women in Business Law Awards Europe in June 2021