Aaron J. Burstein

Combining deep legal knowledge, technical acumen, and extensive government-side experience, Aaron Burstein helps clients prevent, address, and resolve complex privacy, data security, and consumer protection law problems. 

Aaron is exceptionally well-versed in the evolving laws and regulations governing these matters not only because they are the focus of his practice but also because he was deeply involved in the policymaking process that formed the foundation of the current privacy and security legal landscape.

Aaron provides practical, insightful counsel on privacy, information security, and marketing laws and best practices, including compliance with federal and state laws throughout the United States.

As statutes such as the California Consumer Privacy Act present novel compliance challenges for consumer-facing companies and those supporting their marketing and advertising efforts, Aaron helps clients evolve their business practices to manage risk and meet new obligations.

In addition to counseling clients on the privacy and security issues that arise in settings from day-to-day business to major transactions, Aaron also advises clients on legislative and regulatory developments affecting cutting-edge technologies such as drones and connected vehicles.

Before entering private practice, Aaron served as an attorney in the FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection and as a senior legal advisor to Commissioner Julie Brill. As an advisor to Commissioner Brill, Aaron provided legal and policy advice on U.S. and international privacy and data protection issues, rulemaking, and enforcement actions involving nearly every area of the FTC’s consumer protection authority.

Aaron’s government experience extends over nearly a decade beyond his work at the FTC. Before joining the FTC, Aaron served as a policy adviser at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where he was the principal drafter of the Department of Commerce’s consumer privacy ​“green paper” and the White House’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights report. He also served as Director for Privacy and Civil Liberties in the National Security Council’s Cybersecurity Directorate.

Following law school, Aaron worked as a trial attorney in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and was a research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and School of Information.

Since leaving government service, Aaron has maintained close and positive working relationships with colleagues at the FTC, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and other agencies and offices, and he remains at the forefront of this ever-changing field of law.