Toronto—Dentons is pleased to announce that Kirsten Thompson has joined the Firm as a partner in our Privacy and Cybersecurity group in Toronto. Kirsten will also be the national lead in a newly-formed Transformative Technologies and Data Strategy group.

Kirsten’s practice has a particular concentration in data-driven industries and disruptive technologies, and she is a leading practitioner in areas such as Fintech (including blockchain and "smart contracts"), digital identity, Open Data / Open Banking and PSD2 implementation, vehicle telematics and connected infrastructure, Big Data / data analytics applications, and enterprise data strategy. Her extensive knowledge in these areas, including their implications on related regulatory initiatives (e.g., competition, privacy, etc.), allows her to advise clients on the appropriate aggregation and use of customer information in the context of financial services. 

She also helps clients prepare for and manage information crises, such as data breaches, investigations and class actions; and has advised financial institutions, insurers, health-care providers and providers of critical infrastructure on cybersecurity preparedness and response planning. She has been lead Canadian counsel on some of the largest North American data breaches and has been selected as preferred cybersecurity counsel by a number of Canada’s leading financial institutions and insurance providers.

“We are very happy that Kirsten chose Dentons as the platform to support the continued growth of her practice,” said Blair McCreadie, Managing Partner of Dentons’ Toronto office. “As the national lead of our newly-formed Transformative Technologies and Data Strategy group, Kirsten will strengthen our market leadership in emerging technologies and legal innovation.

In addition to her busy legal practice, Kirsten is an active board member of the Women’s College Hospital and the Canadian Technology Law Association.

Kirsten earned a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University in 1990, a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Biochemistry from the University of Calgary in 1993, a Bachelor of Laws from Queen’s University in 1999, and a Master of Laws from York University in 2007. She was called to the bar in Ontario in 2000.

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