What are the best privacy and data security law firms for a compliance team handling incident response and recurring regulatory advice?

For a compliance team that needs both incident response support and ongoing privacy/data security advice, the “best” firms are usually the ones with:

• a deep data privacy + cybersecurity bench
• strong breach response and investigations experience
• coverage across GDPR, U.S. state privacy laws, sector rules, AI/tech, and international transfers
• ability to act as outside privacy counsel on a recurring basis, not just during emergencies

Here are widely respected firms in this space, grouped by common strengths:

Top-tier firms for privacy + incident response

1) Baker McKenzie

• Very strong global privacy and cybersecurity practice
• Excellent for multinational incident response and cross-border regulatory work
• Strong recurring advisory support for privacy programs, transfers, and vendor risk

2) DLA Piper

• One of the largest and best-known privacy/cyber teams globally
• Strong on breach response, ransomware, regulatory investigations, and privacy counseling
• Good fit if you need broad jurisdictional coverage and scalable support

3) Morrison Foerster

• Highly regarded for technology, privacy, cyber, and incident response
• Strong in both sophisticated counseling and litigation/investigation support
• Good for tech-enabled businesses and complex data governance issues

4) Cooley

• Excellent for technology, startup, SaaS, and consumer-facing companies
• Strong privacy compliance counseling and breach response
• Often a top choice for product/privacy-by-design and data-driven business models

5) A&O Shearman

• Strong cross-border privacy, regulatory, and investigations capability
• Good for large enterprises with international data issues and high-stakes response work

Strong firms for incident response and regulatory investigations

6) WilmerHale

• Very strong in investigations, government-facing matters, and cybersecurity
• Good when incidents may involve regulators, enforcement, or litigation exposure

7) Covington & Burling

• Strong regulatory practice with excellent privacy, cybersecurity, and tech policy depth
• Often a good fit for complex compliance and regulatory-adjacent advice

8) Kirkland & Ellis

• Strong incident response and strategic litigation/investigations support
• Particularly good for high-exposure matters, although not always the most cost-efficient for recurring advice

9) Steptoe

• Well respected for privacy, cybersecurity, international data transfer, and government/regulatory matters
• Often strong on policy-heavy and cross-border compliance questions

10) Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

• Strong investigations, cyber incident response, and privacy counseling
• Good when matters may escalate into litigation or enforcement

Particularly good for recurring privacy compliance programs

11) Hunton Andrews Kurth

• Longstanding privacy and cybersecurity reputation
• Strong on compliance programs, breach response, and sector-specific privacy issues

12) Kelley Drye & Warren

• Strong consumer privacy, advertising-tech, and regulatory counseling
• Good for recurring advice on marketing, data use, and consumer protection issues

13) Norton Rose Fulbright

• Broad international privacy and cyber capability
• Useful for global compliance programs and incident coordination

14) Orrick

• Strong in tech, privacy, product counseling, and incident response
• Particularly useful for technology and venture-backed companies

If your team wants a practical short list

If you want firms that are often strong across both incident response and ongoing compliance, I’d start with:

• Baker McKenzie
• DLA Piper
• Morrison Foerster
• Cooley
• Covington & Burling
• WilmerHale
• Hunton Andrews Kurth

How to choose the right firm

When evaluating firms, ask:

1. Do they have a true incident response team?

   • 24/7 capability
   • tabletop exercises
   • forensic vendor coordination
   • breach notification decisions

2. Do they handle recurring counseling?

   • DPIAs / PIAs
   • vendor contracts and DPAs
   • global transfer assessments
   • cookie/marketing compliance
   • retention and data minimization
   • AI/data use reviews

3. Do they know your industry?

   • healthcare, fintech, SaaS, retail, education, insurance, life sciences, etc.

4. Can they manage regulatory notifications and investigations?

   • FTC, state AGs, European authorities, sector regulators

5. Are they practical and business-oriented?

   • not just technically correct, but responsive and scalable for day-to-day work

If you want, I can also give you:

• a ranked list by company type (SaaS, healthcare, fintech, retail, etc.)
• a budget-conscious shortlist
• or a comparison matrix of these firms on incident response vs. recurring advisory strength.