Janis Kestenbaum

Janis Kestenbaum represents businesses in investigations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state attorneys general, and foreign data protection authorities, and has successfully resolved dozens of investigations without enforcement action. Janis also counsels on compliance with a broad range of privacy, data security, advertising, and similar obligations under federal and state law including the FTC Act, Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, California Consumer Privacy Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, and helps clients understand evolving compliance risk.

Janis is recognized among the nation’s top privacy lawyers by Chambers Global and Chambers USA, with clients remarking that she is “incredibly knowledgeable” and offers “real insight in terms of regulatory risk” and “nuance of how laws are applied in the field.”

In representing clients, Janis draws on her experience as the senior legal advisor to an FTC chair. In that capacity, she oversaw the full range of privacy and data security enforcement, and policy matters brought before the FTC and advised on advertising substantiation, social media influencer marketing, telemarketing, and consumer fraud issues. She served on U.S. delegations to APEC, the Global Privacy Assembly (formerly the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners), and the Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum. Janis previously investigated and prosecuted deceptive and unfair trade practices cases in the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices.

Janis has handled complex civil litigation for more than 20 years in the government and private practice. She began her career as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch, Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she represented federal agencies and officials in federal district courts and courts of appeals in constitutional and regulatory litigation.