We are pleased to welcome Partner Charles-Albert Helleputte who has joined Squire Patton Boggs with his team and will serve as the firm’s EU head of its Data Privacy, Cybersecurity and Digital Assets Practice Group.

Based in Brussels and Paris, Charles joins from Steptoe & Johnson LLP where he was head of the EU cybersecurity, data, and privacy practice. He is accompanied by counsel Diletta De Cicco, who is based in both Brussels and Milan, and two associates working in Brussels and London. The team’s arrival follows several other hires into the firm’s privacy practice over the past year in Dallas, Leeds, London, Madrid, Miami, New York, Ohio, and Washington DC.

“Shifting regulatory conditions, increased M&A work across our European practice and a multitude of other factors continue to drive demand from clients for global data, privacy and cybersecurity counsel,” said Alan Friel, chair of the firm’s global Data Privacy, Cybersecurity & Digital Assets Practice. “Charles is one of the leading cybersecurity and data privacy experts in Europe, is respected by clients and peers and brings strong relationships with the EU institutions and agencies. He is ideally placed to lead our EU practice and to work with our UK practice group head, David Naylor, to further develop our EMEA data offering.”

Bart Vanderstraete, office managing partner of the Brussels’ office commented, “Charles brings with him a stellar team. Our new associates are all highly experienced, and in our new counsel, Diletta, we also have a talented Italian qualified lawyer who will be able to provide data privacy and cybersecurity advice direct to clients in our busy Milan office. We are continuing to invest in our practice, ensuring our clients have the best available expertise to meet increasingly complex data requirements and cyber risks around the globe.”