Eversheds Sutherland Recruits White House Deputy National Cyber Director Neal Higgins as Partner

With more than two decades of crisis management, investigations and national security experience at the highest levels of government, Mr. Higgins will counsel leading global companies through congressional hearings and investigations, as well as provide advice on cybersecurity, insider threat programs and advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. He is based in Washington, DC. 

“Some of the most complex legal issues confronting our clients today relate to navigating cybersecurity threats, rapidly evolving data privacy requirements and national security matters, particularly as companies develop or implement artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies,” said Mark D. Wasserman, Co-CEO of Eversheds Sutherland. “Neal will be of immediate value to clients as they face increasing pressure from Congress as well as US and global regulators to have sound practices and policies in place to protect customers and sensitive business information.”

As the former Deputy National Cyber Director for National Cybersecurity, Mr. Higgins led a White House team that oversaw federal cyber incident response, planning and training exercises, and policies and programs designed to advance critical infrastructure cybersecurity. Mr. Higgins also provided intelligence support to National Cyber Director Chris Inglis in his capacity as the President’s principal adviser on cybersecurity matters.

“We are thrilled Neal has joined the firm to further enhance our team’s leading cybersecurity, privacy and advanced technologies capabilities, especially as businesses around the world race to innovate while facing ever-evolving threats,” said Michael Bahar, Co-lead of Global Cybersecurity and Data Privacy. “Neal’s in-depth knowledge and experience will allow him to provide first-in-class advice to help companies prevent issues and to be with clients every step of the way, should issues arise.”

Prior to his time at the White House and CIA, Mr. Higgins spent eight years in senior staff roles in the United States Senate. He has either led or responded to numerous congressional investigations into high-profile matters, including Iraq war contracting abuses, the CIA’s detention program, the Benghazi terrorist attack, Secretary Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server and Russian election interference.

About Eversheds Sutherland
As a global top 10 law practice, Eversheds Sutherland provides legal services to a global client base ranging from small and mid-sized businesses to the largest multinationals, acting for 77 of the Fortune 100, 68 of the FTSE 100 and 129 of the Fortune 200.

With more than 3,000 lawyers, Eversheds Sutherland operates in over 70 offices in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. In addition, a network of more than 200 related law firms, including formalized alliances in Latin America, Asia Pacific and Africa, provide support around the globe.

Eversheds Sutherland provides the full range of legal services, including corporate and M&A; dispute resolution and litigation; energy and infrastructure; finance; human capital and labor law; intellectual property; real estate and construction; and tax.

Eversheds Sutherland is a global legal practice and comprises two separate legal entities: Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP (headquartered in the UK) and Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP (headquartered in the US), and their respective controlled, managed, affiliated and member firms. The use of the name Eversheds Sutherland is for description purposes only and does not imply that the member firms or their controlled, managed or affiliated entities are in a partnership or are part of a global LLP. For more information, visit eversheds-sutherland.com.