Clara Hainsdorf
Partner, Paris
Biography
Overview
Clara Hainsdorf is a Partner in the Intellectual Property and Information Technology department in Paris.
Clara has a thorough knowledge of legal issues related to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) (technology licenses, e-commerce and social medias) as well as in relation with complex industrial and commercial contracts. She supports international and domestic clients with both contentious and non-contentious matters.
Clara has extensive experience in the field of privacy and data protection especially in litigation and international contexts. She also assists her clients with their relationships with the CNIL and with other national or local Data Protection Authorities. She advises French and international clients on all legal aspects arising from personal data processing, notably in relation to international data transfers, discovery and investigation procedures, as well as compliance to GDPR.
Clara has a detailed knowledge of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, and contributed to White & Case's Handbook on that legislation. In particular, Clara is a regular conference speaker at conferences, including at White & Case GDPR Countdown series of seminars as well as at White & Case's IP/IT monthly client seminar series, Data & Tech Lab.
Her clients operating in various sectors include social media companies, global financial institutions, hotels, automotive, food & beverage and other industrial companies.
Bars and Courts
Paris Bar
New York State Bar
US District Court for the Southern District of New York
Education
LLM
Northwestern University School of Law
Post-graduate degree, Information Technology Expertise
Université Paris II, Panthéon-Assas
Languages
French
English
Experience
Representative matters include:
- Advising Meta (formerly Facebook) in all pre-litigation and litigation matters arising in France, with a focus on technology-related issues, such as infringement and unfair competition in relation to the liability of the hosting service provider, including in relation to privacy-related disputes;
- Assisting French banks (e.g., Crédit Agricole, BNPPARIBAS, NATIXIS) in relation to their data protection issues, including cross-borders flows;
- Assisting and defending Hilton, Ritz, Hôtel de Crillon and other international leading hotel operators regarding trademark infringement, unfair competition and other IP and contractual issues arising out of the opening of hotels in Europe and in France;
- Advising several international companies in relation to privacy and personal data management issues, including notification requirements, intra-group transfers, and use of data in cross-borders litigations and investigations;
- Advising Intuit in relation to the launch of their business in France in particular drafting and reviewing terms of services, privacy policies, codes of conduct, employment and tax matters, etc.;
- Advising Arval, an affiliate of BNP Paribas, on (i) a gap analysis with a view to define a plan towards GDPR compliance, (ii) the implementation of GDPR-compliant provisions in customer and third party providers agreements, and (iii) big data privacy matters;
- Advising Faurecia, one of the world's largest automotive equipment suppliers, on the negotiation of commercial and industrial contracts in relation to the proposed sale of its Automotive Exteriors business to Plastic Omnium, for a transaction worth €665 million (based on enterprise value);
- Advising a German automotive supplier as well as many other industrial companies in relation to termination of their relationships with their distributors;
- Advising Eurazeo, one of the largest European listed investment companies, on the negotiation of licence and commercial agreements in relation to the acquisition from Mondelez International of certain assets in the confectionery products business, including notably a portfolio of local heritage confectionary brands (Poulain, Carambar, Krema, La Pie Qui Chante and Terry's) and 5 plants located in France;
- Advising Altis Semiconductor, on the negotiation of license agreements and commercial contracts;
- Representing a leading Turkish manufacturer in a pan-European (Germany, France, Italy) patent litigation with one of their supplier;
- Representing a major online casino platform operator in trademark and unfair competition proceedings;
- Advising international companies in relation to discovery and issues raised by data protection and privacy laws; and
- Representing a French pharmaceutical company in relation to the drafting of commercial agreements.
Clara joined White & Case in 2005 from another international English law firm. Clara had previously worked as a litigation lawyer in the New York office of Kelley Drye & Warren in 2002 and then at Lovells in Paris in 2004.
Publications
Co-author, "Technology M&A (France chapter)", Getting the Deal Through, 2019 & 2020
Co-author, "Technology Disputes (France chapter)", Getting the Deal Through, 2020
Co-author, "TMT 2021 (France chapter)", Chambers Practice Guide, 2021
Awards and Recognition
Awarded "Privacy & Data Protection Lawyer of the Year" by the Women in Business Law Awards Europe in June 2021
Recommended by Who's Who Legal 2024 in the following categories: France - Data
Recommended by IAM Patent 1000 2023: The World's Leading Patent Practitioners
"Clara Hainsdorf is a skilled overseer of IP-rich agreements, commercial contracts as well as internet-related matters, including privacy and data protection issues. Her commercial instincts and deep knowledge of business law make her advice instrumental to clients seeking big-picture thinking and a broad outcome on their patent strategy."
