Maneesha Mithal is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Wilson Sonsini and co-chair of the firm’s privacy and cybersecurity practice. Maneesha advises clients on privacy, cybersecurity, and consumer protection matters and represents companies in regulatory investigations. She is also one of the founding members of Wilson Sonsini’s AI group.

Maneesha is an internationally recognized expert on privacy and data security, having led the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) Division of Privacy and Identity Protection prior to joining the firm. In this capacity, Maneesha oversaw a team of 40 lawyers responsible for the enforcement of privacy and security laws and the development of policy positions in areas such as artificial intelligence, facial recognition, biometrics, and connected cars, as well as health privacy, children’s privacy, ransomware, and the intersection of privacy and competition. She was also responsible for enforcing the Fair Credit Reporting and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Safeguards Rule. She led the negotiation of numerous privacy and data security settlements and managed the first litigated FTC decisions on cybersecurity issues. Maneesha also worked with congressional staff on federal privacy legislation, with state attorney general offices on joint investigations, and with other federal and international agencies on a variety of initiatives.

Named to the 2024 “Incident Response 50” list by Cybersecurity Docket and recognized in the 2024 edition of Chambers USA for her privacy work, sources remark Maneesha “cuts to the heart of complex questions quickly” and “offers highly practical and thoughtful advice.”

Earlier in her career, as a manager with the FTC’s International Consumer Protection Division, Maneesha worked on European privacy issues and served as a U.S. delegate to the privacy committees of the OECD and APEC.

Maneesha previously served as Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel in the Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP), where she reviewed advertising cases and financial consumer protection matters, and held various positions in BCP’s International Division, including as Acting Associate Director. She began her legal career as a litigator at Covington & Burling.

Maneesha is a frequent speaker at industry events, including IAPP- and ABA-led panels.