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Zach Willenbrink

Zachary R. Willenbrink

ShareholderCIPP/US, CIPM, CC, Security+, AIGP

Meet Zach

Zach is a shareholder on the firm’s Data Privacy, Cybersecurity & Technology and Litigation teams, and serves on the firm’s Recruiting, Information Security, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Ethics committees.

Zach advises clients on the legal risks associated with data, information systems, and emerging technologies, offering practical, business-minded advice on everything from compliance programs and incident response to litigation strategy. His work spans the full lifecycle of cybersecurity, privacy, and AI legal issues, including:

  • Designing and operationalizing programs that meet evolving state, federal, and international laws.
  • Preparing for data incidents with tabletop exercises and breach simulations for business and legal teams.
  • Leading breach response efforts as outside counsel and “breach coach.”
  • Drawing on years of litigation experience, guiding organizations through internal investigations, regulatory scrutiny, consumer class actions, and other high-stakes disputes and litigation involving data and technology.

Zach’s industry certifications and service include:

  • IAPP Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP)
  • IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional, United States (CIPP/US)
  • IAPP Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM)
  • CompTIA Security+
  • ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
  • UCLA Cybersecurity Certificate
  • Service on the Sedona Conference’s Working Groups 11 and 13 drafting groups on the legality of ransomware payments, leadership liability for cybersecurity failures, onward transfers of personal data in bankruptcy and M&A contexts, and development of AI tools.

Outside Godfrey & Kahn, Zach led the global privacy program and cybersecurity legal operations as in-house counsel at a Fortune 500 manufacturing company. Zach also developed and teaches Cybersecurity: Law and Practice at Marquette Law School, and spent nearly five years clerking for U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller of the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

When not working, Zach enjoys writing music. He’s released music and toured the country as a member of several bands, and his solo work has been used in the scores of feature-length films.