Jonathan Tam
Biography
Jonathan Tam is a licensed attorney in California and Ontario. He focuses on privacy, advertising, intellectual property, content moderation and consumer protection laws. He is passionate about helping clients achieve their commercial objectives while managing legal risks associated with activities involving data, information technology and media.
Jonathan regularly writes about information technology and privacy, and is the Vice Chair of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Law Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco. He has completed secondments at a global payment services provider based in London, England and a world-leading tech company based in Silicon Valley. He joined Baker McKenzie as a summer associate in 2012 and has also worked in the Firm's Toronto office.
Practice Focus
Jonathan advises companies on the legal considerations of launching new products, acquiring new assets and changing their business models. He regularly counsels clients on compliance with data-related laws around the world, including GDPR, CCPA, COPPA, HIPAA, GLBA, CASL and PIPEDA, and assists clients with data incident responses and crisis management. He also routinely advises companies on advertising regulations, including those that apply to promotions, contests and sweepstakes, truth-in-marketing requirements, influencer rules, and industry-specific laws. He helps clients understand the parameters of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and other safe harbors, and advises platform providers on how to administer notice-and-takedown policies.
He has represented leading tech companies in negotiating high-stakes commercial agreements, and coordinated tech-related due diligence in connection with multi-billion dollar corporate transactions. He is well versed in the legal considerations that apply to many of the world’s cutting-edge technologies, including AI-driven solutions, wearables, connected cars, Web3, DAOs, NFTs, VR/AR, crypto, metaverses and the internet of everything.
Representative Legal Matters
- Developed privacy compliance programs for numerous clients, from mid-sized local enterprises to multinational conglomerates spanning the globe.
- Developed privacy statements, terms of service, cookies notices, returns policies and similar documents for numerous B2B and B2C online services providers.
- Advised numerous clients on requirements relating to global sweepstakes, giveaways, promotional campaigns, and advertising content.
- Assessed numerous clients’ products and online services for compliance with privacy, e-commerce, consumer protection, marketing, anti-spam, gift card, medical device, telecommunications and other laws.
- Represented numerous clients in a variety of industries in negotiations of services, licensing, distribution, data processing and other commercial agreements.
- Assisted numerous companies on global IP and IT due diligence in connection with the acquisition of companies and assets.
- Advised numerous tech companies on platform and intermediary liability issues associated with Web3 and other online offerings.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- California Lawyers Association
- Bar Association of San Francisco - Cybersecurity and Privacy Law Section
- International Association of Privacy Professionals (CIPP/US and CIPP/C)
Corporate Responsibility
- Recipient, Robert E. Deignan Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Contribution, 2015 and 2016
- Founder, U of T Law Inspires, an annual legal scholarship event that has taken place at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law since 2013
Admissions
- California (2017)
- Ontario (2014)
Education
- University of Toronto (JD, Hons) (2013)
- Harvard University (BA, magna cum laude) (2010)
Languages
- English
Previous Offices
- Toronto