Nancy Thomas is litigation partner in MoFo’s Los Angeles office. Her practice focuses on consumer class actions and regulatory enforcement, representing clients in high-stakes litigation matters in addition to arbitration and administrative proceedings. She has extensive experience representing clients on a variety of complex matters, including data breach investigations and class actions, as well as other privacy matters.
Nancy’s practical approach and winning strategies have gained her recognition as a top financial services litigator by Legal 500 US and Benchmark Litigation. She was also named a leading California litigator by Benchmark Litigation California and earned a place on Benchmark Litigation and Euromoney Media Group’s Top 250 Women in Litigation lists.
Nancy is editor-in-chief and contributing author of the firm’s award-winning Financial Services Report. She is actively engaged in her community, sitting on the board of directors and the executive committee of the Constitutional Rights Foundation, a nonprofit, bipartisan organization dedicated to teaching students how to participate in the democratic process.
What was it that initially drew you to Privacy + Data Security law?
What could be better than assisting clients with some of their most difficult challenges, including data security and data breach issues, and representing clients in high-profile and high-stakes privacy class actions? Privacy + Data Security is a relatively new area of the law, so my work in this space gives me the opportunity to make creative arguments to win cases and shape how the law develops.
How does the Privacy + Data Security practice intersect with, or improve upon, similar practice areas?
Winning privacy class actions requires a deep, substantive knowledge of the privacy laws. Every day brings a new challenge and another opportunity to collaborate with my colleagues on our privacy regulatory and compliance teams. We work together to develop winning defenses on the merits. I also work closely with my colleagues in the Consumer Class Action Practice Group as we develop roadmaps to victory to meet our clients’ goals and brainstorm arguments to defeat class certification and win dispositive motions.
Can you speak to the importance of mentorship in your career, or perhaps why you are driven to mentor others?
Mentorship is part of the ethos of this firm; I’ve seen what a difference it made when senior lawyers took an interest in my development as a lawyer and I now want to pay it forward by mentoring junior lawyers. Teaching associates, listening to their ideas and concerns, encouraging them to find their own work-life balance, and giving them opportunities to develop both personally and professionally are critical and rewarding parts of my job. The time and energy spent come back to me in spades when I watch my colleagues become strong team members, define their own views of personal and professional success, and work toward achieving those goals.
Learn more about MoFo’s commitment to the recruitment, retention, and advancement of diverse and women attorneys here.