Honigman Adds Top FTC Attorney Steve Wernikoff to Chicago Office

Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP announced today that Steve Wernikoff is joining the firm as the co-leader of both the Cybersecurity and Privacy practice and the Autonomous Vehicle industry group. Wernikoff, who will be based in Honigman’s Chicago office, comes to the firm following 17 years at the Federal Trade Commission, where he most recently served as Enforcement Director in the Office of Technology Research and Investigation.

“As technology continues to change the way businesses operate, Honigman can counsel clients on the protection of one of their most critical assets - information. Our team can help clients meet their rapidly changing privacy responsibilities and utilize their data in new and exciting ways,” said David Foltyn, Chairman and CEO of Honigman. “Steve’s exceptional experience and reputation position us to even better serve our clients as they navigate an ever-evolving digital and technological marketplace.”

During his long tenure at the FTC, Wernikoff was lead litigation counsel in numerous civil prosecutions involving a wide range of e-commerce and emerging technology issues, including internet and mobile advertising, credit card and other financial fraud, data privacy and security, spam and telemarketing. As Enforcement Director in the Office of Technology Research and Investigation, Wernikoff coordinated investigations and civil prosecutions involving mobile and emerging technologies throughout all divisions and regional offices within the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

“Honigman’s commitment to innovate in order to provide a broad spectrum of technology-based legal services for expanding hi-tech industries like autonomous vehicles made it a natural choice for me,” said Steve Wernikoff. “The firm’s culture, along with its vision for the future in this area, offered me exactly the opportunity I was seeking for this next chapter of my career.”

Wernikoff served as an adjunct faculty member at Northwestern University School of Law and John Marshall Law School, where he taught courses involving internet fraud, online advertising and privacy issues. Prior to working at the FTC, he held two federal clerkships in the Northern District of Illinois, and was a litigator at Jenner & Block in Chicago. He earned a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and a B.A. in Journalism from Pennsylvania State University.