Joshua Silverstein

Joshua M. Silverstein is a Cybersecurity & Data Privacy associate in Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office.  He is also a member of the firm’s National Security and International Trade practices.

Joshua focuses his practice on helping clients navigate a wide variety of complex and cutting-edge litigation, regulatory, business, and policy challenges related to cybersecurity, national security, and foreign policy.

Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Joshua served as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the US Department of Justice. In that capacity, he advised senior officials on cybersecurity, counterterrorism, intelligence, CFIUS matters, and other national security issues.

He also led a significant initiative related to foreign terrorist fighters and homegrown violence extremists and produced a department-wide assessment of counterterrorism resource allocation. In addition, Joshua contributed to a project examining law enforcement role in combating national security cyber threats.

Joshua attended Yale College where he graduated summa cum laudeand phi beta kappa with a Bachelor’s degree in History. He was a member of the Studies in Grand Strategy Program and served as a research assistant for former President George W. Bush in drafting his memoir Decision Points.

Joshua received his law degree from Yale Law School, where he served as an editor on the Yale Journal of International Law and contributed to a Track-II Dialogue on US-China Relations led by former US and Chinese officials. He also holds an M.Phil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

Education :

• Yale University, BA
• Yale Law School, JD
• University of Cambridge, MPhil

Admissions :

• District of Columbia
• New York
• US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Experience :

• Serving as an incident response counsel in a significant data breach involving protected health information.
• Engaging with expert cybersecurity researchers after the disclosure of purported cyber vulnerabilities in a client’s connected medical devices.
• Assisting a domestic manufacturer in managing the public disclosure of cyber vulnerabilities related to mobile applications and developing various risk management strategies.
• Providing legal counsel in cybersecurity program and governance reviews for clients in multiple critical infrastructure sectors.
• Researching and drafting motions and providing strategic input in national security litigation involving FISA.
• Providing legal counsel on telecommunications law in the context of government surveillance operations.
• Advising a global technology firm in drafting policy documents related to cyber deterrence and cyber warfare.