Sibylle Gierschmann,
Dr. iur. LL.M. (Duke University)

“I enjoy dealing with complex issues through cooperative dialog with clients. Legal risk assessment is not a stand-alone issue but is rather the first step towards an implementable result that best achieves the client’s goals. I see myself as a translator of legal requirements related to business matters.”

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Admitted as a lawyer in Germany and the USA (Attorney-at-law, New York)
  • Specialized lawyer in copyright and media law
  • Master of Law, Duke University, North Carolina, U.S.A.
  • Conferral of a doctorate in Law (Ph. D.) by the University of Hamburg
  • Certified data protection auditor (TÜV)

EXPERIENCE

  • Founding of Gierschmann Legal practice in 2019. Previously partner at the international corporate law firm Taylor Wessing Partnerschaftsgesellschaft mbB for 14 years; prior to that, European Counsel at Bird & Bird LLP and Junior Partner at Beiten Burkhardt Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH
  • Advisor to international companies in contentious and non-contentious matters of data protection law, IT law, as well as media and advertising law for over 20 years.
  • Representation of companies before various German supervisory authorities
  • Draft Position papers on proposed legislation on behalf of industry associations, including commenting on GDPR, BDSG (Federal Data Protection Act), UKlaG (German Act on Injunctive Relief), UWG (German Act Against Unfair Competition)
  • Participation in expert discussions on data protection law at national and state level

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

  • Honorary professor at the Bundeswehr University Munich
  • Lecturer on media law at the Ludwig Maximilian University, 2006-2019
  • Work for industry associations, including acting as co-leader of the technical committee on data protection at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Recht und Informatik (DGRI) e.V. (German Association of Law and Informatics)
  • Publications: Joint publisher of the multimedia and law journal Multimedia und Recht (MMR), Beck Publishers; Member of the Advisory Board for the data protection law journal Zeitschrift für Datenschutzrecht (ZD), Beck Publishers; Joint publisher Gierschmann/Schlender/Stentzel/Veil, General Data Protection Regulation, Bundesanzeiger Publishers (2017)
  • Speaker and moderator at various events and congresses, particularly on the topic of data protection law
  • Organizer of the Munich Data Protection Day, lately in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce for Munich and Upper Bavaria

MEMBERSHIPS

  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Recht und Informatik e.V. (German Association of Law and Informatics)
  • Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und Neue Medien (Bitkom) e.V. (Germany’s digital association)
  • Gesellschaft für Datenschutz und Datensicherheit (GDD) e.V. (German Association for Data Protection and Data Security)
  • International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

What others say

Often recommended for IT law, “extremely well networked, in particular with data protection authorities. Many years’ experience in data protection is worth its weight in gold.”, client “top lawyer”; often recommended for media law, “extremely well networked” JUVE Handbook 2018/2019
Particularly recommended for data protection law Kanzleimonitor (BUJ) 2018/2019
Recommended as Best Lawyer for IT law, and media and copyright law Best Lawyers in Germany, Handelsblatt 2018
Recommended for IT law: “very experienced” JUVE Handbook 2017/2018
Leading name in data protection; “highly regarded in matters of data protection”; “a great deal of experience, very well networked, their advice was always extremely detailed”, client JUVE Handbook 2016/2017
Contact person

Sibylle Gierschmann,
Dr. iur. LL.M. (Duke University)

EXTRACT OF PUBLICATIONS LIST FOR SIBYLLE GIERSCHMANN

  • Kommentar Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (Commentary on GDPR) Publ. Gierschmann/Schlender/Stentzel/Veil, Bundesanzeiger Publishers, 2018
  • Positionsbestimmung der DSK zur Anwendbarkeit des TMG – Ist ein deutscher Sonderweg wirklich die Lösung? (Position of the German Data Protection Conference Concerning the Applicability of the Telemedia Act – Is a German Special Way Really the Solution?), ZD 2018, 297ff.
  • Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten bei Verwendung von personenbezogenen Daten in der Werbung (Organization Options When Using Personal Data in Advertising), MMR 2018, 7ff.
  • DGRI-Stellungnahme zum Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Stärkung des fairen Wettbewerbs (German Association of Law and Informatics’ Position on the Draft of a Law to Improve Fair Competition), Heckmann/Gierschmann/Selk, CR 2018, 728ff.
  • Was „bringt“ deutschen Unternehmen die DS-GVO? (What Does the GDPR Actually Do for German Companies?), ZD 2016, 51
  • Stellungnahme der DGRI zum Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Erhöhung der Sicherheit informationstechnischer Systeme (IT-Sicherheitsgesetz) (Position of the German Association of Law and Informatics Concerning a Law to Increase the Security of Technical Information Systems – IT Security Law), CR 2015, 273ff.
  • Systematischer Praxiskommentar Datenschutzrecht (Systematic Practical Commentary on Data Protection Law), Publ. Gierschmann/Saeugling, Bundesanzeiger Publ. 2014
  • ‘Data Breach Notifications in the EU – lessons from Germany’; in: Privacy Law & Business International Report, October 2013, S. 8.
  • ‘Was ist eine geschlossene Benutzergruppe i.S.v. § 4 Abs. 2 S. 2 JMStV’ (What is a Closed User Group in the Sense of Art. 4 para. 2 p. 2 Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors); in: Jugendmedienschutz im Informationszeitalter, Bayreuther Studien zum Wirtschafts- und Medienrecht, Vol 6, 2012