Wilson Elser, Ankura, and Privado AI host conference on Privacy, Security and AI Governance. Oct 19, 2026, 12:34 ET AI State Laws Now Top 150 Around the Country NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - National law firm Wilson Elser, in partnership with Ankura Consulting Group, LLC and Privado AI, recently held an inaugural conference on privacy, security, and AI governance. The program focused on evolving privacy laws and security best practices, with artificial intelligence front and center as organizations navigate a growing patchwork of state AI laws. "Convergence: The Intersection of Privacy, Security & AI Governance" was held September 30 at Wilson Elser's New York offices, featuring speakers from Wilson Elser, Ankura, Privado AI, and several insurance carriers. JD Cheema, Founder of Privado AI, delivered a keynote on technology-enabled data discovery and AI governance. "Privacy, security, and AI governance are no longer separate conversations. Agentic AI, tightening regulation, and a more active enforcement environment have brought them into the same room," said Jana Farmer, partner and cochair of Wilson Elser's Data Use & AI Governance Practice. "At the moment, there is no comprehensive federal standard governing AI use in the United States." "Instead, we're seeing a rapidly growing patchwork of state laws and regulations," said Farmer, noting that states including New York, California, Utah, Texas, and Colorado have passed more than 150 AI-related laws in the last year alone. "Given this landscape, businesses should plan for the possibility that some of the use cases of AI technology could become restricted after deployment, so that their AI investments hold up as the rules develop." The program paired practitioner-level content with built-in opportunities to connect. Convergence was attended by general counsel, privacy and security leaders, cybersecurity and risk professionals, the insurance and carrier community, and outside advisors who serve them. Conference panels included: Navigating the Privacy and AI Landscape: From New Laws to the Courtroom Panelists: Jana Slavina Farmer, AIGP, Wilson Elser; Nicole Nguyen, Senior Director, Privacy Engineering and Technology Practice, Ankura; JD Cheema, Privado; and Christina Van Wert, Senior Manager, Cyber & Professional Lines Group, Tokio Marine HCC. Topic: Privacy and AI regulation continues to develop on several fronts, and organizations are fielding attention from legislators, regulators, and plaintiffs alike. Through an interactive session, panelists traced the newest privacy and AI legislation, current enforcement priorities, and litigation trends, giving attendees a practical compliance walkthrough they can put to immediate use. Cybersecurity and AI: Governing Agentic Systems Panelists: Dominik Cvitanovic, Wilson Elser; John Schrader, Senior Managing Director, Cyber, Privacy & AI Security Practice, Ankura; Craig Linton, Head of U.S. Underwriting Management for Cyber Risks, Beazley; and Bridget Choi, Cyber Insurance Product Lead, Gallagher. Topic: Agentic AI is reshaping how organizations operate, creating a new class of cybersecurity, contractual, and operational risk. Insurers and insureds alike are asking questions that cut across every industry deploying these systems. Using scenarios drawn from real-world deployments and cyber events, panelists gave attendees practical guidance on governing agentic AI before, during, and after an incident. Cybersecurity Pitfalls and Avoiding the Wrath of Regulators Panelists: Anjali Das, Wilson Elser; Nicole Nguyen, Senior Director, Privacy Engineering and Technology Practice, Ankura; John Schrader, Senior Managing Director, Cyber, Privacy & AI Security Practice, Ankura; and Cody Valdez (former Deputy AG, New Jersey Attorney General's Office), now an attorney at Wilson Elser. Topic: When a cybersecurity incident hits, regulators are rarely far behind, and they increasingly arrive from several directions at once. A single event can draw parallel scrutiny from the SEC, state financial regulators, health privacy enforcers, and state attorneys general, each with its own rules, deadlines, and enforcement posture. Drawing on recent investigations and enforcement actions, this panel mapped where organizations most often stumble and gave attendees a practical playbook for staying on the right side of the agencies that matter. Implementing AI Across the Business: A Practical Guide to the Risks Panelists: Jana Slavina Farmer, AIGP, Wilson Elser; Jonathan Meer, Wilson Elser; Scott Margolis, Managing Director, Data and Information Governance Practice, Ankura; Matthew McQueeny, AAANow.ai and Earnfluencing; and Rahmila Nadi, Women Leading AI Topic: AI is changing how organizations operate, and the legal and operational risks reach well beyond any single department. No one-size-fits-all approach exists, but common themes cut across every business weighing how to adopt AI responsibly. Through scenarios drawn from situations businesses are navigating right now, panelists gave attendees practical, actionable guidance on the legal and business ramifications of putting AI to work. About Wilson Elser's Data Use & AI Governance Practice Wilson Elser is a trusted privacy, security, and AI governance firm in the United States and the preeminent defense litigation firm in the privacy and cyber class action space. For more information about the practice, go to: https://www.wilsonelser.com/data-use-ai-governance About Wilson Elser Wilson Elser is the preeminent defense litigation firm in the United States. Over more than four decades, our litigation and trial lawyers have gained a reputation for taking on and prevailing in the most challenging and technical cases, frequently "parachuting in" to assume unresolved matters from other law firms. Our success also derives from winning on our clients' terms and rigorously adhering to their guidelines. We are ranked 94 in the Am Law 100 and 30 in the National Law Journal's NLJ 500. For more information, go to www.wilsonelser.com About Ankura, LLC Ankura is a leading global consulting and expert services advisory firm with a broad range of specialties across industries, including the cybersecurity, data privacy and governance, and artificial intelligence space. The firm combines strategic advisory with deep technical expertise, hands-on implementation, and expert support to address complex business challenges. Ankura has more than 35 locations and supports projects in more than 115 countries. For more information, go to https://ankura.com/ About Privado AI Privado AI is an agentic data privacy management platform that helps privacy and compliance teams automate manual governance workflows, map data flows, and detect consent-compliance violations at scale. Founded in 2020, the company leverages specialized AI agents to replace traditional, slow, questionnaire-based compliance methods. For more information, go to https://www.privado.ai/ PR Contact: Andrew Blum, AJB Communications | [email protected] | 917.783.1680 SOURCE Wilson Elser

Ankura launches AI by Design practice to help organisations close the gap between AI ambition and adoption. September 30, 2026 Ankura, the U.S. PE-backed advisory firm, invests in new Data & AI capabilities in the UK and an ecosystem of specialist partners to close the adoption gap holding back the ROI of enterprise AI. LONDON, Sept. 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Ankura Consulting Group, LLC ("Ankura"), today announced the launch of Ankura, AI by Design, a new tech-agnostic practice in the UK, serving EMEA, which focuses on helping clients use AI to grow revenue, expand what organisations can achieve with AI, and lift underlying profit. AI by Design is built on the conviction that AI should be shaped around the organisation: its ambitions, people, customers, and distinctive capabilities. Technology is an important part of that equation, however sustainable value depends on the strategy, operating model, skills, systems, governance, talent, and culture that allow AI to change how work gets done and enable organizations to achieve their strategic growth ambitions. This new practice reflects the increasing demand for practical, adoption-led AI advisory and builds directly on Ankura's established strength in strategy, risk, technology, and workforce transformation. "AI transformation programmes usually break down due to organizational challenges rather than the underlying technology itself. AI by Design is built by people who understand that, which is why I wanted to be part of it." Hywel Ball, AI Advisory Council Member, Former EY UK Chair and Non-Executive Director. Ankura, AI by Design's proposition is structured around three integrated pillars, underpinned by an internal AI Factory that builds, tests, and deploys AI in real delivery environments: * AI Strategy: targeting topline growth opportunities for boards and leadership teams to unlock * AI Governance Engineering: enabling organizations to manage AI risk and unlock value at scale by re-wiring the user experience of AI governance to be more intuitive and more efficient to operate * AI Workforce Transformation: redesigning roles, reskilling people, and embedding human-centered change so AI adoption embeds across the organization "Most enterprise AI stalls because organizations are not ready to adopt it, govern it, or redesign work and systems around it. Ankura, AI by Design closes that gap." Catriona Campbell, MBE - Practice Lead for Ankura, AI by Design. Ankura, AI by Design is led by a senior team with direct experience of successfully embedding AI and human-centered change inside global blue-chip multinationals across strategy, governance, and workforce transformation. They are joined by a curated ecosystem of early-stage 'best athlete' partners; Decoded for AI literacy and workforce reskilling, Seymour-Powell for human-centred design, and Inference Group for AI engineering and delivery. The practice is supported by an Advisory Council of senior figures from across technology, governance, academia, and industry, bringing an independent perspective on where AI is genuinely creating value, ensuring Ankura's advice reflects the frontier of AI strategy, governance engineering, and workforce transformation. "The technology has never been the biggest challenge. What matters is whether an organisation understands the outcomes they want to drive, and then designs how it works, governs, and trains its people around those outcomes. Ankura, AI by Design's focus on the human and organisational side of deployment is exactly the discipline the private sector now needs too." Dr Laura Gilbert CBE, AI Advisory Council Member, Senior AI advisor to UK government and industry. "The investment in AI by Design strengthens Ankura's commitment to helping clients turn AI ambition into measurable results," said Kevin Lavin, CEO of Ankura. "Across every industry, the organizations that succeed with AI are the ones that bring their people with them, not just their technology. Ankura's AI by Design practice helps our clients to adopt AI with confidence and turn it into real, lasting value." ABOUT ANKURA Ankura Consulting Group, LLC is an independent global expert services and advisory firm that delivers end-to-end solutions to manage conflict, crisis, performance, risk, strategy, and transformation. Committed to its mission of Driving Excellence, Delivered with Humanity, Ankura has more than 2,000 professionals serving 3,000+ clients across 55 countries. For more information, please visit: ankura.com.

Ankura Consulting Group has appointed Chris Broyles as Senior Managing Director and Practice Leader of Visual Communications Consulting & Trial Services. Based in Chicago, Broyles will expand the firm's visual persuasion capabilities, helping clients develop clear visual arguments for courtrooms and boardrooms. Broyles brings over 25 years of experience in litigation graphics, trial technology, and strategic communications. He has supported more than 100 federal and state trials for leading law firms. His expertise spans demonstrative design, courtroom presentation technology, and crisis communications. Before joining Ankura, Broyles founded a Chicago-based strategic consultancy serving Fortune 500 corporations and AmLaw 100 law firms. He previously held senior leadership roles at global consulting organisations, where he led digital and creative practices.