Deborah Hinck is an associate in the Boston office of Latham & Watkins and a member of the Data & Technology Transactions Practice, advising clients on a range of intellectual property and privacy and data security matters, in connection with strategic alliances, joint ventures, M&A and financing transactions, intellectual property strategy and commercialization, intellectual property licensing, development agreements and other commercial arrangements, and privacy and data initiatives.

Drawing on both her engineering and legal experience in the industry, Ms. Hinck advises clients across a range of sectors, with a particular focus on cloud computing and data strategy, AI and machine learning, entertainment, video gaming, SaaS, and complex technology transactions.

Her transactional work includes advising on the intellectual property, technology transactions and data privacy and security aspects of:

  • Commercial contracts and intellectual property licensing agreements
  • Strategic mergers and acquisitions, alliances, partnerships, and joint ventures
  • General advisement and negotiation of intellectual property matters related to private equity and venture capital transactions
  • Capital markets transactions and financings
  • Manufacture, supply, and resale agreements
  • Open-source licensing
  • Customer and end-user arrangements
  • Consumer protection matters
  • Privacy and data security policies
  • Cybersecurity terms in commercial transactions
  • SEC cybersecurity disclosure
  • Privacy and data security issues in connection with product development
  • Data ownership and data rights
  • Privacy and data security regulations, including:
    • The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other State Privacy Laws
    • Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
    • Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA)
    • The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
    • CAN-SPAM

Ms. Hinck received her JD, magna cum laude, from Boston University School of Law, where she received the Edward F. Hennessey Distinguished Scholar award, the Paul J. Liacos Scholar award, and the Michael Fricklas and Donna Astion Prize in Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. While in law school, she served as an extern for the Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section of the Department of Justice.

Prior to law school, Ms. Hinck was a software engineer and business and strategy development manager at Microsoft from 2002-2014.

Ms. Hinck’s experience includes advising:

  • Drizly, an on-demand alcohol delivery app, on its acquisition by Uber Technologies
  • Okta on its acquisition of Auth0, an identity management platform for application builders and developers
  • Ginkgo Bioworks, a developer of biological engineering products and custom microbes, on its deSPAC Merger with Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp.
  • Desktop Metal on intellectual property matters in relation to strategic acquisitions, including in connection with the acquisition of 3D printing and materials companies, ExOne and EnvisionTEC
  • Evolv Technology, an artificial intelligence enabled touchless security screening company, on its deSPAC Merger With Newhold Investment Corp.
  • Rosecliff on the business combination between GT Gettaxi, a UK-based technology platform focused on corporate Ground Transportation Management, and Rosecliff Acquisition Corp I
  • Rivian on its IPO
  • Brilliant Earth on its IPO
  • KKR and Ten Eleven Ventures on NetSPI’s Growth Funding
  • TravelPerk on its Series D-1 Financing
  • Buzzer on a commercial agreement with NHL
  • Meta on data privacy issues in relation to strategic acquisitions, including in connection with its acquisition of video game development company Within Limited
  • A Cloud Guru, a cloud skills development platform, on its acquisition by Pluralsight
  • IXL Learning on its acquisition of Rosetta Stone's languages division
  • Actifio on its acquisition by Google
  • LogMeIn on its acquisition

Bar Qualification

  • Massachusetts

Education

  • JD, Boston University, 2017
    magna cum laude
  • MA, University of Washington, 2012
  • BS in Electrical & Computer Engineering & Mathematics, University of Colorado, 2002

Languages Spoken

  • English