Kirsten Thompson

Kirsten Thompson is a Partner at Dentons, serving as the National Lead of the Privacy and Cybersecurity group, specializing in Data Protection Law. She provides privacy, data security, and data management advice to clients across a wide variety of industries, with a particular concentration on data‑driven industries and disruptive technologies such as Fintech, artificial intelligence, digital identity, Open Banking, vehicle telematics, and Big Data analytics.

Kirsten helps clients navigate the legal and privacy requirements of new products and technologies, and provides compliance advice both within and across jurisdictions. She has been lead Canadian counsel on some of the largest North American data breaches and has been selected as preferred cybersecurity counsel by a number of Canada's leading financial institutions and insurance providers. She also advises on issues raised by social media, surveillance, biometrics, online behavioural advertising, data monetization, and the informational elements of business transactions.

She holds an LL.B from Queen's University (1999), an LL.M. from York University (2007), a BSc in Zoology and Biochemistry from the University of Calgary (1993), and a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University (1990).

Kirsten has been consistently recognized in Chambers Canada (Privacy & Data Protection), The Best Lawyers in Canada (Privacy and Data Security Law; Technology Law), and The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory (Technology Transactions). She received the OBA Karen Spector Memorial Award for Excellence in Privacy Law (2021) and was named one of North America's Top 10 innovative lawyers by the Financial Times for her pioneering work developing Dentons Data (2019).