Goodwin Procter appoints Liza Craig and Kaylee Cox Bankston to boost cybersecurity and trade practice

Goodwin Procter appoints Liza Craig and Kaylee Cox Bankston to boost cybersecurity and trade practice

The two were earlier serving at Reed Smith and Manatt Phelps & Phillips, respectively

Goodwin Procter has made a double partner hire in Washington D.C. by appointing Liza Craig in the global trade practice and Kaylee Cox Bankston in the data, privacy, and cybersecurity practice.

While the government contracts lawyer Craig was working with Reed Smith, Bankston served at the Los Angeles-based AmLaw 200 firm Manatt Phelps & Phillips.

Richard Matheny, the chair of Goodwin's global trade practice, commented, "Craig's significant experience advising on complex, high-value government contracts will be incredibly beneficial to our clients."

Boris Segalis, a partner in the firm's cybersecurity practice, remarked, "As the growing sophistication and volume of cyber incidents increase risks for clients, they continue to turn to us for strategic incident preparedness and response across a complex global regulatory environment. Bankstons' extensive experience with cyber counseling, investigations and litigation brings invaluable support to our clients."

Craig spent over three years at Reed Smith, her first role in private practice. She became a partner early this year. Her practice focuses on all aspects of government procurement - from proposal preparation and submissions to dispute resolution, contract compliance and contract termination.

Having started her career at the US Court of Appeals for the armed forces, Craig spent a year as acquisition counsel to the chief of naval operations and about two years as supervisory associate counsel for acquisition at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (now known as the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command). Among other legal roles in the military-related procurement units, she spent six years at the Naval Sea Systems Command.

On the other hand, Bankston served for over three years as counsel at Manatt Phelps & Phillips. Prior to that, she spent about five years at Holland & Knight as senior counsel and co-chair of its cybersecurity practice.

She focuses on a range of cybersecurity matters, including cyber risk assessments, incident response and security counseling, and advising corporate boards on cyber governance and risk management.