Jeff Levinson on GDPR
From Be the GC! Virtual Discussion with Jeff Levinson, Vice President and General Counsel, NetScout · · ACC Northeast
“A few years ago GDPR, the European data privacy regs, were being talked about before enforcement, and many companies were not getting ahead of this. It takes a lot of cross-functional collaboration to address those issues, and the legal team often has to lead even if it's not strictly a legal function.”
On , Jeff Levinson, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary at NETSCOUT SYSTEMS INC, spoke about GDPR during Be the GC! Virtual Discussion with Jeff Levinson, Vice President and General Counsel, NetScout on ACC Northeast.
About Jeff Levinson
In a September 2021 discussion hosted by the ACC Northeast chapter, Jeff Levinson, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at Netscout, spoke about the role of in-house counsel in leading cross-functional initiatives. He cited GDPR compliance and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) reporting as examples where legal teams often need to drive change even when the issues are not strictly legal. Levinson described the need for in-house lawyers to be comfortable with "volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity" and to take initiative by volunteering for new challenges. Levinson discussed his approach to leadership, stating that he aims to empower his team by loading them with responsibility and trusting them to communicate regularly. He noted that good people can be productive working anywhere if trust is earned, and that creating a coherent company culture is a CEO-level decision with input from legal and HR. He also advised his younger self to be more collaborative rather than competitive, saying that collaboration enhances relationships and effectiveness.