John Michels is an associate in the Privacy and Cybersecurity practice of Paul Hastings, and is based in the Firm’s Chicago office. John focuses his practice on data breach investigation and response, privacy litigation, and regulatory investigations. John’s experience includes managing large-scale cybersecurity incident investigations, responding to governmental subpoenas and investigative demands, and advising clients on compliance with privacy laws such as the EU’s General Data Protection Directive (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the Illinois Biometric Information Protection Act (BIPA). John also has litigated numerous actions in federal court under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Prior to law school, John was a combat survival, enemy evasion, interrogation resistance, and captivity escape specialist for the U.S. Air Force. 

During his eight years of service, he occupied a variety of leadership roles involving operational planning and personnel recovery coordination.

• Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, J.D. (cum laude), 2018
• American Military University, B.A. (with honors), 2014