Donna Wilson is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. Donna is nationally recognized for her high-profile, bet-the-company work on behalf of companies facing litigation and government enforcement actions, with a focus on both the consumer financial services and privacy and data security spaces. Donna's extensive crisis and risk management experience, coupled with her broad subject matter knowledge and precedent-setting litigation experience, makes her highly valued by in-house counsel, the C-level suite and boards in pre-emptively mitigating risk, and navigating those risks that become full-blown exposure. She has successfully represented her client base, which includes banks, mortgage servicers, auto finance companies, retailers and other financial services providers, as well as clients in other regulated industries, in a range of matters, from advice and counseling, to class and individual litigation, to government enforcement and regulatory actions.
Co-leading Manatt's privacy and data security practice and a partner in its financial services litigation and enforcement practice, Donna is also recognized by professional publications for her leadership. Most recently, she was selected as one of the Top 20 Cyber/Artificial Intelligence Lawyers and one of the Top 100 Women Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal, and one of the Most Influential Women Lawyers in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal. Donna also serves as a member of Manatt’s Board of Directors and the firm's Compensation Committee.
Donna is a frequent author, speaks on cutting-edge legal matters and is regularly quoted by various media, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the Daily Journal. She is also a member of the LGBT Bar.
After law school, she clerked to the late Honorable David R. Thompson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Diego, as well as to the late Honorable Stanley S. Brotman of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
