Lyndsey Estin

Lyndsey has over 20 years of experience advising companies on high stakes business and communication challenges.

Lyndsey works closely with the highest levels of leadership, Boards, communication and IR teams, as well as external advisors, on matters where reputational vulnerabilities may impact media, customer, investor, employee, and public perception. Lyndsey assists clients with a range of complex issues including cybersecurity, crisis and issues management, M&A, and litigation.

Lyndsey co-leads Kekst CNC's Global Cybersecurity practice, working closely with clients to identify, evaluate and manage reputational risks associated with cybersecurity and data privacy. A widely recognized expert, Lyndsey has brought nuanced understanding to some of the most sensitive cybersecurity incidents in recent history, including those involving nation-state, critical infrastructure and major extortion and ransomware attacks.

In addition to her work on special situations, Lyndsey provides ongoing support to clients, offering strategic counsel around important company milestones and challenges, financial announcements, and media relations.

Prior to Kekst CNC, Lyndsey worked for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, assisting on complex litigation matters involving government regulatory investigations. She has been a guest lecturer at Brown University and NYU’s Stern School of Business.

Lyndsey holds a BA in English, cum laude and with distinction in all subjects, from Cornell University.

Experience

Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

• Advises on cyber breach preparation and response for high-profile companies across industries, including cybersecurity, technology, healthcare, energy, financial services, and retail.
• Provided extensive support to a leading cybersecurity provider after a routine software update triggered a global technical outage.
• Supported a security software company following mass exploitation of zero days by a state-sponsored actor.
• Counseled leaders of a fin-tech company during national media reporting and congressional scrutiny of its fraud prevention measures.
• Provided support to C-Suite and incident response leaders at a legal services provider after a ransomware attack forced the company to take systems offline for an extended period of time.
• Supported a healthcare technology company following incidents of inadvertent data disclosure which attracted media attention due to the sensitive nature of the information.
• Supported a technology company victimized by a known criminal group in an aggressive extortion campaign targeting key company personnel.
• Supported a global web-based company addressing a global cyberattack that impacted both B2B and B2C areas of the business, resulting in access to credit card information and other PII for individuals in more than 200 countries across the globe.
• Provided extensive support to a leading technology company addressing a sophisticated malware attack prompting a prolonged shutdown of critical customer and internal systems. Affected businesses involved PHI and government contracts, requiring sensitive disclosures consistent with regulations and contractual obligations.
• Provided extensive support and counsel to a leading global network security company (and its corporate parent) after it was targeted in sophisticated cyber-attack and critical information was extracted about its technology and customers.
• Advised clients across industries on proactive cybersecurity readiness, including customized incident planning and response materials, media training, and tabletop exercises and interactive simulations for C-suite executives, boards of directors, and key members of incident response teams.

Transactions

• Provided strategic counsel to companies on spinoffs and IPOs, including Tilray, the first cannabis producer and distributor to debut on a U.S. stock exchange, ING during the spin-off of its U.S. business, YUM! Brands on the spin-off of its China business, Beam in its separation from Fortune Brands, and the IPO of WCI Communities.
• Represented E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company around its merger of equals with The Dow Chemical Company, as well as the process towards the intended three way spinoff of the combined company’s Agriculture, Materials Science, and Specialty Products divisions.
• Represented Baxalta in its $32 billion merger with Shire and subsequent integration process.
• Counseled Coca-Cola Enterprises in a $27 billion three-way merger of European Coca-Cola system bottlers.
• Represented clients in the sports & entertainment industry around high-profile sales processes, including advising the Los Angeles Dodgers in its bankruptcy and subsequent $2.5 billion sale to Guggenheim Baseball Management, representing the highest price to date for a professional sports team in the U.S.
• Represented American Airlines and United Airlines in industry consolidation mergers.

Crisis and Issues Management

• Works with clients across industries to manage a variety of special situations, including: cybersecurity issues, data privacy issue, high profile litigation, product recalls, safety matters, service outages / operational shutdowns, workplace misconduct, employee reductions and layoffs, and social media-related incidents, among others.
• Advises clients across industries on crisis readiness planning, including vulnerabilities assessments, preparation and response planning, and tabletop and simulation exercises.