Gene is a member of the firm’s Regulatory Investigations, Strategy + Enforcement (RISE) practice, based in the Richmond office. He brings extensive regulatory experience, having most recently served as senior assistant attorney general and chief of the Computer Crime Section in the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia, and as special assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia for 20 years.

As a regulator, Gene has reviewed thousands of database breach incidents and investigated hundreds of cybersecurity, privacy, and consumer protection violations, including as part of multistate attorneys general teams. He has been a pillar in the charge for sweeping reforms to privacy and computer crime laws, having drafted and shepherded dozens of successful bills involving database breach notification, electronic records, identity theft, computer trespass, and child exploitation statutes, among others. In his supervisory capacities, he led the professional development of attorneys and computer forensic examiners, overseeing more than 1,000 prosecutions and computer forensic investigations for complex criminal cases in Virginia.

With an exemplary understanding of applying existing law to evolving cybersecurity and privacy problems, he guides clients navigating such issues and advises them at every stage of a matter.

Additionally, Gene frequently counsels clients and speaks on a wide range of artificial intelligence (AI) related regulatory, litigation, and ethical matters, including navigating state and federal compliance requirements; engaging with regulatory bodies; and addressing enforcement actions and policy developments that impact their operations.

• Reviewed more than 4000 database breach incidents and filed more than three dozen privacy enforcement actions resulting in settlements.
• Participated in more than 100 multistate, attorneys general privacy and consumer protection investigations as a member of the National Association of Attorneys General Privacy Working Group.
• Handled more than 400 state and federal prosecutions related to complex computer crimes, including the Virginia Computer Crimes Act, identity theft, child exploitation, and the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
• Prosecuted the first, felony case in the U.S. for illicit spamming in 2004.

• Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch: Privacy and Data Security Law (2026)
• Virginia Lawyers Weekly: Go To Lawyer – Cybersecurity Litigation (2025)
• Virginia Business Magazine: “Legal Elite” in Cybersecurity/Data Privacy/Technology Law (2024)