Eric Staats

As Chair of the Legal-ISAC, I facilitate trusted information sharing between legal sector organizations, strengthen collective cyber resilience, and drive collaboration on emerging threats, risks, and best practices.

Operating as an independent interim CISO and advisor, taking on assignments where organisations need hands-on security leadership, clear governance, and pragmatic risk strategy. Clients have included Harlem Next, HeadFirst Group, and the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA). – Embedded as interim CISO, providing executive-level security leadership and building practical information security programmes tailored to each client's maturity and sector. – Led successful ISO 27001 certifications for HeadFirst Group and DCSA — designing and implementing frameworks rapidly without disrupting operations. – Executed multiple internal fraud and security investigations; delivered detailed forensic reports and implemented preventative policies and controls. – Established GRC frameworks aligned to ISO 27001 and NIS2, advising boards and executive teams on regulatory obligations and risk prioritisation.

– Provide strategic advisory, translating complex threat landscapes into concrete, actionable security roadmaps.

Leading international law firm with offices in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Luxembourg. – Designed and executed the firm's cybersecurity strategy, delivering proactive threat analyses and optimising the firm's security infrastructure. – Led all security incidents and crises end-to-end — from containment through stakeholder communication to post-incident improvement — ensuring board and general counsel remained informed and decisive. – Managed cybersecurity governance and risk alignment across all three BeNeLux offices, engaging regularly with local management teams to ensure regional consistency.