Keith Enright, JD '00, will deliver the keynote address at GW Law's Diploma Ceremony on Sunday, May 20, 2018; Dean Blake D. Morant made the announcement last month. Mr. Enright is the Director of Google's Global Privacy Legal Team and has more than 15 years of senior executive experience in data privacy, information management, online advertising, and related fields at leading American companies. In a new Q&A, Mr. Enright answered a few questions about his time at the law school and provided a teaser about his upcoming commencement address.
How has GW Law influenced your career?
Beyond the obvious legal skills training, and the ability to "think like a lawyer," GW introduced me to a network of people, and exposed me to an array of opportunities, that set me on the course that landed me in what I candidly believe to be the best legal job in the world.
Describe a memorable moment, professor, or course from your time in law school.
I am grateful to have had the privilege of working with a number of inspiring professors at GW, and I'd feel remiss if I didn't recognize Jeff Rosen, Luize Zubrow, and Dawn Nunziato as each having had a profound impact on my legal education and my subsequent professional trajectory. Working as Jeff's research assistant as he completed The Unwanted Gaze: The Destruction of Privacy in America, was the highlight of my time at GW, and an experience for which I'll be eternally grateful. His patience and generosity with his time, and his willingness to serve as friend, advisor, and mentor throughout my career have been a a significant contribution to whatever measure of success I may achieve.
If you were not working as the Director of Google's Global Privacy Legal Team, what would you be doing?
I'd likely be serving as the General Counsel of some delusionally ambitious tech startup.
What is one piece of advice you wish you had when you graduated?
Always assume positive intent, even when people make it hard.
What is the message you hope to share with GW Law’s graduating class?
Never buy into the myth that your options are limited by convention, or that, as a lawyer, your opportunity costs are too high to try something crazy.