Joshua B. Heiman serves as Counsel in the San Diego office of Klinedinst PC. A trusted legal and strategic advisor, Mr. Heiman brings a unique blend of law, technology, and business experience to his work with C-Suite leaders, emerging companies, and established enterprises. His practice spans product counseling, regulatory compliance, venture financing, intellectual property, software licensing, procurement, technology commercialization, and OEM agreements.
A Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), Mr. Heiman focuses extensively on privacy, data governance, and the legal implications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. He is the creator of AIMLIA, a widely used governance framework for assessing AI-related legal, operational, and compliance risks. Mr. Heiman regularly advises clients on AI risk management, model governance, and compliance with rapidly evolving state, federal, and international privacy laws.
Mr. Heiman also serves as Co-Chair of Klinedinst’s AI Practice Group, where he helps lead the firm’s strategy, client advisory services, and internal governance relating to artificial intelligence. In addition, he is a recognized leader in the broader privacy and AI community, serving on the California Lawyers Association Board of Representatives and as a co-founder and Executive Committee member of the CLA Privacy Law Section. He is a moderator and program architect for the CLA Privacy + AI Lab, one of California’s leading interdisciplinary forums on AI and privacy. Through these roles, he has provided ad hoc policy guidance to the California Governor’s Office, the Legislature, and the Office of the Attorney General on matters involving privacy and emerging technologies.
Before joining Klinedinst, Mr. Heiman founded and led Data Law, a San Francisco–based legal consultancy, and held senior roles at specialty firms including Binder & Malter LLP and Ribera Law Offices. His experience includes advising Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups on data protection, information security, cross-border data transfers, software development, and compliance with global regulatory frameworks such as the EU GDPR. He also served as General Counsel to NightFloat, Inc., a medical translation technology company.
Mr. Heiman has extensive experience counseling consumer-facing technology companies on privacy, data protection, IP, and consumer protection laws. His regulatory background includes FERPA, HIPAA, CCPA/CPRA, GLBA, and a broad range of state, federal, and international privacy regulations.
In addition to his transactional practice, Mr. Heiman has significant litigation experience. He represents clients through all phases of complex litigation across multiple jurisdictions, including matters involving the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website accessibility claims, and other privacy, data security, and consumer protection disputes. He has managed large legal teams and developed strategic approaches to disputes ranging from commercial conflicts to medical malpractice, with a strong focus on defending companies facing emerging-technology and privacy-based class actions.
Mr. Heiman is also an early commentator on digital assets. His 2005 article, “Can Elvish Gold Ever Be Real Money? The Numismatic Qualities of Virtual Currency under the Law,” is recognized as one of the earliest legal analyses of virtual currency, years before the rise of cryptocurrency.
Education
- Stanford Law School, Graduate Scholar, Center for Internet & Society (CIS)
- University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D.
- University of California, Berkeley, B.A.
