Cristiano Therrien Contact

Toronto 43.65° NOttawa 45.42° NMontréal 45.50° NRio de Janeiro 22.91° SFortaleza 3.73° S

Privacy and AI governance, researched and applied.

I turn cross-border data and AI rules into working programs, for governments, regulated industries, and the institutions that have to get this right. LL.D., CIPP/C, CIPM.

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LL.D.· GPLLM· CIPP/C· CIPM· Lecturer (UdeM and TMU)· Research Associate (CLTS, uOttawa)· Law Professor (Brazil)

The through-line

Responsible data governance is never only legal. It is legal, ethical, and operational at once, and my work holds the three together.

About

Cristiano Therrien

A scholar-practitioner for the hard problems in this field.

I am a privacy and AI governance advisor and legal scholar based in Toronto, working on law and AI across three jurisdictions (Ontario, Québec, and Brazil) and three languages (English, French, and Portuguese). As Legal Compliance Advisor at Open North, I advise on privacy, cybersecurity, and ethical data governance; that work included the Montréal en commun smart-city program with the City of Montréal, which ran from 2021 through early 2026.

That practice rests on a doctorate in law (LL.D.) from the Université de Montréal, postdoctoral AI-regulation research at the University of Ottawa, and a teaching practice spanning the Faculté de droit (Faculty of Law) of the Université de Montréal, the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University, and graduate law programs in Brazil (University of Passo Fundo and Rio de Janeiro State University). My practice background also spans IT/IP and technology contracts. In 2026 I completed the Global Professional LL.M. (Canadian Law in a Global Context) at the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law, University of Toronto.

I work across law and technology in both directions: bringing governance and legal reasoning to technology, and bringing proven technology into legal practice. I help law firms and legal departments adapt to the evolving AI landscape and adopt the tools that have shown real, practical use since 2024, and I provide AI training for legal professionals, built on the JIRAF and JURIS protocols I created for orienting and verifying AI-assisted work.

Research & publications

The research behind the advice.

My doctoral and postdoctoral work covers the legal governance of AI, data protection, and digital infrastructure, alongside public testimony before legislators.

In 2025, I testified before the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies on AI infrastructure, regulatory sandboxes, and digital sovereignty.

I also created and maintain CanLex Atlas, an open map of law and technology research in Canada. Contributions and corrections are welcome.

Explore the atlas →

View the publications and presentations page →

Current

Where the work happens.

Research Associate, Chair in Technology and Society
Centre for Law, Technology and Society, University of Ottawa. Postdoctoral fellow in AI regulation there from 2022 to 2023.
present
Lecturer
Faculté de droit, Université de Montréal
present
Lecturer
Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University. Cyber Crime and the Law (LAW568), Fall 2026. Previously Contract Law, Lincoln Alexander School of Law, TMU, Winter 2026.
present
Law Professor (graduate programs)
University of Passo Fundo (PPGD) and Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ, with ITS Rio), Brazil
present
Legal Compliance Advisor
Open North. Privacy, cybersecurity, and data governance
present

Advisory

What I help organizations do.

Privacy and AI governance are program and compliance functions, while helping legal teams adopt technology well is a discipline of its own. The work below is strategic, operational, and policy-focused.

01

Privacy programs

Design and strengthen privacy programs aligned with Law 25, PIPEDA, and cross-border data-transfer requirements: assessments, governance, and the operational habits that keep them compliant.

02

AI governance

Translate AI rules and frameworks (NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, the Treasury Board direction on automated decision-making) into controls a team can run and evidence.

03

Legal technology & AI adoption

Help law firms and legal departments adapt to the evolving AI landscape and adopt proven legal-technology tools, with the orientation and verification discipline legal work demands.

04

Data governance & training

Ethical data governance for the public sector and regulated industries, plus structured AI training for legal professionals in Canada and Brazil.

Speaking

Talks, panels, and teaching.

I speak on privacy, AI governance, and the practical discipline of using generative AI responsibly in legal and policy work, in English, French, and Portuguese.

Invite me to speak

Contact

Let's talk.

Whether you are an organization, an institution, or a peer, a single message is all it takes to reach me.

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Advisory & consulting

Privacy and AI governance programs, data governance, assessments.

Speaking & training

Keynotes, panels, workshops, and Continuing Legal Education on AI governance and digital law.

Research & academia

Collaboration, guest lectures, and co-authorship.

CanLex Atlas

Suggest a profile or a publication, send an update, or flag a correction.