Data Privacy

McLane's Privacy and Data Security Practice Group can help your business manage and address the risks inherent in our digital world. Technology is engrained in every aspect of our business and personal lives. Society can hardly move fast enough to adopt today's newest technologies before tomorrow's arrive in our workplaces, homes, cars and even the palms of our hands. Along with such tremendous new developments come significant new risks.

Privacy – A Brave New Digital World

Our Privacy and Data Security Practice Group guides clients through the complex legal and business issues inherent in data privacy. We approach these issues proactively, starting with comprehensive information use policies and procedures tailored to each particular business and designed to avoid internal problems and costly litigation. We also train business executives, leaders, managers and employees about appropriate data use and privacy.

Our Group fuses legal and technical knowledge together to help clients address the myriad of data privacy issues that arise on a daily basis, particularly with respect to social media (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and You Tube), email, webmail (such as Gmail, Yahoo!, and many others), hand-held devices (iPhones, iPads, Droids, and BlackBerries), surveillance, background checks, laptops, PCs, servers, databases, and the many other technologies used by companies today. We also have the depth and breadth of business litigation experience needed to handle any type of data privacy lawsuit that may arise.

Data Security – A Compliance and Litigation Minefield

Businesses must take adequate precautions to protect the personal information of their customers and employees. While companies involved in health care (regulated by HIPAA), banking or financial services (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act), education (FERPA), and credit services (FACTA and Red Flag Rules) have been subject to rigorous compliance standards for some time, every business must now comply with the laws and regulations enacted by the states, particularly if subject to Massachusetts' requirement for a Written Information Security Plan (WISP).

McLane's Privacy and Data Security Group has the depth of subject matter knowledge and breadth of industry experience necessary to help your business become and stay data security compliant. Even careful companies, however, can experience a data security scare or breach. Our prompt, level-headed and meticulous responses to such breaches have helped many clients control and avoid litigation and the other potentially disastrous consequences of a breach.

For further information on how our attorneys can assist you on data privacy and security issues, please contact Cameron G. Shilling, Chair of the Data Privacy Group, at cameron.shilling@mclane.com.