Privacy & Security

Every company handling sensitive information, including any customer or employee data, needs to be concerned about safeguarding its privacy and security. The rules in this area of law are complex, vary by jurisdiction and change rapidly. Moreover, a privacy or security breach can result in serious monetary penalties for the company and, importantly, substantial damage to its reputation. To deal effectively with privacy and security challenges, companies doing business online and offline alike need to understand:

• What data they collect, from whom and from where;
• How the information is stored and protected;
• Who has access to it and under what conditions;
• How the information is used and whether the information is transferred across borders for processing or storage;
• To whom information is disclosed and what, if any, customer consent is needed to do so;
• What procedures should be followed in the event of an unauthorized disclosure;
• How to deal with government or third-party requests/demands for information;
• How new technologies affect privacy and security;
• What unique rules apply to particular industry segments.

Perkins Coie’s interdisciplinary team of privacy and security lawyers includes litigators, transactional attorneys, and public policy and regulatory lawyers. Our practice is hands-on, solution-oriented, and provides clients with practical legal advice and effective tools to comply with U.S. and international data protection laws. We stay abreast of the changing landscape of privacy and security technology so we understand, for example, how to respond to a distributed denial of service attack, or the privacy and security implications of peer-to-peer file sharing, or the use of WiFi networking.

To provide the best possible service, we track and are actively involved in legislative and regulatory initiatives in this fast-changing area. We have substantial experience in handling privacy litigation, including defending class action lawsuits and government enforcement actions; licensing and business transactions; mergers and acquisitions involving the transfer or ownership of data; developing privacy and security policies, implementing fair information practices, and executing privacy and security audits; and responding to government and third party requests for information.