Privacy & CybersecurityOverviewPrivacy & Cybersecurity are top concerns in today’s boardrooms—with good reason. Regulations have proliferated, cyberattacks are commonplace, and companies are being fined millions of dollars for poor data handling practices. Michael Best’s Privacy & Cybersecurity team provides legal counseling to support risk mitigation strategies across the enterprise, and help clients to stay ahead of emerging threats. Our attorneys have in-house experience and extensive backgrounds working with the highest levels of federal, state, regulatory agencies. This gives us a combination of advanced insight into the thinking of regulators and direct experience in solving real-world privacy and security challenges. We will serve as your Privacy General Counsel and become an integral member of your team to develop, implement, and maintain a reliable corporate cybersecurity strategy. Our proactive approach involves assessing how data is managed across the whole enterprise, identifying your vulnerabilities, and building a customized compliance program to meet your specific needs. We work with all sizes and types of clients, including those in heavily regulated or critical infrastructure industries such as communications, energy, financial services, healthcare, retail, and information technology.
Service Areas
Regulatory Compliance & Data Protection
Michael Best provides full-service compliance counseling across the evolving spectrum of global privacy and cybersecurity law, under U.S. federal and state regulations and industry standards (e.g., CAN-SPAM, COPPA, GLBA, HIPAA, NYDFS, PCI-DSS, and FTC/FCC regulation); European Union regulations, including GDPR; and Latin America and Asia-Pacific regional standards.
We take an innovative approach to managing regulatory issues, with the Best Privacy & Cybersecurity Toolkit, which is an online platform that helps our clients manage compliance with a variety of regulatory frameworks including the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and GDPR.
In addition to our Toolkit, we provide ongoing support in mitigating risk and maintaining compliance with GDPR, as further guidance’s are published.
We also provide counsel on privacy and cybersecurity e-commerce issues including CAN-SPAM, TCPA, Do Not Call, E-Sign, internet privacy, and many others, keep our clients compliant with every changes rules and regulations, enabling our clients to achieve their business objectives.
Public Sector Privacy & Cybersecurity
Our team, which includes a former White House appointed cybersecurity advisor to the US Department of Defense and the Texas state government’s first chief privacy officer, has critical insight into how federal and state governments define, enact, and manage cybersecurity policy and regulations.
Incident Preparedness & Response
We help clients develop incident response plans, conduct on-site tabletop exercises, remediate data breaches, respond to third party investigations or claims, and manage crisis communications.
We partner with trusted resources to manage and investigate small and large scale breaches arising from all varieties of cybercrimes and threats, engaging 3rd party resources, preserving the attorney-client privilege.
We tailor the tabletop exercise to their business, their people. Through the response to the exercise, we update/craft a response plan to assist in mitigating future risk, in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.
Government & Risk Management
We develop robust risk mitigation strategies to help you defend reputational and legal challenges through our customized, integrated approach to policy, procedure, and risk assessment and management.
Investigations, Dispute Resolution, & Litigation
We represent clients throughout internal audits and investigations, third-party disputes, federal and state government investigations, and regulatory enforcement actions, helping them navigate federal and state agencies and external auditors.
Our team also focuses on stakeholder preparation and counseling, working with individuals who are externally facing, to prepare them for media spotlight, testimony, depositions, and other public statements.
We strategically partner with our litigation team to provide clients a full range of resources if litigation is imminent. Our team advises and provides support to the litigation team throughout the litigation process, assisting with case evaluation, discovery and settlement strategy, evaluating the merits of the claim, seeking indemnification where available, tendering to cyber insurance carriers and following protocols, all to achieve a beneficial outcome for our clients.
Supply Chain & Vendor Management
We advise customers and suppliers on privacy and cybersecurity risk concerns, including pre-contract diligence, contract preparation and negotiations, and post-contract audits.
Our team is available to assist through the entire life cycle, starting with vendor selection process through contract termination and exit strategy.
Emerging Technologies
When clients are developing or adopting new technologies (e.g., IoT or blockchain), we help them achieve business objectives while being mindful of emerging law and interpretations.
Our team helps clients integrate privacy and cybersecurity into their new technologies and projects from the onset, incorporating the principles of Privacy by Design and Default.
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Privacy & Cybersecurity Education & Training
Our training programs empower your organization to develop a first line of defense in privacy and cybersecurity risk management, by creating a structured program to identify key cybersecurity and privacy issues.
Experience
- Represented various clients in assessing and responding to data breaches, managing multi-state breach notifications, including notification to regulators, and providing credit monitoring
- Negotiated data aggregation agreement between client and major financial institution to allow sharing of financial institution customer information with third parties
- Counseled on sharing of financial institution nonpublic personal information with non-affiliated third parties under joint marketing agreements and service provider agreements in order to increase and refine targeted marketing efforts
- Advised on FCRA issues relating to firm offers of credit involving financial institution, credit bureau, and multiple service providers
Related People Preview Attorney's BiographyKnown for giving practical and actionable legal advice, Adrienne counsels clients on the many complex aspects of privacy and data management matters. Her extensive background includes experience with issues relating to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), as well as privacy programs and cyber security issues.  Preview Attorney's BiographyRyan is a paralegal in the firm’s Transactional Practice Group. He performs detailed due diligence for commercial and agricultural real estate transactions throughout the country, with an emphasis in: Arkansas, Illinois, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Ryan conducts property research, ALTA/NSPS land survey analysis, title and policy review, and is responsible for drafting a wide range of transactional and closing documents. Ryan L. Habeck* *Names that appear with an asterisk indicate a Michael Best professional not admitted to practice law.  Preview Attorney's BiographyVelvet Johnson is senior counsel in the firm’s Privacy & Cybersecurity practice. Drawing on more than a decade of private sector and government experience, Velvet assists clients in identifying and mitigating risks associated with privacy and data security practices.  Preview Attorney's BiographyClients benefit from Elizabeth’s extensive experience with a variety of regulatory, cybersecurity compliance, and technology-specific privacy matters. A former chief privacy officer in Texas state government, she brings a unique and informed perspective to her practice.  Preview Attorney's BiographyRyan brings a robust background in privacy and cybersecurity to his role at Michael Best, focusing his practice in the areas of information technology, outsourcing, data protection, licensing, e-commerce, and intellectual property.  Preview Attorney's BiographyEric is a paralegal in the firm’s Real Estate practice group. He performs detailed due diligence for commercial and real estate transactions throughout the country, focusing on buyers and sellers of commercial property and agricultural land. Eric conducts property research, ALTA/NSPS land survey analysis, and title and policy review, and is responsible for drafting a wide range of transactional and closing documents.Eric has worked in the real estate industry since 2006. Prior to joining M ... Eric T. Turnquist* *Names that appear with an asterisk indicate a Michael Best professional not admitted to practice law.
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