Blog: Chronicle of Data Protection | 31 August 2011

Hogan Lovells Privacy Lawyers Go "West" to Take Stock of Ways to Better Serve Clients in Changing Times in Law and Regulation

On an uncharacteristically cool but bright and sunny late August day, yesterday Washington, D.C.-based lawyers in the Privacy and Information Management (PIM) practice traveled west one hour from DC to the Marriott Ranch in Hume, Virginia to take stock of current trends in privacy law and to discuss ways in which the practice can better serve its clients in the dynamic times ahead.  After a short trail ride on horseback, the group got down to business and spent the afternoon sitting on the porch of the Marshall  Manor House built in 1814 by James Marshall (the brother of then-Supreme Court Justice John Marshall).

In full-group and break-out interactive sessions, the PIM lawyers talked out how we can prepare clients for anticipated developments in privacy and information security law, including:

• Increased Congressional focus, through proposed legislation and hearings, on online tracking, data security breaches, children’s privacy, and consumer control over the collection and use of personal data.
• More enforcement actions from the FTC, HHS, in the states and through attempted class actions.
• The broadening applicability of HIPAA to entities previously not covered and the applicability of “general” privacy rules to health-related entities
• Greater challenges for companies operating internationally given the proposed changes in the EU framework and increased regulatory enforcement abroad
• The further deployment of cloud computing and social media by businesses.
• The demand, created in part by greater media attention, for heightened privacy and data security protections for consumer and employee data, and the threats to reputation and brand from inadequate attention.

The group came up with a framework for ways to better inform our clients of new developments, to share our learning and to collaborate with in-house privacy professionals and to continue to distinguish our privacy practice as one known for being able to handle the entire range of privacy and data security matters, including especially those involving cutting-edge and novel issues, and one that can provide global coverage on privacy matters by involving our colleagues across the firm’s 40 offices in 27 countries.

The late-Summer gathering "out West" energized the PIM group lawyers for a busy Fall ahead.