How Data Privacy Laws Will Impact Legal Ops & Legal Teams

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The looming horizon of data privacy laws in the U.S. and other countries is stormy, at best. So how can corporate legal teams and Legal Ops staff navigate these uncertain waters?

That was the subject of a recent webinar, as the new movement toward data privacy regulation and its impact on Legal Ops and legal departments was the topic.

Presented by Stacey M. Garrett and Justin Hectus of Keesal, Young & Logan, and Mitratech’s Steven O’Donnell, the consequences of the CCPA and its compliance demands were a primary focus.

One chilling insight that was covered came from a 2017 report by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, “Engineered Liability: The Plaintiff’s Bar’s Campaign to Expand Data Privacy and Security Litigation”:

“[T]here is a growing campaign by the plaintiffs’ bar to target data privacy and security in the hopes of striking it rich in a new goldmine on the level of the asbestos litigation of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.”

Webinar: Navigating Data Privacy for Legal Operations

Early preparation for regulations like the CCPA – and what may come later – is the key to staving off compliance problems and penalties.

A data privacy patchwork

Data Privacy Legal OpsThe “what may come later” is already on the way, unfortunately. More U.S. states are drawing up their own data privacy laws, creating a troubling challenge for Legal Ops staff and the legal and compliance teams they support.

In the last year, no less than 13 states have enacted privacy laws or proposed privacy bills modeled after the CCPA. Another six, meanwhile, have proposed some CCPA-style privacy protections.

What’s contributed to this patchwork of regulation? The lack of an overriding federal-level data privacy policy and set of nationwide regulations.

Workflow automation can help legal teams cope

One acknowledged solution for at least part of the challenge?  Workflow automation can streamline Legal Ops processes so they’re better able to cope with the multiplying demands the legal department will be faced with as more of these regulations come on line.

“Manually responding to personal information access and deletion requests is likely to become overwhelming quickly. Organizations will need to implement an automated, streamlined approach.”

Association of Corporate Counsel, ACC Docket (March 2019)
“Privacy Trends: The California Consumer Privacy Act is a Harbinger of New Regulations.”

We’ve barely scratched the surface of all the ground covered in the webinar, so download it to hear more.  Most of all, it offers a step-by-step action plan legal departments and Legal Ops can follow to get ready for the data privacy regulation onslaught that looks to be on its way.