Gray Reed’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy practice features a highly-skilled, interdisciplinary team with significant experience guiding clients through the most challenging data security, privacy and data management matters. We design tailored and innovative strategies for the entire spectrum of complex issues, including breach incident prevention and response, data privacy policy development, regulatory compliance, data-related transactions, government investigations, dispute resolution and much more.
Our client list includes businesses of all shapes and sizes with diverse cybersecurity and data privacy needs, from Fortune 500 corporations and mid-sized companies to startups and small businesses. The firm’s capabilities span every industry sector, including energy, healthcare, real estate, construction, retail, hospitality and technology, among others.
Core Practice Capabilities
Our team brings in-depth knowledge and experience to advising clients on a wide range of matters, including:
- Data audits
- Data management, preservation and collection
- Data breach prevention, response and remediation
- Preparation and review of compliance programs and policies
- Government investigation and discovery management
- Litigation and regulatory actions
- Negotiating and structuring vendor and customer agreements, cloud management services agreements, and other data-related transactions
- Compliance and best practices training
- Responses to Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs)
- Consumer protection regulations concerning online tracking
- Global data transfer management (e.g., transfer agreements, expert controls and binding corporate rules (BCRs))
- Supervisory data authority matters (e.g., data breach notifications, authorizations and Data Protection Officer (DPO) appointments)
Data Breach Prevention, Response and Remediation
Cybersecurity incidents such as network intrusions, unauthorized system access, data exfiltration, ransomware attacks and identity theft can result in considerable financial losses, legal liability, reputational damage and business disruptions. We help clients reduce the risk of security incidents by assessing their unique data protection obligations, identifying vulnerabilities, and enhancing their policies and procedures concerning data security, security awareness, collection, storage, use and retention.
Our team also designs proactive breach response plans that enable clients to hit the ground running if a cybersecurity incident occurs, identify the cause and extent of the breach, and restore normal business operations as quickly as possible. We guide clients through all types of post-incident matters as well, including preparing breach notifications to impacted parties, coordinating with regulatory agencies and law enforcement, and managing remediation activities to prevent similar incidents in the future. We also assist third parties who have been affected by data breaches, including companies who have experienced financial losses as a result of business partners experiencing a cyber-incident. We have existing partnerships with key third-party partners, including digital forensics specialists, which further enables us to achieve the best possible results in the most efficient manner.
U.S. and International Regulatory Compliance
We help clients comply with the constantly-evolving state, federal and international data privacy and security regulations. Our lawyers are well-versed in the complex frameworks impacting clients’ businesses both in the U.S. and abroad, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and various state privacy protection regulations.
Compliance programs are only effective when the entire company is fully informed and on board, not just the C-suite, legal team and IT department. We help clients ensure that every aspect of their program is communicated and properly implemented throughout the company to maintain compliance with applicable laws. To minimize the risk of regulatory violations and data vulnerabilities, we also advise clients on safeguards for limiting employee access and use of private data, proprietary information, technology and software applications.
Investigation, Data Preservation and Discovery Management
Guiding clients through government investigations is another important feature of our practice. We represent clients in all types of criminal and civil investigations that implicate data privacy and security issues, including Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission investigations and inquiries regarding the cause and impact of data breach incidents.
Our team advises clients on data retention and data loss prevention issues. We assist clients with developing and maintaining appropriate data retention policies for their company documents. This includes ensuring client data is protected through effective back up and redundancy systems. Our lawyers also ensure appropriate protections of data and agreements with third party vendors including IT providers. We also work with clients, their legal department and IT department to ensure their protocols for deleting and transferring data prevents a loss of data under a Legal Hold, Data Retention Policy or other obligations to preserve company data.
Our team also advises clients on responding to subpoenas, search warrants, and court orders related to litigation and investigations, whether our client is a party to the proceeding or a non-party in possession of potential evidence. This includes data preservation, collection, analysis, production, and protection of privileged and confidential data. We excel at designing effective systems for gathering and producing digitally-stored data and physical documents, while also ensuring compliance with destruction holds, E-discovery rules, protective orders, confidentiality agreements, the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrines.
Proven Experience in the Courtroom
Clients rely on our team of veteran trial lawyers to resolve private disputes and government regulatory actions involving all types of data and cybersecurity issues. We prosecute and defend complex cases before state and federal courts across the U.S., and our extensive network of foreign counsel enables clients to litigate effectively in jurisdictions around the world.
Our lawyers also recognize that a long and costly courtroom battle may not be the right option to achieve each client’s goals. Where appropriate, we use informal negotiations, mediation, arbitration and other alternative methods to expedite the dispute resolution process, minimize costs and prevent significant business disruptions.
Why Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Clients Feel at Home at Gray Reed
Gray Reed lawyers pride themselves on being trusted members of each client’s team who are always on call to solve difficult problems. In every engagement, we learn the client’s business from top to bottom, assess their short and long-term objectives, and brainstorm the best option to achieve them. Our lawyers are also dedicated to helping clients build a company culture where cybersecurity and data privacy are core values. This approach empowers clients to be proactive in identifying and resolving issues quickly, before they become expensive problems down the road.