With broad expertise on the scope and application of privacy legislation across jurisdictions, our practitioners help clients implement sound long-term policy plans, execute corporate transactions, manage data and cybersecurity breaches, navigate consumer protection issues, conduct dispute resolution, handle ongoing compliance matters and more.

We have a multidisciplinary privacy practice, assisting clients in a wide range of areas:

Corporate Privacy Expertise. We advise clients on privacy legislation, both on an ongoing basis and in connection with specific transactions, including:

• M&A, IPOs and other public financings, reorganizations, venture capital and private financings;
• audits of existing corporate practices, including in-depth Privacy Impact Assessments;
• developing privacy and data management policy and compliance programs, including integration in transnational business environments;
• multijurisdictional outsourcing and other technology transactions;
• data and privacy breach management strategies; and
• requests for access to information and freedom of information regimes, including advising businesses on leveraging access regimes to obtain information and on protecting business confidential information from disclosure.

Cybersecurity. We advise on all issues regarding the prevention of and rehabilitation from cyber attacks and data breaches, including breach response planning, insurance coverage advice and breach coaching and investigation.

Privacy and Data Protection Dispute Resolution. We represent our clients before courts and regulatory bodies, including proposed class actions for data breach and misuse of information, cross-border transfer of personal information, access to information and compliance with privacy laws.

Marketing, E-commerce and Online Privacy. We are active dealing with digital privacy issues, including CASL/anti-spam compliance, outsourcing, health privacy, confidential information and trade secrets. We advise on privacy and other regulatory requirements of marketing and e-commerce matters, including telemarketing, promotional contests, and online privacy practices and policies, including in relation to social media.

Health Privacy. We regularly advise on privacy statutes regulating personal health information under provincial, state and federal laws and work with our clients to develop and implement breach management strategies involving personal health information. We also assist with drafting patient consents and related clinical trial documentation as well as transfers of personal health information in the context of M&A and other corporate reorganizations, and in outsourcing arrangements.

Employment and Labour Law. We frequently advise on privacy issues arising in the workplace, including employee access to and protection of sensitive personal information, mobile app use and bring-your-own-device policies, metadata management, and employee use of social networking and social media.