Recent changes in the laws affecting privacy and confidentiality of personal information are impacting nearly all businesses. The Privacy Team is a multidisciplinary group of attorneys with expertise in formed to assisting clients in understanding and complying with the increasing number of privacy and security laws and regulations being passed by state and federal government.

Team members bring knowledge from a broad range of practice areas including:

• Health Care
• Insurance
• Employee Benefits
• Labor
• Intellectual Property
• Information Technology
• Corporate
• Banking And Finance
• Education

From these perspectives, members of the Privacy Team advise clients on compliance with a myriad of legislation such as:

• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH)
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (privacy of financial information)
• Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
• U.S. Patriot Act
• FTC Guidelines on Privacy Policies
• The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Various state statutes and regulations
• Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

While the incredible power of the Internet and other technology have led to a growing concern over the protection of personal information, heightened interest in homeland security requires the sharing of certain private information. Similarly, while the provisions of the HITECH Act attempt to move all medical records into electronic format, the Act simultaneously vastly extends the reach and scope of the HIPAA privacy and security regulations.

Thus, what to disclose and what not to disclose can be confusing. The Privacy Team helps clients break through the red tape and navigate the complexities of overlapping, and sometimes inconsistent, regulation.