Linklaters

Our global TMT lawyers are experts in the law governing information management compliance, data loss and data protection. The team understands the complexities of privacy regulation and assists major multinational companies and financial institutions to manage legal, regulatory and operational risk. Our expertise includes not just data protection, but also the complex and often conflicting duties of professional and banking secrecy, privilege (legal and non-legal) and related areas in order to provide a comprehensive view of information management issues and risk mitigation.

We have a proven track record of advising on complex, multi-jurisdictional information management projects. Vast experience of data protection allows the TMT group to benchmark clients against current market standards and to assess what constitutes an acceptable level of risk. The team have developed strong links with regulators across the world, which means that we are aware of likely future regulatory developments and can prepare clients accordingly.

Recent information management compliance and data protection transactions include advising:

• SWIFT on a variety of data protection issues, including in its landmark proceedings before the Belgian regulator and European Commission
• MasterCard on IT security, e-mail and internet use policies, and on issues arising from the import, export and use of encryption technology in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the UK.
• Hyatt Hotels on its binding corporate rules project which obtained approval from regulators for the sharing of guest and employee information in 47 countries. This was the fastest ever successful application of this type, the first such application to use the “mutual recognition process,” and the first by a large scale consumer business covering in excess of 1.3 million hotel guests. We have advised on three other successful BCR applications, many more than any other law firm.
• a global professional services organisation on the design and implementation of a data protection compliance package, covering policies and guidelines across all business areas, in over 120 jurisdictions
• a leading global investment bank on data protection compliance advice in more than 50 jurisdictions
• on numerous data loss incidents, including the most significant ever loss of sensitive personal information in the UK
• a number of global investment and retail banks on their international records management and document retention strategies
• on the successful implementation, including obtaining regulatory approval, for numerous clients of alternatives to binding corporate rules in order to successfully transfer personal information around the world
• a member of financial and professional services firms on data centre location issues, including aspects of regulatory and litigation risk
• the “Big Four plus Two” accounting firms on the conflicting requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley and other multi-jurisdictional legal obligations in over 130 countries, including data protection, confidentiality and banking secrecy regulations
• a number of accounting and insurance firms on designing outsourcing services in order to ensure compliance with professional secrecy and related duties in Germany, France, Spain, the UK and elsewhere
• a leading international consulting firm on data protection and confidentiality issues in connection with a request for the surrender of documents by the U.S. Department
• Viacom in relation to development of social Internet networks in Russia and various related data protection issues
• AT&T on a global compliance survey of information, collection, use, storage and international records management strategy