IADC Explores Privacy and Data Protection Issues in Defense Counsel Journal

The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) has dedicated the October 2017 edition of its Defense Counsel Journal (DCJ) to the exploration of privacy issues.

The October issue is available for free and without a subscription via the IADC’s website. This current issue is the second part of the IADC’s “Privacy Project V” publication. The first part was published as the July 2017 issue of the DCJ. All past DCJ articles are accessible online.

“In a world where we seem to be moving away from an expectation of privacy because of security concerns arising from worldwide terrorism and rapid advances in technology, it is up to the courts, legislatures, and regulatory bodies to balance these realities with everyone’s prized civil liberty of privacy,” said Andrew Kopon Jr., IADC President and a founding member of Kopon Airdo, LLC in Chicago. “The rule of law requires that these entities safeguard and thoughtfully examine this balance in real time or we may completely lose the expectation of privacy.”

The October DCJ features articles by IADC members that address diverse privacy topics from a global perspective. Frequently and favorably cited by courts and other legal scholarship, the DCJ is a quarterly forum for topical and scholarly writings on the law, including its development and reform, as well as on the practice of law in general. The IADC is a 2,500-member, invitation-only, worldwide organization that serves its members and their clients, as well as the civil justice system and the legal profession.

“The pace of technology is amazing and overwhelming at the same time,” said Michael Franklin Smith, editor and chair of the DCJ Board of Editors and a shareholder at McAfee & Taft in Tulsa, Okla. “Hopefully this issue of the Defense Counsel Journal provides practitioners with added insights to help them navigate their clients’ privacy in today’s rapidly changing world.”

The IADC’s Privacy Project is dedicated to the memory of Joan Fullam Irick, the IADC’s first female president, who made the issue of corporate and personal privacy a key theme for her administration. The project was spearheaded by IADC Privacy Project V Editorial Board co-chairs Eve B. Masinter, a partner with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, L.L.P., in New Orleans, and S. Gordon McKee, a partner with Blake, Cassels & Graydon, LLP, in Toronto.

The October 2017 “Privacy Project V” issue of the DCJ includes the following articles:

–“A Look at Canadian Privacy and Anti-Spam Laws” – Promotes compliance with Canada’s comprehensive federal and provincial privacy laws – and specifically the obligations imposed by Canada’s anti-spam legislation – that outline the framework and rules for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information by federally regulated, private-sector organizations operating across Canada.

–“Discovery of the Insurer’s Claims File: Exploring the Limits of Plaintiff’s Fishing License” – Analyzes the objections to a plaintiff’s broad request for the insurer’s claims file and the majority rules governing successful objections by defense counsel to discovery of the materials in that file.

–“Drones: A New Front in the Fight Between Government Interests and Privacy Concerns” – Addresses expansion of the warrant requirement to regulate when drones may be used, as well as legislation on how they may be used, which would allow for incorporating this new technology while also separating the benefits from the dangers it presents.

–“Data Privacy Protection of Personal Information Versus Usage of Big Data: Introduction of the Recent Amendment to the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (Japan)” – Provides practitioners with an understanding of three important changes made by Japan’s recently amended Act on the Protection of Personal Information (PPIA) and how these changes are likely to play out in practice.

–“Global Positioning Systems and Social Media – Anathemas to Privacy” – Focuses on the recent surge in the use of global positioning systems in the automotive industry and the unique set of related privacy and liability concerns.