In today's data-dependent marketplace with a global, interconnected economy, privacy is no longer just about compliance—it's a core component of consumer trust and brand identity. Your business faces complex obligations regarding the collection, use, and protection of personal information. Shumaker's Data Privacy team helps you navigate this rapidly evolving legal environment with practical, business-oriented advice grounded in deep regulatory insight and extensive knowledge and experience, helping you turn privacy into your competitive advantage.
Comprehensive Privacy Compliance Counsel
At Shumaker, we help organizations around the world navigate this increasingly high-stakes legal and operational landscape with clarity, confidence, and a focus on long-term trust.
We advise clients on a wide range of federal, state, and international privacy frameworks, providing tailored guidance that not only reflects the letter of the law but also the real-world expectations of regulators, partners, and customers. Our team regularly advises clients on compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other state-level privacy laws, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), and Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), as well as international regimes such as the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Brazil's Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD), and Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
We don't believe that one-size-fits-all in privacy. We work with each client to assess regulatory exposure, data processing activities, and risk tolerance, helping to chart path to compliance that is realistic, legally sound, and capable of evolving with your business.
Privacy Program Development & Governance
In today's data-driven world, building and maintaining a scalable privacy program is critical. Our Data Privacy Group assists in designing and implementing enterprise-wide privacy programs that reflect best practices in accountability, governance, and risk mitigation. Our team helps companies structure their internal policies, train staff, and document compliance through policies, playbooks, and governance frameworks that hold up to scrutiny.
Our team has the experience to help you build a global privacy program from the ground up or to update, upgrade, and enhance your existing frameworks. Our services include:
- Conducting privacy gap assessments,
- Implementing privacy-by-design principles
- Reviewing data handling practices
- Creating governance protocols to support policy implementation.
We work with legal and compliance teams to draft internal privacy policies, training resources, and external privacy notices for websites, mobile applications, and employment platforms. Our team offers strategic advice on structuring cross-border data flows through Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), Transfer Impact Assessments (TIAs), Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs), and other mechanisms that withstand global enforcement scrutiny.
We also help craft clear, understandable privacy notices, cookie policies, and user disclosures to ensure that consumers are informed, regulators are satisfied, and brands are protected.
Our lawyers offer practical counsel on the lawful use of personal data for marketing purposes, including compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA). We also advise on the use of tracking technologies, analytics, and behavioral advertising tools, helping clients maintain compliance while achieving marketing goals.
Compliance isn't just a legal exercise, it's a commitment. To that end, we also assist organizations by organizing and leading employee training and awareness programs and board-level education sessions to help embed responsible data practices across the organization.
Consumer Rights and Data Management
As privacy laws increasingly empower individuals with control over their data, organizations require response systems that are efficient, accurate, and legally defensible. Our Data Privacy team will advise you on how to build and manage user-facing privacy features, including data subject request (DSAR) portals, consent management tools, and opt-out mechanisms for sales and targeted advertising.
Our team also helps clients establish data minimization and retention policies to support both compliance and business needs, balancing legal requirements with operational efficiency.
Vendor Risk and Data Sharing Compliance
In today's global marketplace, your weakest link may not even be within your company. Global, integrated supply chains mean that third-party vendors often present significant privacy risk.
Our team advises on every stage of the vendor lifecycle—from assessing data protection practices during onboarding to structuring robust data processing agreements (DPAs), joint controller arrangements, and subcontractor disclosures.
We help clients build scalable vendor privacy programs that include contractual protections, operational controls, and ongoing oversight measures to ensure shared compliance and risk accountability.
Sector-Specific Privacy Guidance
Although data privacy impacts all industries, we know from experience that the impacts and the solutions require industry-specific application. Our attorneys have extensive experience in tailoring privacy solutions to the realities of our clients' sectors, including health care, financial institutions, retail, technology, manufacturing, transportation, education, and professional services, among others.
Additionally, we are always conscious about how unique or targeted privacy laws must be applied in different industries. We routinely address issues tied to biometric data, geolocation, minors' data, and other sensitive information categories, helping clients structure compliant programs suited to their sector's unique regulatory environment.
Global Strategy and Emerging Risk Management
As new privacy laws, rules, and regulations continue to proliferate, businesses must react not only to current obligations but must also anticipate what's coming next. Our Data Privacy Group helps our clients monitor, interpret, and prepare for statutory and regulatory developments across the U.S., EU, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and beyond.
When enforcement actions or supervisory inquiries arise, we represent clients in responding to regulators and developing post-investigation compliance enhancements.
For companies navigating intentional public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, or reputational crises, we support strategic reviews at the board and executive level—helping leadership make informed, confident decisions about data use and risk exposure.
