SARASOTA, Fla. – Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives’ subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade held a hearing to discuss a Congressional proposal for a federal data breach statute. The Sarasota, Fla. office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP (www.slk-law.com), a full-service business law firm, launched a data breach team in December 2014 to respond to new statutes creating complex rules for companies who experience a data breach and to help businesses respond quickly and efficiently when customer information is compromised.
“When a legal issue becomes a focus for the White House and Congress, and it involves everyday business, owners and management need to take it seriously,” said Michael S. Taaffe, a partner at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP. “Preventative measures need to be considered just as sincerely as the obligation to remedy injury.”
Currently, there are 47 different state data breach notification laws, with seven states introducing a total of 17 such bills already in 2015. The White House also pressed Congress to make data breach a 2015 priority, as it recently released its own legislative proposal through Senator Bill Nelson of Florida. The White House’s proposal would establish a 30-day window for notification of breach, require companies to report breaches to the government and charges the Federal Trade Commission as the entity to set and enforce federal data guidelines.
Florida, North Carolina and Ohio each have their own data breach notification statutes. Florida’s is one of the most stringent in the nation. Enacted in 2014, the Florida Information Protection Act establishes many requirements of businesses in the event of a customer data breach. Failure to properly comply can result in significant fines of up to half a million dollars.
Shumaker’s seven-member data breach team recognizes that when a data breach occurs, it is quite possibly the most serious threat a business can face and that liability for such breaches could be catastrophic. Recent breaches at Target, Home Depot and J.P. Morgan prove that even the most sophisticated businesses are not immune to the problem.
Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick’s knowledgeable team, led by attorney Taaffe, includes Scott A. La Porta, Michael D. Bressan, Jarrod J. Malone, Douglas A. Cherry, David L. Wyant, Jr. and Ryan S. Nichols.
Shumaker’s new team is arranged to assist clients whether or not they have already experienced a breach. Shumaker is experienced in all aspects of data breach law, and can handle clients from the prevention stage through breach, litigation and resolution, as necessary.
About Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP
Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick is a full-service business law firm with more than 240 lawyers, 60 paralegals and 495 employees in five offices: Toledo and Columbus, Ohio; Tampa and Sarasota, Florida; and Charlotte, North Carolina. In each of its markets, Shumaker is the premier provider of quality legal services to individuals, small businesses, health care providers, nonprofits and Fortune 500 and international corporations.