The Chair’s Column: My Heroes Are Privacy Attorneys
By Is it just me, or is there nothing better than a story about a team of distinct personalities who come together — each with unique skills — and form an unstoppable force? You know the type: the awkward teens who start a metal group and win the citywide battle of the bands, or the underdogs who topple the smug reigning sports champions who haven’t lost in a decade. There’s truth in the saying: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Our section is living proof. Since August, we’ve seen some real superpowers at work. Read on for some highlights.
Law School Liaison Program
Thanks to the efforts of Membership Chair Tara Cho, Treasurer Matt Meinel, and YLD Liaison Sheila Spence, we kicked off our Law School Liaison Project to connect law students with our section and the privacy and data security community. We received applications from a range of really impressive law students, and choosing just one from each law school was tough. We’re excited to announce our inaugural liaisons:
- Wake Forest University School of Law: Sam Specht
- The University of North Carolina School of Law: Noor Sandhu
- Elon University School of Law: Ashley Holmes
- Campbell University School of Law: Kelly Villarin
- North Carolina Central University School of Law: Kayla Jenkins
These students will help with CLE planning, resource development, and outreach at their schools. Please welcome them to the Section.
Annual CLE
Our annual CLE was a success! We packed the day with practical, engaging sessions led by an outstanding group of speakers. David Senter and Andrea Short kicked things off with a deep dive into data processing agreements, sharing real-world tips for drafting and negotiating key provisions. Next, Amy Barry, David Delaney, Sean Fernandes, and Jennifer Sadoff explored the fundamentals of financial privacy and emerging fintech issues, followed by Sarah Cansler and Clara Cottrell’s update on regulatory priorities and enforcement trends. After lunch, Amy Lewis and Sergio Maldonado blended legal insight with live technical demos to show how to build privacy from the browser up, and Elizabeth Johnson walked us through developments in health privacy law and why scoping decisions matter more than ever. We closed the day with Rachel Grossman and Grace Wynn tackling one of the toughest questions for lawyers — how to protect confidentiality and privilege in critical situations — using case law and practical strategies. It was a full day of insights, examples, and actionable takeaways that left everyone better equipped for the challenges ahead.
Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making this event a success, especially committee chairs Taylor Ey and Mayuk Sircar and committee member Tiffany Burba. If you want to listen to the CLE, you can access the rebroadcast.
The 2026 Privacy & Data Security CLE program is scheduled for October 9, 2026. Planning will start towards the end of the first quarter of 2026. If you’d like to help plan the 2026 CLE, please sign up for the CLE committee, email me directly, or drop a note in the Section listserv.
What’s Blowing Your Mind (WBYM)
We launched the WBYM video series to spark conversation and share thought leadership. Check out videos by Alex Pearce and me on our webpage. You can also access them here:
Announcing the “What’s Blowing Your Mind?” Video Series by Karin McGinnis
What’s Blowing Your Mind: AI-driven Threats Video by Alex Pearce
Consider volunteering to create content. It’s a great way to showcase your expertise and engage with the section.
Pro Bono Resources
Thanks to Sean Fernandes, the pro bono committee is building out pro bono resources for consumers to engage in self-help on a variety of privacy and data breach issues. This is an exciting opportunity to give back while sharpening your skills.
Stay Connected
Communications chair Lauren Clemmons keeps us connected with her behind-the-scenes work getting information out to the Section. We’re working hard to expand resources for our members, led by our Resources committee chair Tandy Mathis. Please check the section webpage for updates, new materials, and upcoming events. And if you have ideas — new projects, or creative ways to engage — don’t hesitate to share. Speaking of events, I hope you got to listen in to the panel discussion with Sheila Spence, former Section chair Will Quick, Dominique Moore Senior Product Counsel at Hubspot, and me on privacy and data security challenges related to cookies, pixels and other digital advertising pitfalls. Thanks goes to Sheila for organizing the event. And Section co-chair Shannon Ralich is hosting another Fireside Chat on December 17 for an in-depth, practical discussion on dealing with the new wave of state privacy laws. You can access the invite online. Shannon always puts together a great program, and I’m sure this one won’t disappoint.
I am super (get it?) grateful for the hard work of all of our section council members, speakers and volunteers and our amazing NCBA staff. I hope that everyone has a wonderful and joyful holiday season and that our heroes get some well-deserved rest. We look forward to connecting again in the new year!
— Karin
[Wait, what’s this? A superhero movie post-credit bonus scene?]
Did you catch the reference to “Metal Lords”? Yes, I may or may not have binged the show on Netflix. I also may or may not have had a life-size poster of Robert Plant in my college dorm room. (YLD members and Law School Liaisons: Google “young Robert Plant” — trust me.) And speaking of rock gods, here’s a lyric worth remembering, sung by Geddy Lee (young or old Geddy, does not matter):
“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”[1]
So choose to get involved. We need your energy, ideas, and passion. Together, we’re more than the sum of our parts.
[1] Peart, Neil. “Freewill.” Permanent Waves, Anthem/Mercury, 1980