Richard Thomas (RT): Lisa, congratulations on the publication of the new treatise.  I’m sure the Privacy team has been waiting for its release.  Could you give us some background on what prompted you and the team to write the Privacy and Data Security Law Deskbook?

Lisa Sotto (LS): Thanks, Richard.  Privacy and information security are topics that have received significant attention during the last few years.  Organizations that manage personal information are under the microscope and are struggling to keep up with the many new and evolving legal requirements around the world.  In addition, there is a real uptick in enforcement actions for privacy and data security incidents.  As the former Information Commissioner of the UK, I’m sure you would agree that privacy is an issue on which nearly every global company must focus.  In 2009 alone, companies spent an average of $6.6 million to rebuild their brand image and retain customers after being involved in some type of data breach the previous year.

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On July 20, 2010, Hunton & Williams announced the release of the first edition treatise Privacy and Data Security Law Deskbook (Aspen Publishers) by lead author Lisa J. Sotto, managing partner of the firm’s New York office and head of the firm’s global Privacy and Information Management practice.  The deskbook provides a detailed overview (with thousands of specific citations for the legal practitioner) of those areas of information privacy and data security law that have the greatest impact on and are most relevant to U.S. businesses operating in the global arena.  In addition, the treatise contains a collection of sample documents, charts, checklists and other compliance-enabling tools.  View the press release on the Privacy and Data Security Law Deskbook.