Lorenz – Brussels Bishkek Geneva

Privacy & Data Protection

Companies rely heavily on electronic databases and centralised IT systems for the storage, handling and transfer of personal data of their employees, customers and other business relations. Due to the evolution of new technologies, more information, including personal data, is collected than ever. Personal data constitute a valuable corporate resource and are increasingly shared and transferred internationally as the economy has become global.

Any company processing personal data in the EU should be aware of the rules imposed by data protection law on the collection, handling, storage and transfer of personal data. Non-compliance with data protection rules exposes businesses to a number of risks. Not only can the data protection or other competent authorities issue cease-and-desist orders as well as injunctions and take other enforcement action but they may also impose penalties for non-compliance. In addition, affected persons can bring claims for damages and other civil claims before the relevant courts in case of a breach of their rights under the data protection laws. Employees increasingly use non-compliant data protection practices as a legal argument in labour law conflicts. Non-compliant practices furthermore increase the risk of personal data being compromised. This can have severe consequences for a company’s reputation and give rise to negative publicity.

Compliance with data protection law constitutes good business practice and can bring with it many benefits. It significantly reduces companies’ exposure to all the above mentioned risks and contributes to efficient database management. Moreover, a clear privacy policy will boost the confidence of employees, customers and end users and can thus be used as a marketing tool. It can reassure customers and employees that you are careful with their information and respect their rights and avoid that targets are annoyed by marketing communications rather than encouraged to purchase. We believe that there are positive tangible benefits in embracing good data protection management and that these organisations that are proactive in their approach will benefit from it.

Lorenz lawyers provide various forms of privacy advice and counselling across a range of subject matters and industries, and we have extensive experience organising, managing, and coordinating compliance projects and responses to investigations and court challenges with both national and international dimensions, allowing clients to efficiently manage their multi-jurisdictional legal needs. Our approach is pro-active and pragmatic. We aim at providing clear and user-friendly advice and at helping our clients achieve their business objectives.

Our clients include governments and international organisations, as well as Fortune 500 companies in a broad range of industries, such as hardware, software, telecommunications, internet, e-commerce and content providing services, retail, consumer products, pharmaceutical and healthcare, human resources, financial services, insurance and marketing.

We have close relationships and intensive experience with public regulators and national Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) and we have a deep knowledge of their operations. Our lawyers were involved in reviewing the US Commerce Department’s Safe Harbour programme. We have represented the national DPAs of various EU Member States and advised governments on the implementation of privacy legislation. We have also advised the EU Commission on data protection matters. This puts us in a good position to monitor ongoing privacy developments on behalf of our clients and successfully manage the regulatory investigations instigated by these DPAs.

As a result of our work to date, Lorenz lawyers have developed a body of model form policy materials and contract documents addressing different aspects of an organisation’s obligations. We have also developed a body of training materials and can offer both on-site and remote training modules for all managers and staff members whose responsibilities include handling personal information.

Lorenz lawyers have wide-ranging experience in the field of privacy data protection law and have acted as counsel for many international corporations, governments and international organisations, advising them in the following fields of expertise:

• Data Protection Compliance
• Data Security Breaches
• Direct Marketing Policies
• Document Management Policies
• Employee Privacy and Monitoring
• International Projects, Cross-Border Data Transfers and Multi-jurisdictional Notifications
• Privacy Litigation
• Specific Industries

A list of the data protection matters in which Lorenz lawyers have been involved can be downloaded here.