Mark G. McCreary and Donna B. More were featured in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin article, "A 'Client Magnet,' or Just the New Cost of Doing Business." Full text can be found in the November 13, 2015, issue, but a synopsis is below.
Fox Rothschild LLP has selected partner Mark McCreary to serve as the firm's official Chief Privacy Officer. He will be responsible for safe-guarding the firm and its clients confidential information.
When asked what was different about the role McCreary responded, "Well, for one, I've had a lot of inquiries from total strangers about how the role works in a law firm. But truly, it's no different from what we did before this. Now, people are just thinking about issues more. We're simply more focused about protecting our firm's and our clients' confidential information."
With the firm's renewal of its business and cybersecurity coverages, Fox Rothschild found the Chief Privacy Officer role to be an important security measure to add.
"To comply with all aspects of policies we considered, it just made sense to have an attorney committed to full compliance," McCreary said. "With more than 650 attorneys, the cost didn't really change us; we already had a robust IT department, and our hardware and software were always actively monitored."
McCreary added, "It's hard to foresee the 'what ifs' like an employee leaving unexpectedly with sensitive client data or a firm device being lost. A law firm can't risk harm to clients and client relationships. A firm needs to know how to shut down that information before damages ensue."
When asked if a CPO is the new cost or marketing benefit of doing business in 2015, Fox Rothschild's Donna More replied, "Spending on the front end and taking an offensive position to protect employees' and clients' sensitive information, we feel, prioritizes what's important to our clients and elicits trust. Many of our clients need to know that we value their privacy just as much as they do."
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