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Building a CCPA Tech Solution Costs Money—But There’s Another Way, Legaltech News, ft. Katherine Catlos

Posted Sep 24, 2019

Katherine S. Catlos, partner at Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP in San Francisco, and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at KD, was quoted in an article written by Frank Ready published by Legaltech News on September 24 2019.

Partnerships with security or tech companies may be a viable alternative for firms who don’t have the resources to become tech developers themselves.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) doesn’t officially touch down until January 1, 2020, but law firms have long since begun offering internally-built compliance apps geared towards helping client’s transition into full compliance. But could there be a better—or at least cheaper—way?

Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck thinks so. Last week, the firm announced that it had entered into a partnership with the secure systems and solutions provider EC Wise to provide hands-on assistance to clients who still need help before they can claim mastery of the CCPA. The firm will handle legal issues related to policies or vendor contracts, while EC Wise will fill in the gaps around data security and deletion.

Katherine Catlos, a partner at Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, stressed that the technical experience EC Wise brought to the table when it came to helping companies secure data was not something that was not necessarily in deep supply at the firm.

“I think other law firms probably have tech inside, in-house, that can assist with these sort of things, but our firm doesn’t and so it seemed like it was the right thing to do,” Catlos said.

To be sure, Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck isn’t alone in looking for an alternative to building tech in-house.

Per Catlos, many of the people that Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck speaks with are still largely unfamiliar with the regulation, possibly because they don’t think it will apply to them. 

“I think that what’s helpful in having a company that’s familiar with privacy and security is taking the steps to make sure that the data is secure and that the appropriate patches are there and following the data lifecycle,” Catlos said.

Read more at the full article.

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