CyberWire Daily - No matter the statistic, even if against the odds, focus on what you want. [Career Notes]

Episode Date: July 26, 2020

Privacy and data security lawyer, Dominique Shelton Leipzig shares that she has always wanted to be a lawyer, ever since she was a little girl. She talks about what her role is with clients in protecting and managing their data, sometimes adhering to up to 134 different data protection laws for global companies. Learn that not a lot has changed for an African-American woman partner at an Amlaw 100 firm as far as diversity during Dominique's career, and how Dominique suggests young lawyers should address those odds. Our thanks to Dominque for sharing her story with us.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to the Cyber Wire Network, powered by N2K. and VPNs, yet breaches continue to rise by an 18% year-over-year increase in ransomware attacks and a $75 million record payout in 2024. These traditional security tools expand your attack surface with public-facing IPs that are exploited by bad actors more easily than ever with AI tools. It's time to rethink your security. Thank you. Learn more at zscaler.com slash security. My name is Dominique Shelton-Leipzig. I'm a privacy and data security partner at Perkins Coie, and I am the co-chair of the firm's global ad tech, privacy, and data management team. Very early, I was one of those that really just always wanted to be a lawyer, as early as I can remember.

I think probably I was seven or eight years old, and I wrote to one of our congresspeople at the time, and I wrote to her because I was concerned about politics and the U.S.'s role in foreign governments, and I wanted to talk about the law and how is this being, how is this allowed? I would say the first, you know, 22 years of my career from 1991 till probably about 2012, I was litigating primarily. So I came to these issues as a litigator. And for the past seven years, I've been doing something I really enjoy, which is counseling clients on how to access, leverage, and access the power and unleash the full potential of data, but at the same

time avoiding litigation. A lot of that is based on being super transparent about what the company is doing with data. I really enjoy that aspect of the job a lot. Well, I describe my job as really helping companies consider the fact that all companies, whether or not they consider themselves, you know, a big tech company, all companies are data companies.

And so I help companies deal with their data, you know, at the very simplest form. So it goes through, you know, all aspects of it. First, you know, I help them basically deal with their data as an asset of the company. To this regard, I help leaders like C-suite and board members understand what they're doing with data and also figure out what makes sense for the company. What should they be doing with data? How does this align with the mission, the values and mission of the company? And then getting rid of data that they don't need, that's not related to the value and the aspirations of the company, and then looking at ways where they might need to acquire other companies or acquire technology to reach the full potential of the company

when they get data aligned with their mission. And then finally, and most importantly, ensuring that they're not doing anything illegal with the data, of course. So that means complying with the 134 different data protection laws throughout the globe right now for a global company. And also making sure you're protecting the data once you have it. And that's where the cybersecurity and data security work comes in. My advice is, first of all, really go to where your passion and energy is. You know, and if it's in the legal career, I often tell young lawyers and students to wash their eyes, as I do every morning,

with, you know, start with the newspaper. You know, I read the Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, every morning to kind of just get refreshed. every morning to kind of just get refreshed. For me as an African-American woman partner, and I look at some of the statistics, it's always shocking to me that they're very similar to the days when I first started my practice in 91.

There's less than 1% of all AMLA 100 law firms that have equity partners like me. So I would also say for those young lawyers that no matter what the statistic is that might be against the odds, don't really pay attention to those. Really focus on what it is that you want to do and then go do it and have fun. I hope they look back at me as someone who is independent, trailblazer, and maybe set a different perspective on a lot of issues that we see every day. Thank you. a full suite of solutions designed to give you total control, stopping unauthorized applications, securing sensitive data, and ensuring your organization runs smoothly and securely. Visit ThreatLocker.com today to see how a default deny approach can keep your company safe and compliant.