Blog
Rayner my parade! The importance of specialist advice.
Jemma Brimblecombe
30 August 2017
Block chain: Is the GDPR out of date already?
The General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) amounts to a significant overhaul of existing data protection regulation and is designed to be ‘technology neutral’. However, how the GDPR will cope with emerging block chain technology and a move towards the decentralisation of data storage remains to be seen.
3 April 2017
SaaS providers: are you ready for the new data protection regime?
In just over a year (25 May 2018), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the “Regulation”) will replace the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the DPA”) and come into force in the UK. This will be just under a year before Brexit. In any event, the Regulation would still apply to all companies who intend to do business with the EU and handle the personal information of European citizens.
2 February 2017
The GDPR: What do employers need to be doing now?
The General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR) will come into force on 25 May 2018. This might feel like a long time away on a cold winter’s morning, but ensuring your business is ready to comply by that date is unlikely to be a “quick fix”. The GDPR is complex and, as you will see from our blog series, broad ranging in its scope. In this blog, I’ve summarised what I believe will be the 8 key employment related issues for businesses as they ready themselves for the changes to the data protection regime, and the key immediate action points to consider.
26 January 2017
Entrepreneurs and small businesses need to prepare now for the new data protection regime
“We’re all going to have to change how we think about data protection”, the Information Commissioner noted at a lecture for the Institute of Chartered Accountants last week (full text here). Those that are familiar with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will know that she is absolutely right about this. Brexit is not going to “intervene” in that respect - the GDPR will have come into force before the UK leaves the EU. In any event, for those that want to do business in the EU (for example, by offering goods or services to individuals in the EU), they will need to comply.
11 October 2016
Privacy by design to safety by default: A process improvement approach to data protection
Process improvement in a legal context
The concept of taking a process improvement approach to legal practice is gaining momentum. Historically, it has been those in General Counsel and in-house roles who have applied the use of formerly manufacturing-based methodologies to respond to challenges in the legal sector such as improving efficiency and reducing the cost of transactional work or litigation, often following the lead of the organisations within which they operate. The development and adaptation of process improvement, particularly Lean Six Sigma, tools and techniques for professional services has enabled law firms to follow suit and we are starting to see a steady emergence of the “process improvement lawyer” (or equivalent) across the sector, working closely alongside the other emerging breed of legal project managers.