Bloomberg Big Law Reports on Wave of BIPA Lawsuits

An Illinois Supreme Court ruling may be behind a wave of biometric class action lawsuits, Shook’s Al Saikali told Bloomberg Law. Saikali chairs the firm’s Privacy and Data Security Practice and is a Fellow of Information Privacy. In January, the state high court ruled consumers do not have to show specific harm in order to sue companies under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

“We are literally seeing everywhere from three to five BIPA cases getting filed every single day since the state high court ruling,” Saikali said.

Shook recently added two well-known Chicago lawyers, Melissa Siebert and Erin Bolan Hines, to focus on biometric privacy matters, complex employment litigation and counseling, as well as other business litigation.

“We need the people to support that and handle those matters,” Saikali said.

With the addition of Siebert and Hines, the firm is representing companies in almost 30 BIPA matters, Saikali said.

Saikali along with fellow Shook Partners Tristan Duncan and Gary Miller recently wrote about the future of BIPA lawsuits following the Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corp. decision.