Certified as an Information Privacy Professional in European Law (CIPP/E) and Canadian Law (CIPP/C), Kate routinely counsels clients on compliance with the toughest global privacy law. Her representative data privacy and security experience includes:
- Implementing a comprehensive privacy program for a company operating in a number of Caribbean and Latin American countries
- Preparing GDPR-compliant data-processing and data-transfer agreements
- Performing a comprehensive analysis of the data-localization and data-transfer laws for dozens of countries
- Drafting a motion seeking to dismiss a plaintiff’s class-action lawsuit arising out of a ransomware attack
- Advocating in favor of Article III standing for lawsuits brought pursuant to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
- Analyzing video surveillance laws
- Advising a company on the legal landscape regarding disclosure of electronic communication
An experienced legal writer, Kate is also a member of Shook’s Legal Issues Group drafting team and regularly contributes to the firm’s Privacy and Data Security Client Alert. Kate regularly travels internationally to meet with her clients, who appreciate Kate’s attention to detail, creative problem-solving and commitment to excellence.
Before joining Shook, Kate clerked for The Honorable John E. Steele in the Fort Myers division of the Middle District of Florida, one of the most active federal districts in the country. Kate managed a large portion of the court’s civil docket. In addition to helping Judge Steele draft orders resolving disputed motions, Kate performed in-depth legal research into complex issues–sometimes matters of first impression–ranging from Spokeo standing, to the enforceability of arbitration agreements, to alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, to the pleading standard for affirmative defenses, to patent infringement.
Prior to her clerkship, she worked as a commercial litigation associate for a large law firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In that role, she handled a wide variety of commercial litigation matters, including cases involving fraudulent transfers, unfair competition, trade secrets, product label warnings, product recalls, breach of contract and insurance disputes.
A foreign-language enthusiast, Kate is fluent in Spanish, having completed a legal internship with the Center for Human Rights and the Environment (CEDHA) in Cordoba, Argentina, while in law school. She worked as an English teacher at the IES Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer Secondary School in Seville, Spain, before starting law school. Kate is also proficient in French and earned a B2-level Diploma in French Language Studies from the French Ministry of Education in June 2018 and is teaching herself Brazilian Portuguese, which will enable her to better counsel clients on Brazil’s comprehensive new data privacy law, the LGPD. Kate puts her language skills and commitment to public service to use as a member of the Department of State’s Hague Convention Attorney Network, which provides pro bono and low-cost legal representation in international parental child abduction cases.
Publications
UK High Court Imparts GDPR Risk Insight For US Companies, Law360, February 5, 2021.
The Eleventh U.S. Circuit Wades into the Data-Breach-Standing Debate, Privacy and Data Security Client Alert, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, February 2021 (with Al Saikali, John Sherk and Tammy Webb).
Shielded No Longer: Top EU Court Invalidates Privacy Shield Framework and Clarifies Use of Standard Contractual Clauses as Basis for EU-U.S. Data Transfers, Privacy and Data Security Alert, July 17, 2020.
Florida's Proposed Privacy Legislation: An In-Depth Analysis for Corporate Counsel, White Paper (with Al Saikali), February 2020.
Groundbreaking UK Claim Against Google Will Proceed, (with Marisa Pearce and Sarah L. Croft), Financier Worldwide, December 2019.
Subject Access Requests and Identity Verification: Navigating a Data Controller’s Catch-22, (with Al Saikali), Financier Worldwide, September 2019.
British Data Protection Authority Flexes GDPR Enforcement Muscles, Shook, Hardy & Bacon Privacy and Data Security Alert, July 16, 2019.
Pennsylvania Is Ready for Marriage Equality, Equal Magazine, May/June 2014.
Pennsylvania Leads the Fight After DOMA for “Whole-Milk” Marriages, Equal Magazine, July 2013.
Prop 8 + DOMA: Making Sense of Laws that Don’t Make Sense, Equal Magazine, May/June 2013.
Navigating the [Safe] Harbor of Innocent Sellers and Sealed Containers, Firm White Paper, July 2012.