Andrew B. Serwin is the founding chair of the Privacy, Security & Information Management Practice and is a partner in the San Diego/Del Mar and Washington, D.C. offices of Foley & Lardner LLP. Mr. Serwin also serves as the chair of Recruiting for the San Diego and Del Mar offices. Mr. Serwin has handled a number of high-profile privacy and consumer protection matters, including multiple privacy enforcement matters before the Federal Trade Commission and is internationally recognized as one of the leading consumer protection and privacy lawyers.
Experience
Mr. Serwin advises a number of Fortune 500 companies regarding global privacy compliance, including state, federal and international restrictions on the use and transfer of information, behavioral advertising, social gaming, security breach compliance, mobile marketing, incident response resulting from data misuse and hacking, COPPA compliance, EHR/PHR concerns, marketing restrictions, HIPAA and state medical privacy laws, social media and blogging policies, Do-Not-Call restrictions, compliance with CAN-SPAM and state e-mail laws, employee monitoring, pretexting, location-based services, the drafting and implementation of privacy and security policies, risk assessments, compliance with ECPA and FISA, content monitoring, compliance with the CFAA and state computer crime laws, as well as data governance guidance in the context of M&A and technology transactions.
Mr. Serwin has provided advice to companies in a diverse set of industries, including advising a leading Internet auction company; a nation-wide health insurer; ISPs; several leading online retailers; major hospital chains; genetics companies; a leading social networking site; an international security company; data aggregators; a leading chain of international health and fitness clubs; a nation-wide auto retailer; one of the nation's largest home builders; a number of major utilities; medical device manufacturers; several major telecommunications companies; behavioral advertising companies; software-as-a-service providers; a leading retail pharmacy chain and PBM; several major hotel and resort companies; and several nationally-recognized universities. Mr. Serwin also has unique experience in representing start-up and Internet companies because he served as president and general counsel of an online political magazine, InPolitics.com.
Mr. Serwin also has extensive litigation and enforcement experience, having served as lead counsel in a number of FTC matters, matters before the Office of Civil Rights, as well as state consumer protection matters and consumer privacy litigation matters based upon the alleged misuse of personal information.
Recognitions
Mr. Serwin was named to Security Magazine's "25 Most Influential Industry Thought Leaders" for 2009 - he is the only law firm lawyer to ever receive this award, and was ranked second in the 2010 Computerworld survey of top global privacy advisors. He is recognized by Chambers USA as one of the top privacy & data security attorneys nationwide (2009-2011), where he has been described by clients as "a tireless worker, holding onto the ever-shifting puzzle pieces of the law in this area in a way that other privacy lawyers cannot." The Legal 500 recognized Mr. Serwin as a Leading Lawyer in data protection and privacy (2010-2011). He has been Peer Review Rated as AV® Preeminent™, the highest performance rating in Martindale-Hubbell's peer review rating system and was selected for inclusion in the San Diego Super Lawyers® lists (2007-2010). Mr. Serwin was also selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the field of information technology law (2010-2012).
Mr. Serwin serves as executive director of the Lares Institute, a think-tank focused on privacy and information management issues, as well as general counsel of the RIM Council of the Ponemon Institute, LLC, a group that brings together information management professionals from privacy and data protection disciplines to develop solutions to challenges facing an organization's acquisition, use, storage, transfer and disposal of information assets, as well as the privacy and the legal subcommittees of the PSAB of the California Health and Human Services Agency by the California Office of HIPAA Implementation. He previously served as co-chair of the California State Bar's Cyberspace Law Committee and as a member of the Committee of Administration of Justice, as well as a member of the Publications Board for the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association.
Selected Publications
Mr. Serwin has written a number of books, including the leading treatise on privacy, "Information Security and Privacy: A Guide to Federal and State Law and Compliance," a 4,000 page book that examines all aspects of privacy and security laws, published by Thomson-West, which has been called "the best privacy sourcebook," "an indispensible resource for privacy professionals at all levels," and "a book that everybody in the information privacy field should have on their desk," which has been cited by Ostergren v. Cuccinelli, 615 F.3d 263 (4th Cir. 2010) as well as "Information Security and Privacy: A Guide to International Law and Compliance." He is also the author of several leading law review articles: "Privacy 3.0-The Principle of Proportionality," 42 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 869 (2009) and "Poised on the Precipice: A Critical Examination of Privacy Litigation," 25 Santa Clara Computer & High Tech. L.J. 883, cited by Hammond v. The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. 2010 WL 2643307, (S.D.N.Y., June 25, 2010), and Joseph Oat Holdings, Inc. v. RCM Digesters, Inc., 2010 WL 5065037, (3rd Cir. December 13, 2010). He has written over 100 articles and presented over 100 times on litigation and privacy topics.
Education and Admissions
Mr. Serwin is a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 1995), where he was a member of the Order of the Coif. He earned his B.A. in political science, cum laude, from the University of California, San Diego in 1992. Mr. Serwin is admitted to practice law in California and the District of Columbia.
Representative Enforcement Matters
· In the Matter of CVS Caremark, Mr. Serwin represents CVS/Caremark before the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of Civil Rights in connection with a consent decree and resolution agreement arising from allegations related to information security.
· In the Matter of Playdom, Inc., a subsidiary of Disney Enterprises, Inc., represents company before the Federal Trade Commission in an investigation alleging a violation of COPPA and Section 5.
· TrafficSchool.com, Inc. v. Edriver Inc., --- F.3d ---, 2011 WL 3198226 (9th Cir. 2011), Represented Appellants in a case involving First Amendment and Lanham Act issues. Obtained appellate decision ordering reconsideration of a permanent injunction on First Amendment grounds that ultimately resulted in the vacation of a permanent injunction that mandated a "splash page" on a Web site.
· Pulte Homes, Inc., v. Laborers; International Union of America, --- F.3d ---, (6th Cir. 2011), Obtained reversal of district court ruling that a union's alleged misuse of phone system and emails did not state a claim for violation of the CFAA.
· Represent numerous clients in investigations related to information security by the Office of Civil Rights, the Office of Inspector General, and State Attorneys General.
· Blue Cross of California Website Security Cases, Mr. Serwin represents WellPoint in a series of consolidated class actions arising from an alleged data security incident.
· People of the State of New York v. Synergy 6, Inc., et al., Mr. Serwin represented two of the defendants in an action brought by Eliot Spitzer arising out of the alleged improper sending of commercial e-mails. The case sought $20,000,000 in civil penalties and ultimately resolved for $50,000.
· Mr. Serwin represented a Fortune 20 company in a multi-state Attorney General investigation arising out of false claims allegations.
· Smith v. Trusted Universal Standards In Electronic Transactions, Inc., 2010 WL 1799456 (D.N.J., 2010), obtained dismissal of privacy litigation based upon allegations of wiretapping and breach of contract.
· Yahoo!, Inc. v. XYZ Companies, Mr. Serwin represents Yahoo! in a matter based upon allegations of trademark infringement, illegal spamming and deceptive claims regarding online lotteries.
· Davis v. Carbonite, Inc., Mr. Serwin represented Carbonite in a putative class action arising from data loss allegations. The matter settled on confidential terms and was dismissed, with prejudice, before class certification.
· Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. v. Otteman, Mr. Serwin represented Raymond James in an action alleging the improper use and disclosure of sensitive information on the Internet, and obtained a TRO enjoining the defendant from disclosing information and requiring the destruction of the information.
· Welsh v. Acxiom Corporation, Mr. Serwin represented Acxiom in a matter alleging unfair competition, trade secret violations and interference torts.
· People of the State of California v. American Home Craft, Inc., et al., Mr. Serwin represented the defendants in an action brought by the California Attorney General alleging a violation of the federal Do-Not-Call Act and California's Unfair Competition Law.
(Also at San Diego, California Office)