6/6/2018 Starting a Privacy Law Career | Daniel Solove | Pulse | LinkedIn

Starting a Privacy Law Career

Published on August 27, 2013

Daniel Solove Follow

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Professor, GW Law School + CEO, TeachPrivacy + Organizer, Pri…

Privacy law is a booming field.

The International Association
of Privacy Professionals
(IAPP) is growing at a
breakneck pace. Privacy law
practices are flourishing at law
firms. Nearly every
organization these days has
personal data, and federal and
state regulation is sprouting up
rapidly and agencies are
stepping up enforcement.

Companies are realizing that privacy matters to customers, that privacy incidents can
hurt quite a lot, and that compliance is increasingly challenging with the myriad of
complex laws that must be followed. And for multinational organizations, EU and
global privacy law must be dealt with. Privacy has transformed from being an
afterthought to a full-time job to a full-time job for an entire team!

The result is that there’s a big demand for lawyers versed in privacy issues. If you know
something about privacy, these are good times to live in.

The Bottleneck

But there are challenges. Many employers want 2-5 years of experience in privacy law,
but folks with such experience are very hard to come by and very in demand. That’s
because privacy law is a great club to be in, but getting in the door and getting that
initial few years of experience is challenging. The field desperately needs more entry
points.

In the old days of privacy (about 15 years ago), privacy officers had unusual pathways
into the field. Ask many veteran CPOs, and they will tell you about the bizarre ways
they happened to start doing privacy. Back in the early days, there was no recipe
because the dish was being invented from scratch.

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6/6/2018 Starting a Privacy Law Career | Daniel Solove | Pulse | LinkedIn

Today, the lack of common pathways toward pursuing a career in privacy remains. And
that shouldn’t be the case anymore. Privacy law has matured too much. This entry-level
bottleneck is a big growing pain of the field.

Pathways to Privacy Law Careers

So what should one do if one is interested in a privacy law career?

Here are a few tips:

1. Take a course in information privacy law. [Warning: shameless plug because I teach
such a course and have authored textbooks.] Learn about the field and the different laws
and regulations. Find ways to demonstrate that you actually know something.

2. Obtain an IAPP certification (a certified information privacy professional, or CIPP).

This is another way to demonstrate that you know something.
Back to LinkedIn.com

3. Dabble in privacy issues where you’re currently working. If you’re at a law firm, seek
out privacy law opportunities. Wherever you go, wherever you work, try to do
something in privacy. At many organizations, there are typically opportunities because
privacy is understaffed or sometimes not addressed. Privacy issues get handled by
anyone who wants to do them. It may be more work to take on some extra issues, but
the benefit is that this brings valuable experience.

4. Look for fellowships, policymaking positions, and other non-traditional types of jobs.
Organizations like IAPP and the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) have fellowships that
can provide useful experience. Industry associations often have a need for a person with
some background in privacy law. NGOs and privacy advocacy groups can provide very
rewarding careers in privacy law. A number of government agencies handle privacy
issues. And nearly every organization needs someone who can handle privacy issues as
they arise.

5. Familiarize yourself with the technologies. Lawyers with backgrounds in technology

are in high demand. If you can code, you will be particularly in demand. And you don’t
even need to be a techie -- just being well-versed enough to understand the issues is a
big plus.

6. Immerse yourself in the community. Go to conferences. Meet people. This is a great

way to learn about opportunities and where hiring needs are. Plus you can deepen your
knowledge of the issues.

7. Publish. Try your hand at publishing an article. Writing gives you exposure and
distinguishes you from the rest of the pack.

Taking the Privacy Law Field to the Next Level

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6/6/2018 Starting a Privacy Law Career | Daniel Solove | Pulse | LinkedIn

The privacy law field has been undergoing remarkable growth and maturation. But clear
entry level pathways still need to emerge. People can certainly break into the field, but it
takes some creativity and scrappiness. I hope that more well-defined entry level paths
will emerge.

I welcome the use of the comment section below for additional advice and ideas for
people seeking entry into the field.

Daniel J. Solove is the John Marshall Harlan Research Professor of Law at
George Washington University Law School, the founder of TeachPrivacy, a
privacy/data security training company, and a Senior Policy Advisor at Hogan
Lovells.

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Daniel Solove
Professor, GW Law School + CEO, TeachPrivacy + Organizer, Privacy+Security Forum Follow
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Leave your thoughts here…

Roger Slade 6mo

Florida Business Litigator and Problem Solver
I enjoyed this article - it gave me some useful ideas.
Like Reply

Joshua M. Gold, Esq. 8mo

"Happy Lawyers Make More Money"
Dan -- I want to take a course. Where can I find your courses?
Like Reply

There are 39 other comments. Show more.

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