Karen Neuman, a partner in Goodwin’s Business Litigation Group and a member of its Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice, is an internationally recognized privacy lawyer and former Chief Privacy Officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A solution-oriented practitioner with highly specialized expertise in complex privacy law matters at the intersection of technology and innovation, Ms. Neuman advises organizations and management on a broad range of issues related to data privacy, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance.
Ms. Neuman’s practice is particularly focused on counseling companies on commercial privacy matters, including the collection, use, monetization and protection of customer and employee data. She has particular expertise providing advice on sector-specific privacy laws and regulations, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and compliance with the European Union Data Protection Directive.
Prior to joining Goodwin in 2016, Ms. Neuman was Chief Privacy Officer at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where she was the principal advisor to the DHS Secretary on privacy policy. As part of the DHS senior leadership team, Ms. Neuman oversaw, implemented and enforced the department’s privacy and data security program, and provided advice to other senior leaders concerning relevant statutes, rules, presidential orders, policies and best practices. She also spearheaded the integration of innovative privacy protections into various DHS programs, and oversaw how those protections were operationalized, notably the department’s big data analytics program, and White House initiatives for cybersecurity information sharing with commercial entities. She was a member of the U.S. delegation that negotiated an umbrella Data Privacy Protection Agreement with the EU and was part of the high-level U.S. team that supported negotiations for the new EU – U.S. Privacy Shield. She was also appointed to President Obama’s recently formed Federal Privacy Council.
Ms. Neuman was previously a founding partner of a Washington, D.C. law firm, where she led that firm’s privacy practice and counseled clients on state and federal sector-specific privacy laws, FTC rules and guidelines, state data breach laws, and EU privacy laws. As the head of that practice, she regularly counseled companies in the life sciences, technology, retail, e-commerce, social media and consumer product sectors. She routinely provided advice on devising and operationalizing privacy and data security programs, drafted website privacy policies, FAQs, and terms of use, and performed privacy due diligence in connection with various commercial transactions.
