paralegal. “This is so new and so critical that new job titles are
being created constantly,” Hermann says.
Woldow says that law firms are especially in need of
professionals to manage information, create policies, and serve
as enforcers. “Those roles can be filled by paralegals, who can
serve on the frontline as the nurses of healthy cybersecurity,”
says Woldow. “Litigation paralegals already handle sensitive data
since it is often their job to review the information and prepare it
for trial.”
“This is true on the transactional side as well,” she adds. “If GE,
for example, sells off one of its divisions, it is the paralegal who
will be handling the documents. Since they are on the frontlines,
they understand the type of measures that need to be in place to
secure data and could be intimately involved in developing best
practices. There is not a lot of upward mobility for paralegals, but
paralegals who specialize in preventing cyber attacks could open
up many lucrative opportunities for themselves.”
Delivering Cutting Edge Cybersecurity Education and Training
As the need for trained cybersecurity professionals continues
to grow, schools are responding, providing programs for both
J.D. and non-J.D. degree seeking students. Many schools now
offer bachelor’s degree and master’s degree certificates in
cybersecurity, while others are offering LL.M. and J.D. programs
with extensive course offerings that focus on privacy and
cybersecurity.
Georgetown University was one of the first schools to address
the need with the launch of its Cyber Project several years ago.
Hosted by the school’s Institute for Law, Science, and Global
Security, the project focuses on the role of international and
domestic law in cyber technology and cyber threats.
In Southern California, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles was
the first to offer a cyberlaw course and the first to offer a full
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Law Program. Launched in the
fall of 2016, the program features cyber/privacy concentrations
for both law students (J.D. and LL.M.) and non-legal working
professionals who can pursue a Master of Science in Legal Studies.
Co-developed with Loyola Marymount University’s Seaver College
of Science & Engineering, courses range from “Cybersecurity
& Regulatory Compliance” and “Cybercrime” to “European
Cybersecurity” and “Incident Response and Investigation.”
“Cybersecurity is one of the fastest-growing practices areas,”
says Aaron Ghirardelli, faculty director of Loyola’s Cybersecurity
& Data Privacy Law Program. “Loyola wanted to be a leader
in this field given our location near Silicon Beach and in the
center of an international banking and finance hub. Most of
the cybersecurity lawyers in the market are self-taught. They
usually are originally lawyers with expertise in privacy law and/or
intellectual property law who felt the need to assist clients with
growing needs.”
Adjunct professor Robert Kang, who co-teaches Loyola’s “Incident
Response and Investigation” class with Pierson Clair, senior
director of cybersecurity and investigations at Kroll, a corporate
investigations and risk consulting firm based in New York City, says
the field of cybersecurity has exploded in recent years.
“While public awareness of data and cyber attacks was once
rare, today you can’t go a month in the news without hearing
of some new incident,” Kang says. “As a result, there are more
schools around on the East and West coast offering courses and
programs. Our goal at Loyola is to go beyond what other law
schools in this area offer.”
“Loyola is the first school in Southern California to offer a
dedicated “Incident Response and Investigation” class,” Kang
adds. “It will use simulations based on actual incidents to teach
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students how to use the cybersecurity skills they acquire
in real-world legal, business, and policy settings. Incident
response will open up a lot of job possibilities for paralegals
who work in the area of litigation as well as those who want
to assist in developing cybersecurity and data privacy policies
and procedures for employers.”
Kang says the growing number of cyber attacks provides
a new reason for lawyers to learn more about technology in
order to protect themselves and their clients. As a result,
Loyola will offer “tech training in plain English” for legal
and business professionals. “The courses will also offer some
technology training,” adds Kang. “Clair is an expert in digital
forensics.”
Loyola will also offer CLE-style programs for the public,
such as ‘anti-phishing training’ and ‘an introduction to the
DarkWeb.’
On the East Coast, the Drexel University Kline School
of Law unveiled its Master of Legal Studies Program in
Cybersecurity and Information Privacy Compliance in the fall
of 2017.
“Our program focuses on two pieces: data security
regulation — which is designed to prevent hacks, and privacy
regulation — which controls how businesses handle and
distribute the data they legally possess,” says Filler. “We have
classes available to both our Master of Legal Studies students
as well as those enrolled in the JD program. It is very clear
to us that issues related to security, privacy, technology, and
law are going to become an increasing bigger part of what
lawyers, paralegals, and compliance professionals do.”
Paul Flanagan, assistant professor of law at Drexel
University Kline School of Law says legal professionals with
knowledge of compliance, privacy law, and cybersecurity
will find themselves in high demand. “Those who want to
work in the area will not need to be computer programmers,
but they will need some basic technical knowledge,” says
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