From Policy to Practice: Privacy Compliance in the Shifting Regulatory Landscape

Reena R. Bajowala has deep experience with data security, privacy, artificial intelligence, and information technology issues. She is a Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT), a Certified Information Privacy Professional – US (CIPP/US) and a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM). Through a competitive process, she was selected as a 2021-2023 Fellow of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section with the Cyberspace Law Subcommittee. She serves on the Steering Committee of the U.S. Secret Service’s Chicago Cyber Fraud Task Force. When faced with a data breach, including in business email compromise, ransomware, or wire transfer fraud scenarios, clients turn to Reena to investigate, remediate, and comply with legal obligations. She conducts risk assessments, develops privacy and InfoSec compliance programs, and leads proactive incident response planning, including drafting incident response and communications plans, and conducting tabletop exercises.
Reena also helps companies stand up artificial intelligence governance programs, including creating policies, procedures, and trainings associated with a defensible compliance program. She also assists companies evaluate the risks associated with emerging technologies. Reena helps regulated entities comply with cybersecurity requirements. She assists public companies with compliance with the SEC’s cyber rules. She also assists ERISA benefit plan sponsors with implementing cybersecurity policies and service provider management programs. The Department of Labor’s current emphasis on cybersecurity allows Reena to utilize her combined decade-plus ERISA and benefit plan counseling and litigation experience and her deep cybersecurity and vendor management practice. Reena has wide-ranging litigation and trial experience, including over 100 days of first-chair trial experience. She represents buyers and providers of IT services regarding issues ranging from billing and performance disputes arising from Master Services Agreements and Service Level Agreements to copyright and licensing disputes pursuant to Software Licensing and SaaS agreements. Reena also works to protect the interests of companies during software audits.

Neil R. Pandey (CIPP/US C) is the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Credico (USA) LLC, where he has worked since 2017. In this role, Neil manages all legal and compliance matters for Credico and its domestic and international affiliates. He implements legal solutions to achieve strategic business objectives, oversees all legal transactions and policies, manages risk, and provides a broad array of legal and compliance guidance to Credico’s leadership. As a Certified Information Privacy Professional (both US and Canada), Neil also leads Credico’s efforts in the dynamic areas of data privacy and compliance.
Prior to joining Credico, Neil worked as an attorney in several law firms where his work focused on corporate white-collar government investigations, commercial transactions, and other forms of complex litigation. After obtaining his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Neil graduated with honors from American University’s Washington College of Law. While in law school, Neil served as a Note and Comment Editor on the Administrative Law Review, competed in several Moot Court competitions, and published two legal articles.

Rob is the Associate General Counsel at Copado, Inc., a DevOps and Robotic Testing software company. Rob advises internal clients on a variety of legal matters, negotiates commercial contracts, and manages Copado’s compliance and data privacy and security initiatives.
Rob previously spent several years in-house at a multinational software company focusing on high-value cloud software transactions. Rob then transitioned to Clark Hill, PLC to help grow its burgeoning data privacy practice. At Clark Hill, Rob routinely navigated clients through data privacy and security incidents, compliance initiatives, and technology transactions.
Rob earned his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology, and his undergraduate degree from Indiana University. Rob is licensed to practice law in Illinois and is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US).

Feras is Privacy Manager at a leading location data services company called X Mode. He is responsible for building and managing X Mode’s privacy program by bridging the gap between legal requirements and technical implementation. Feras was born and raised in Southwest Florida and currently resides in Miami. Prior to X Mode, Feras was a Product Manager at South Florida based technology company, Magic Leap.

Feras is a corporate lawyer by training and certified privacy professional with experience in healthcare, facial recognition, and privacy and security management. Feras received his law degree from the University of Miami where he was a HOPE Public Interest Scholar. During law school Feras worked in juvenile criminal defense, immigration advocacy, and federal appellate law.