DC-Based Privacy Think Tank Future of Privacy Forum Partners with W&L Law
Affiliation to Advance Privacy Scholarship, Create Business/Academic Ties, and Incubate Tomorrow’s Privacy Lawyers
WASHINGTON, D.C. & LEXINGTON, Va. – Thursday, October 29, 2015 – The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and Washington and Lee University School of Law today announced a unique strategic partnership designed to enrich the legal academic experience and to enhance scholarship and conversations about privacy law and policy.
The FPF/W&L Law collaboration will:
- Include new curricula for W&L Law students
- Create internships for students with both FPF and its Advisory Board companies
- Involve W&L Law Faculty in FPF Conferences and Research Initiatives
- Provide a Washington, D.C. home in FPF’s new offices for classes associated with the W&L third-year D.C. program
“This partnership is such a great opportunity to combine the resources and talent of a top-tier law school with the mission and objectives of a privacy-focused think tank,” said Christopher Wolf, co-chair of FPF. “FPF policy staff and fellows and W&L Law students and faculty already are working together on issues such as the privacy of data collected by connected cars and the ethical review processes for big data. As a 1980 graduate of W&L Law, I am so pleased to have brought together my law school with the Future of Privacy Forum, the think tank I founded in 2008.”
W&L Law Dean Brant Hellwig said “Through this partnership, we will expand our footprint in Washington, creating even more opportunities for our students in Lexington and in the D.C. program.”
“It also leverages our growing faculty expertise in privacy and national security law, so we can have a larger impact on policy deliberations.”
FPF Executive Director Jules Polonetsky added: “We are thrilled that as another feature of the partnership, W&L Law professors Margaret Hu and Joshua Fairfield will serve on the FPF Advisory Board. Professor Hu is well-known for her research on national security, cyber-surveillance and civil rights, and her recent writing on government use of database screening and digital watch listing systems to create “blacklists” of individuals based on suspicious data. Professor Fairfield is an internationally recognized law and technology scholar, specializing in digital property, electronic contract, big data privacy, and virtual communities.”
On Thursday, November 5, FPF and W&L Law are celebrating the partnership, along with the opening of FPF’s new headquarters in Washington, with a panel discussion addressing the future of Section 5 of the FTC Act. Former FTC Consumer Bureau Director David Vladeck and James Cooper, former Acting Director, FTC Office of Policy Planning, will discuss key Section 5 issues – such as materiality, harm, the role of cost benefit analysis and other issues raised in the FTC’s privacy and data security actions. The program will take place from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and will be followed by an open house reception at FPF offices, 1400 I Street, N.W., Suite 450, Washington, D.C. 20005.
About Future of Privacy Forum
The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) is a Washington, DC based think tank that seeks to advance responsible data practices. The forum is led by Internet privacy experts Jules Polonetsky and Christopher Wolf and includes an advisory board comprised of leading figures from industry, academia, law and advocacy groups.
About Washington and Lee School of Law
Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia is one of the smallest of the nation’s top-tier law schools, with an average class size of 22 and a 9-to-1 student-faculty ratio. The Law School’s commitment to student-centered legal education, emphasis on legal writing, and dedication to professional development is reflected in the impressive achievements of its graduates, which include seven American Bar Association presidents, 22 members of the U.S. Congress, numerous state and federal judges, and Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell.
Media Contacts
Nicholas Graham, for FPF: 571-291-2967, fpfmedia@futureofprivacy.org
Peter Jetton, for W&L Law: 540-461-1326, pjetton@wlu.edu
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