Redgrave LLP has bolstered its information law practice with new partner Martin Tully, an energetic leader and nationally recognized expert in the fields of e-discovery, cybersecurity and privacy.

 

Tully called the move to Redgrave's Chicago office an "opportunity to take my information law practice into hyperdrive," and said he's kept a "close professional eye" on the firm's trajectory in the information governance space over the past decade.

 

"They were looking for help on leadership to take the data privacy and cybersecurity practice for the next level, which has been a much bigger part of my practice in the last several years. So things kind of converged and it was an opportunity too good to pass," Tully told Law360 Friday. "I'm thrilled to be a member of such a phenomenal group of legal and business and technical professionals." He left the firm he co-founded, Actuate Law, and officially joined Redgrave on Aug. 9.

 

Privacy and security have been a growing part of his practice in recent years, and are a "logical outgrowth" of his extensive work in e-discovery, Tully said.

 

"It's so fast moving and evolving, and I find it really interesting and fun to work on," he told Law360. Because of the way information technology, security and privacy issues overlap, "you can't stay in one silo."

 

Tully said his transition to Redgrave has been "fast and furious," because the firm had immediate needs.

 

"So I've been fully engaged since I walked in the door, which has been fun," he said. 

 

Tully — who was also the mayor of his Chicago suburb for eight years — said he particularly likes the "Apollo 13 engineering room" type of problem-solving he gets to do for clients facing the "tsunami" of privacy laws in recent years, particularly in the early days of the California Consumer Privacy Act.

 

While he's worked on complex commercial litigation for decades, Tully said he's also "very interested in the public sector question" when it comes to privacy, and how local governments are collecting and using data.

 

"Cities are collecting a lot of information and they're doing it to provide better services and be more efficient, and be more transparent and accountable to their residents. But we're also seeing some pushback on, well, why are you collecting this information, whether it's my water meter or my thermostat? What's being done with that information?" he said.

 

Tully also heads a working group on electronic document retention and production at the research and educational institute The Sedona Conference, and is a member of its working group on data security and privacy liability.

 

There is still a lack of consistent understanding among members of the bench and bar when it comes to e-discovery, Tully said, and this challenge only increased as security and privacy were thrown into the mix — including the growing importance of privacy in proportionality analysis and discovery scoping decisions. It's "incumbent on" lawyers to be able to communicate these considerations in a way the other parties — and the bench — can understand, he said.

 

In the middle of a "firefight," or incident response in a data breach, it's critical that "everyone understand what was done, and why it was done," he said. "When California says I have to do X, Y and Z with data for a certain period of time, I'm not just being difficult. I actually have to do it. All of these areas — e-discovery, information governance and whatnot are going to continue to be impacted more and more by privacy and security. They are becoming the new drivers in other areas."

 

View this article on Law360 here.