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Certificate Program in Privacy Law is a Program

Certificate Program in Privacy Law

Time limit: 365 days

$15,000 Enroll

Full program description

Audience:

  • Business, government, and legal professionals with backgrounds that involve addressing online privacy.

Certificate Overview:

  • The program consists of one required three-credit course and four elective courses, for an additional eight credits.
  • Only students who complete the required courses and the minimum number of elective courses earn the certificate.
  • The Certificate Program in Privacy Law provides participants with the fundamental background, knowledge, and professional skills to interpret and respond to complex privacy laws, rules, and regulations.
  • Those pursuing the Privacy Certificate will have the opportunity to explore privacy frameworks in the United States and abroad, learn about the different dimensions of privacy law (e.g., constitutional privacy, commercial privacy, etc.), and learn about industry guidelines and best practices. 
  • The program will highlight practical problems of risk management in privacy decisions that routinely intersect with other areas of law.
  • The program will enable participants to develop the essential legal background necessary to successfully compete for roles in the constantly evolving field of privacy law.

Cost:

  • $15,000 (This fee, for 11-12 credit hours, represents a 20-26% discount from the regular per-credit-hour fee paid by Chicago-Kent students.)
  • Scholarships are available; please contact deansoffice@kentlaw.iit.edu.

Instructor Bios:

  • Elizabeth de Armond:  Professor de Armond is a Chicago-Kent professor whose scholarship interests center on information privacy and consumer protection.
  • Lynn Goldstein:  Ms. Goldstein is an attorney and privacy expert who is CEO and founder of GDPRsimple, a product that helps small and medium sized businesses implement, and demonstrate their implementation, of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
  • Jason W. Gordon:  Mr. Gordon is a partner with Reed Smith LLP who advises clients on all aspects of the commercialization of products and services, advertising, marketing, new media, branding, privacy, mobile marketing, behavioral advertising, right of publicity, and traditional trademark and copyright prosecution and counseling.
  • Peter Hanna:   Mr. Hanna is the Chief Privacy Officer at BMO Harris Bank and also serves as Legal Advisor to the ACLU of Illinois on Privacy, Technology, and Surveillance.
  • Robert H. Newman:  Mr. Newman is a partner with Reed Smith LLP whose practice focuses on privacy, data security, marketing, e-commerce and intellectual property matters.
  • Richard Warner:  Professor Warner is a Chicago-Kent professor whose research concerns the regulation of online privacy, security, and competition.

Course structure: 

  • Courses will be standard 2-credit and 3-credit law school courses.  All courses will be online.
  • The program can be started in either the Fall or the Spring semester

REQUIRED COURSEWORK


Law of Privacy - Law 252 (3 credits)

  • Privacy may be one of the most pervasively discussed issues in this decade as a result of the increased concerns for security in travel, the openness of the Internet, the consolidation of information in massive databases both by corporations and by governments, high incidence of identity theft, and the development of more and more highly sophisticated "listening and viewing" devices.  This course examines privacy as protected by statute through a patchwork of privacy acts and the concomitant freedom of information requirements of a democratic government, as developed through tort doctrine in the courts, and as articulated through the Constitution of the United States and those of the various states.  The course considers all aspects of privacy, including wiretapping; government-required personal and business information; personal, family, and reproductive autonomy; the "right to be let alone"; and the right of publicity.

ADDITIONAL COURSES

Advertising and Marketing Law - Law 205 (2 credits)

  • Advertising is everywhere and matters to almost all businesses.  This course will explore the laws and regulations associated with how companies communicate with the public, including truth-in-advertising, promotions, content clearance and licensing, publicity and privacy considerations, false advertising and advertising disputes, sponsorships, and endorsements.  Having taken previous courses in trademark or copyright law will be helpful, but is not required.

Computer and Network Privacy and Security: Ethical, Legal, & Technical Considerations - Law 478 (3 credits)

  • More and more, both practice and the job market require lawyers who understand the interface between law and technology.  This course provides a unique opportunity to understand that interface, addressing the issue of privacy in an age of surveillance.  How much privacy should we demand?  Why does privacy matter?  How is privacy to be defined?  The course also addresses security issues because, in the Internet age, there is no privacy without security.  The course provides a unique opportunity to really understand the interface between law and technology.

E-Commerce - Law 215 (2 credits)

  • This course covers Internet contracting both domestically and internationally; payment systems and related privacy concerns; Internet business torts; and anti-trust in e-commerce.  It examines legal issues against the background of the nature of e-commerce. 

Privacy in Employment Law - Law 660 (2 credits)

  • This seminar focuses on the emergence in employment law of matters affecting the privacy rights of the individual employee in the private sector.  Topics addressed include drug and alcohol testing; defamation; the tort of invasion of privacy (and its various forms); confidentiality of employee communications, including e-mail; employer rights of search and seizure; and employee surveillance and monitoring.  Legislative developments and case law in the area will be the subject of discussion in each class.

Privacy and Constitution

  • Across the United States, courts, legislators, and policymakers continue to grapple with the concept of privacy and its many dimensions.  While the Fourth Amendment plays a well-known role in protecting against undue government intrusion, the proliferation and adoption of new technologies has tested the limits of such protections.  This course will explore these concepts and interrogate our understanding of other essential formulations of privacy – such as reproductive privacy, consumer privacy, and freedom from surveillance – within the broader constitutional framework in the United States.

Privacy and Risk Management

  • Countless organizations around the world routinely collect, use, and share personal information not only to facilitate operations, but to create new products and services, make business decisions (including M&A), and extract maximum value.  Any organization that manages personal information faces a broad and multi-dimensional array of risk:  Legal, operational, reputational, strategic, and security risks, to name a few, abound in the privacy space. This course will examine, from both a legal and practice perspective, the types of risks organizations must confront when managing personal information and also identify tools and strategies to assess and mitigate such risks in a variety of real-world circumstances.

GDPR Practicum

  • The European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has become the model for many countries’ privacy/data protection laws. This course provides a basic, practical understanding of the requirements and the practice of the GDPR through the content of the GDPR itself, a few cases interpreting the GDPR, and a case study. The case study, as the facts develop throughout the course, calls for the drafting of documents often used when personal data is processed in the EU. An important goal of the course is to provide practical experience in implementing the requirements of the GDPR. Having taken previous courses in privacy/data protection is helpful but not required.

For more information or questions please email Dean Anita Krug at akrug2@kentlaw.iit.edu and the program director Peter Hanna at phanna1@kentlaw.iit.edu