Jim Merrifield

Jim Merrifield is Robinson+Cole's Records & Information Governance Manager, a member of the Data Privacy + Cybersecurity Team, and a non-attorney contributor to the Data Privacy + Security Insider blog. He has spent more than a decade helping organizations of all sizes, including law firms and Fortune 500 companies, develop and implement practical information governance strategies, policies, and best practices. He has authored numerous publications and frequently speaks on information governance and data privacy issues. Jim holds a bachelor degree in Legal Studies from Quinnipiac University and is a certified information governance professional (IGP).

Firm/Organization: Robinson & Cole LLP

Blogs: Data Privacy + Security Insider

Latest Articles

Data Privacy + Security Insider

GDPR Awareness Is On The Rise as Complaints Increase

By Jim Merrifield

August 30, 2018

The United Kingdom data privacy watchdog reports that the number of complaints received since the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect three months ago has almost doubled. Under GDPR, anyone who believes their personal data has been misused can file a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office, or ICO. Legal Experts say GDPR is promoting greater privacy awareness, mainly because organizations have to reveal when, and often times, how they were breached. Ann…

Data Privacy + Security Insider

A CIO Budget Playbook for 2018

By Jim Merrifield

November 9, 2017

It’s that time of the year again, budget season. A time when organizations set priorities on how to strategically spend their money in 2018. In the information technology (IT) world this can be a daunting task for any CIO. According to Gartner, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and tools such as conversational platforms, digital twins and blockchain should be at the top of the list.…

Data Privacy + Security Insider

Why Was Facebook Fined by AEPD?

By Jim Merrifield

September 11, 2017

Today, the Spanish data protection agency (AEPD) fined Facebook 1.2 million euros ($1.4 million USD) in connection with how the company collects personal data for advertising purposes. The AEPD said Facebook did not get properly informed consent from users before exploiting this data as well as kept this data longer than it’s useful purpose. In a statement, Facebook claimed the AEPD was wrong to say it showed people advertising based on personal data. It said…

Data Privacy + Security Insider

5 Focus Areas in Preparation for GDPR Compliance

By Jim Merrifield

August 28, 2017

In less than 300 days, the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will go into effect and forever change the privacy landscape. Leading industry organization, Gartner, Inc., predicts that more than 50 percent of companies affected by the GDPR will not be fully compliant. Of course, the affected companies will include both European and non-European companies. Bart Willemsen, research director at Gartner, says “Threats of hefty fines, as well as the increasingly empowered position of…

Data Privacy + Security Insider

Data Protection Laws Could Increase After Jio Data Break

By Jim Merrifield

July 18, 2017

Reliance Jio, an Indian telecom upstart, compromised the personal data of over 100 million customers. This has prompted a call for increased data protection laws in India. At present, companies in India do not have to disclose data breaches to clients. Of course this is stark contrast to companies in the European Union, which have strict data protection laws. Pranesh Prakash, policy director at a research organization, the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), said…

Data Privacy + Security Insider

DeepMind Deal with NHS Trust Reveals Privacy Concerns

By Jim Merrifield

July 6, 2017

Back in 2015, DeepMind, a Google company, signed a deal with the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust. The deal allowed DeepMind access to 1.6 million patients health information as well as the ability to develop an app called Streams. The Streams app focus was to monitor patients with kidney disease and alert the right clinician when a patient’s condition deteriorates. However, it was discovered that the Streams app had access to other health information such…

Data Privacy + Security Insider

Data Classification and Information Security are Intertwined

By Jim Merrifield

March 30, 2017

A recent report entitled “Information Strategy 2017”, published by the Information Coalition finds that information security remains a top priority for over 90 percent of organizations. Given that the number of data breach activity continues to rise, these finds are not very surprising. What is surprising, however, is many organizations continue to increase their spend on security-related software without putting in the additional work of better information architecture. This can prove extremely problematic down the…

Data Privacy + Security Insider

5 Information Governance Predictions for 2017

By Jim Merrifield

December 29, 2016

Information is every organization’s greatest asset. It makes up intellectual property, trade secrets and many other vital corporate assets. It’s how we in corporate America conduct business. With that said, governing and protecting that information is critical. Therefore, we expect information governance efforts to continue to rise in 2017. Prediction #1 – Data Breaches will continue to drive Information Governance strategies According to a Ponemon Institute report sponsored by IBM, the average total cost…

Data Privacy + Security Insider

Box, OneDrive, a Combination—What’s Your Flavor?

By Jim Merrifield

December 7, 2016

The cloud-based file-sharing and collaboration business continues to grow, inspiring competition between two heavy weights: Microsoft and Box. Last week, Box announced over $100 million in third quarter revenue growth despite competing with Microsoft’s OneDrive file share for SharePoint. Aaron Levie, Box CEO and co-founder, believes that “the need for Box is clear; today, business content is spread across separate legacy systems, on-premises storage, disparate collaboration and workflow tools, and sync and share solutions.” Recently,…

Data Privacy + Security Insider

The State of File Sync and Share

By Jim Merrifield

October 24, 2016

Now more than ever before there is an increased demand for employees to share and collaborate on documents with people inside and outside of their respective organizations. For this reason, organizations of all shapes and sizes are turning to enterprise file sync and share (EFSS) solutions to provide secure cloud-based file sharing. A recent survey conducted by AIIM (Association of Information and Image Management) expressed the following key findings related to EFSS solutions. 58 percent of…

Jim Merrifield

GDPR Awareness Is On The Rise as Complaints Increase

A CIO Budget Playbook for 2018

Why Was Facebook Fined by AEPD?

5 Focus Areas in Preparation for GDPR Compliance

Data Protection Laws Could Increase After Jio Data Break

DeepMind Deal with NHS Trust Reveals Privacy Concerns

Data Classification and Information Security are Intertwined

5 Information Governance Predictions for 2017

Box, OneDrive, a Combination—What’s Your Flavor?

The State of File Sync and Share

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