Travis Brennan helps clients turn data privacy compliance into a business asset rather than a regulatory burden. Combining in-depth knowledge of evolving privacy laws with an understanding of the technical aspects of data security, web analytics and digital advertising, he crafts compliance programs that add or preserve business value.

Drawing on 15 years of complex litigation experience, Travis frequently represents clients in commercial litigation, consumer class actions, and government investigations arising from data security incidents. He also leads incident response teams in circumstances that require balancing the client’s need to minimize legal exposure with the need to communicate with impacted customers or regulatory authorities. Working with the businesses that are most impacted by data and privacy concerns — including technology companies, financial institutions, online retailers, software developers, and IT and cloud services providers — he navigates robust data privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. He is especially adept at helping businesses find practical ways to meet ill-defined or overlapping data privacy requirements. Travis also negotiates data processing agreements on behalf of businesses and service providers, and advises public companies on their reporting and disclosure obligations relating to data privacy and security matters.

Travis brings a litigator’s perspective to data privacy compliance efforts, allowing him to craft policies and practices that will stand up in court. He also handles an array of complex corporate and commercial disputes and has tried several cases to judgment.

Some recent highlights of Travis’s career include:

In a putative class action alleging invasion of privacy against his client TechnoCom Corp., a geolocation data “aggregator” for location-based services, Travis secured a dismissal of all claims after filing a motion to dismiss for lack of standing and failure to state a plausible claim for relief.

In another significant case, Travis secured a settlement of all claims against an IT service provider arising from a data security incident that allegedly caused the client’s customer to lose millions of dollars to fraudulent wire transfers and exposed personal health information. Not only did the settlement help avoid costly litigation and reputational harm, it also allowed the client to continue an important customer relationship.

When a technology client in a heavily regulated industry suffered a data security incident, Travis led the incident investigation and response and handled a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation into the incident. Ultimately, Travis was able to disprove third party speculation that the incident had compromised the personal information of millions of U.S. residents, and the FTC declined to take any enforcement action against the client.

Travis helped a local public company successfully defend against claims for alleged breach of contract, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty in an international arbitration. The claimant had demanded more than $150 million in damages, but following four years of proceedings that culminated in a three-week evidentiary hearing, the tribunal rejected the demand and rendered an award deciding all significant issues in the client’s favor.

Awards: Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2015-2019; Certified Information Privacy Professional, U.S. Private Sector (CIPP/US) and Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT), International Association of Privacy Professionals*

*The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) is an independent, non-profit organization.  The State Bar of California’s Board of Legal Specialization does not offer a privacy law specialist certification and has not endorsed credentials from the IAPP, or any other organization, in the field of privacy law.

Credentials

Education
  • New York University, J.D., 2005
  • University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., business-economics, magna cum laude, 2002
  • California
  • Bankruptcy Court, Central District, CA
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • Central District, CA
  • Eastern District, CA
  • Northern District, CA
  • Southern District, CA
  • Eastern District, TX