Article: Lawyers weigh privacy act

Today's Globe and Mail has an article on the difficulty that lawyers have in implementing PIPEDA in their own practices.

"Like other private businesses, law firms across Canada are now subject to Ottawa's personal information and privacy legislation. However, even lawyers are stumped by some requirements of the law."

And it quotes a good friend, Jenny Gray:

Jennifer Gray, an associate lawyer with Patterson Palmer in Halifax, says "we are doing largely the same thing for many clients as we are for the firm: understanding the legislation, developing privacy compliance policies and procedures, and looking at all our obligations."

While Ms. Gray thinks the legislation may be less onerous for law firms -- which are already responsible for the "caretaking" of client information -- she cites a lack of clarity in the law. "Given its newness for the private sector, the legislation has not been interpreted by the courts, so it is difficult to put policies and procedures in place when we don't know what position the Privacy Commissioner might take in any given circumstance."