Anna Mercado Clark

As leader of Phillips Lytle’s Data Security & Privacy and E-Discovery & Digital Forensics Practice Teams, Ms. Clark focuses on complex e-discovery and digital forensics, cybersecurity and data privacy, and complex commercial litigation. As a former Assistant District Attorney, she also handles white collar criminal matters and investigations. Additionally, Ms. Clark has been awarded the following ANSI-accredited credentials by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP): Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E) and Certified Information Privacy Professional for the U.S. Private Sector (CIPP/US), preeminent certifications for advanced concentration in European data protection laws and U.S. private-sector laws, standards and practices, respectively.

Ms. Clark routinely counsels sophisticated clients on data governance issues to address business needs while minimizing risks and complying with a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape and other legal obligations. She has extensive experience advising businesses in the technology, consumer, health care and financial industries regarding information management and disposition policies, litigation readiness, data transfers, third-party/vendor negotiation and management relative to data administration, and disaster recovery and avoidance.

Ms. Clark has successfully leveraged the latest technology, including artificial intelligence and technology assisted review (“TAR”), to streamline high-volume discovery, establish defensible document review workflows and minimize litigation costs. She is a member of EDRM at Duke Law, a community of e-Discovery and legal professionals who create practical resources to improve e-Discovery and information governance, including cross-border discovery in light of the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). She regularly speaks at national and international conferences as a subject matter expert on these issues.

As an experienced litigator, Ms. Clark is well positioned to identify and minimize litigation risks and assist with internal investigations, including managing digital forensic investigations. She is also able to seamlessly serve as litigation counsel in the event of a dispute or government investigation, having represented individuals, small businesses, multinational corporations and government entities in contract disputes, franchisor-franchisee litigation, trade secret disputes, antitrust litigation, securities litigation, labor and employment matters, and government investigations.

Ms. Clark is a member of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.