Today DLA Piper announced a new partner hire. Joining their team is employment litigator Margaret Keane. She will be adding her expertise and joining the San Francisco office.
DLA Piper is a multinational law firm with more than 4,200 lawyers across 78 offices in over 30 countries throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. It is the largest law firm in the world measured by number of lawyers, and the world’s second-largest law firm measured by 2011 revenues. The firm offers legal services across many different industries such as health care, insurance, water, technology, energy, banking and financial services.
Margaret Keane earned her J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A. from Boston University. She is licensed to practice in California, New York and Pennsylvania. Litigator Keane represents employers in restrictive covenant disputes, wage and hour claims, discrimination claims and class actions. She has more than 25 years of experience handling assorted and various issues in employment litigation. She provides strategic counsel to clients.
Global co-chair and US chair of DLA Piper’s employment practice Michael Sheehan commented, “Margaret Keane will be a wonderful addition giving guidance managing the complex employment matters that companies face in today’s competitive global marketplace.”
She also counsels employers on the intricacies of today’s digital workplace, including Bring Your Own Device policies, compliant use of social media and related privacy concerns. In these technological times of instant file sharing and file download on personal smart devices, it seems that handling this type of concern is a big issue and that Keane’s specialization is well suited to the times especially when we consider the confidential and sensitive nature of materials that so many people come into contact with. Fiduciaries especially should consider the new workplace requirements relative to device policy. On DLA Pipers part, it is a preemptively insightful move to bring a person with this specific experience on board, especially in light of socially integrated-no privacy-web 3.0, where their employees and staff across their 78 offices along with their devices may remain connected. Across the industry people should be rushing to gain this kind of experience. A smartphone can transfer all kinds of files in the blink of an eye. Privacy and confidentiality is a critical issue along with careful handling of sensitive materials.
Stephen Cowan, managing partner of DLA Piper’s San Francisco office welcomed Keane’s arrival, commenting, “her knowledge of digital workplace compliance will be a particularly valuable resource to the firm’s prominent technology practice and clients.” All the best.