Anna Mercado Clark

As leader of Phillips Lytle’s Data Privacy and Cybersecurity and e-Discovery Practice Teams and co-leader of the firm’s Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Team, Anna 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.

Anna 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.

Anna 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 Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM), 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, Anna 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.

Joined firm in 2011 and became Partner in 2018. Anna serves as the firm’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and is a member of the firm’s Governing Committee, as well as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Steering Committee.

Anna has been awarded the following ANAB-accredited credentials by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP): Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E); Certified Information Privacy Professional for the U.S. Private Sector (CIPP/US); and Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM). CIPP/E and CIPP/US are preeminent certifications for advanced concentration in European data protection laws and U.S. private-sector laws, standards and practices, respectively. The CIPM certification recognizes Anna’s ability to design, build and operate data privacy management programs that are compliant with privacy laws and regulations.

American Bar Association, Business Law Section, Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy, Vice Chair and Chair, Commission on Women in the Profession, Special Advisor, Legislative Affairs Committee, Margaret Brent Awards Committee, Science & Technology Law Section, Membership and Diversity Committee, Former Vice Chair, Privacy and Computer Crime Committee, Former Co-Chair, Law School and Interdisciplinary Education Outreach Committee, Former Vice Chair; American Bar Foundation, Fellow; Asian American Bar Association of New York, Litigation Committee, Former Development Director, Federal Bar Council; Filipino American Lawyers Association of New York, Founding Member, Former Board Member, Vice-President (2015) and Steering Committee; International Association of Privacy Professionals, Diversity in Privacy Section; National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), Past President; National Filipino American Lawyers Association, At-Large Trustee; New York State Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section, Business Law Section.

Rutgers University, B.A., 2022 and Fordham University School of Law, J.D., 2005