Pierce Atwood Partner Peter J. Guffin Receives Maine Judicial Branch 2018 Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award

Maine Supreme Court Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley recently presented Peter J. Guffin, Chair of Pierce Atwood’s Privacy & Data Security Practice Group, with the Maine Judicial Branch’s Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award. This award is presented each year to "that person who, in a voluntary capacity, assists the Judicial Branch in fulfilling its mission of administering justice by providing an accessible, efficient and impartial system of dispute resolution."

Guffin, who also serves as a Visiting Professor of Practice and co-director of the Information Privacy Law Program at the University of Maine Law School, participated as a member of the Judicial Branch’s Task Force on Privacy and Transparency. The Task Force was convened to assist the Supreme Judicial Court in developing guidelines that balance the need for transparency in government with individual rights of privacy as the Judicial Branch shifts to digital court files. In honoring Guffin, the Maine Judicial Branch recognized his efforts while serving on the Task Force during which he “generously contributed his expertise, scholarship, and insights.”

In his law practice, Guffin counsels clients on compliance with state, federal, and international laws and regulations relating to privacy and data protection, including cross-border data transfers.  He also provides advice and assistance to clients with respect to data security incidents, ranging from internal investigations, incident response, breach notification obligations, communications with regulators, risk mitigation, and litigation strategies.

Pierce Atwood Managing Partner David E. Barry stated, “The Supreme Judicial Court, and really the state of Maine, are extremely fortunate to have Peter willing to offer his time, expertise, and enthusiasm to assist the court in its policy making, and to advance and elevate the analysis and conversation about digital court records among and between the various stakeholders. Pierce Atwood thanks and congratulates Peter for his outstanding efforts and for this recognition.”

Please click here to view the announcement sent by the Maine Judicial Branch.