Overview
Sophie Kletzien is an attorney in Holland & Knight's New York office and a member of the Data Strategy, Security & Privacy Practice Group. Ms. Kletzien handles a range of litigation matters with a focus on consumer class action defense involving data security and privacy claims. Her representative matters include defense of putative class actions relating to cyberattacks, automated website data collection, wiretap claims and unfair business practices.
On the advisory side of her practice, Ms. Kletzien advises clients on federal, state and international data protection and privacy laws, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA) and Illinois Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA). She also assists clients across many industries with data breach response protocols and crisis management, regulatory compliance, information governance strategy and compliance with industry security standards and frameworks. Ms. Kletzien is a Certified Information Privacy Professional in the United States (CIPP/US) with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
While in law school, Ms. Kletzien worked as a federal judicial intern in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, as well as a legal extern at the University of Pennsylvania Office of General Counsel. She served as a mediator in the Penn Law Mediation Clinic, where she handled cases involving personal injury, contract law and employment discrimination. She was also an editor of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, as well as the publicity chair of University of Pennsylvania's Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA).
Prior to attending law school, Ms. Kletzien served as a judicial intern in the Superior Court of New Jersey, as well as a legal intern in the Special Federal Litigation Division of the New York City Law Department.
Representative Experience
- Defend healthcare services providers, a financial services company, a drugstore retailer, a government contractor and a telecommunications cable provider against putative national class actions arising from data breaches, ransomware attacks and other security incidents (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland; U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California; Massachusetts State Court; Delaware State Court)
- Defend retail brand in putative class action alleging state wiretap action violations in connection with use of "session replay" software on its website (U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts; U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania)
- Defend a university hospital against putative class action for violation of the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act (WESCA) involving allegations of unauthorized disclosure of health information through third-party website tracking technology (Pennsylvania State Court)
- Represent a medical device company in defense of putative class action asserting common law claims and alleging violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) in connection with operation of third-party website tracking technology (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois)
- Represent a national healthcare institution in defense of putative class actions alleging violations of state and federal wiretap statutes in connection with the use of website tracking technology (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania; U.S. District Court for the District of Utah; Tennessee State Court)
- Represent news media, retail, video streaming and sports entertainment companies in defense of putative class actions alleging violations of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) arising from third-party website tracking and collecting data from a plaintiff's video viewing (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania)
- Defend a magazine publisher against putative class action alleging violation of the Michigan Preservation of Personal Privacy Act (PPPA) for disclosure of reading information to third parties (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan)
- Advise media and entertainment companies on defense of mass arbitration claims and strategy for revising website privacy policies and terms of use to address mass arbitration
- Advise numerous clients in the aftermath of data breach and other security incidents including remediation, investigation and required notifications
Credentials
- University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D.
- The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Certificate, Business Management
- Rutgers University, B.A., summa cum laude
- New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2021