Jessica Engler, PLS, CIPP/US, CIPM, is a partner in the New Orleans office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2013 and practices in the data security, intellectual property, and commercial litigation groups.
Jessica’s practice is diverse and dynamic. Jessica’s clients rely on her to provide business-oriented perspectives and practical, real-world advice to their legal needs. She regularly advises clients in all aspects of data privacy and protection, including prevention efforts, breach response, litigation, compliance, and third-party risk management. Jessica regularly helps inventors and brand owners maintain and protect their exclusive rights to their innovations and safeguard their valuable IP portfolios. When disputes arise, clients turn to Jessica to efficiently and effectively enforce their rights and support their defenses in both litigation and arbitration.
Jessica is a Privacy Law Specialist* (PLS), as designated by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), where she is certified as both a Certified Information Privacy Professional: United States (CIPP/US) and Privacy Manager (CIPM). Jessica often presents on data privacy as a panelist or featured speaker at conferences and forums.
Jessica is listed in The Best Lawyers in America as a One to Watch from 2021-2025 and Louisiana Super Lawyers as a Rising Star from 2020-2024. In 2021, Jessica was awarded the Frank L. Maraist Award by the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. Jessica was also recognized as a member of the New Orleans CityBusiness Leadership in Law class for 2021 and as a Top Lawyer in 2023 by New Orleans Magazine.
*The PLS, as recognized by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, is one of 15 legal specialties accredited by the American Bar Association. The PLS designation certifies that a lawyer has met the rigorous experience and knowledge requirements to be considered a specialist in the area of Privacy Law. The IAPP is not or affiliated with any government or state bar authority.
- Management of numerous companies’ data breach responses, including developing strategies to understand what happened, contain the incident, address compliance requirements, and minimize further damages and litigation. Companies that have used Jessica’s data breach management services include accounting firms, direct-to-consumer products, energy and utility companies, staffing agencies, and surveying services.
- Representation of numerous clients in evaluating vendor management and evaluating data privacy risks through targeted software license and data processing addendum negotiations.
- Regularly advising clients on countless data security and privacy issues and regulatory schemes, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act, and assorted state regulations.
- Preparation of privacy policies and internal privacy management schemes for companies of all sizes in various industries. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, smartphone app developers, social media companies, cultural and hospitality enterprises, and tech startups.
Intellectual Property
- Defense of an independent clothing merchant against claims of trademark infringement, copyright infringement, and trademark dilution.
- Defense of clients in responding to cease and desist letters and litigation from both practicing and non-practicing entities (“patent trolls”).
- Representation of clients in unfair trade practice and trade secret misappropriation disputes.
- Prosecution for clients in numerous industries including software applications, electrical devices and electronics, household and consumer grade appliances, medical devices, oil field and natural gas field solutions, satellite communication mechanisms, food service, and other industries.
- Prosecution of trademark applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
- Prosecution of copyright applications before the United States Copyright Office.
- Representation of patent applications in appeals of examiner rejections before the patent Trial and Appeal Board.
- Preparation of patent opinions of non-infringement and design-arounds.
- Counseling clients on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) issues including steps to be taken to be compliant with the DMCA Safe Harbor provisions.
- Drafting and negotiating software as a service agreements, software license agreements, nondisclosure agreements, patent licenses and assignments, copyright assignments, trademark co-existence agreements, and other intellectual property contracts.
Commercial Litigation
- Representation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software vendor in breach of software license dispute.
- Representation of an ERP software licensee in a software implementation dispute.
- Defense of contractors, subcontractors, architects, and other professionals and negotiated resolutions in payment and construction disputes.
- Defending awards of state government contracts in public bid disputes and protests.
- Representation of federal government contractor in international arbitration concerning payment dispute related to construction of a United States embassy.
Jessica earned her B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana State University in 2010. She earned her J.D./D.C.L. from the LSU Law Center in 2013, where she was managing editor and a founding member of the LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources and Moot Court board member. Jessica was named to the Chancellor's List and received the CALI award in Federal Complex Litigation, Patent Law and Legal Research and Writing. She was also a finalist in the Tullis Moot Court competition and awarded best brief.
- Admitted, Louisiana, 2013; Texas, 2019; New York, 2022; United States District Courts for the Middle, Eastern and Western Districts of Louisiana; Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; United States Patent and Trademark Office
- New Orleans, Louisiana State, Federal and American Bar Associations; Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel (LADC); International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP); InfraGard
- Cyber and Physical Security of Energy Industry Infrastructure: Lessons Learned and What Lies Ahead, 2024 ACC Annual Meeting, October 7, 2024
- 2024 Data Security and Privacy Regulatory and Risk Management Update for Financial Services, Southeastern Women in Financial Services Lunch and Learn, August 13, 2024
- The Privacy Outlook for 2024, ACC Online Seminar, January 24, 2024
- SEC Cybersecurity Reporting Requirements for Publicly Traded Companies Now in Effect, Texas Law Blog, October 3, 2023
- The Supreme Court Limits the Extraterritorial Reach of the Lanham Act, Intellectual Property Law Blog, July 5, 2023
- Panelist, Protecting IP and Endpoints with Remote or Departing Employees, Institute for Energy Law’s Intellectual Property in Energy Mini-Conference, June 14, 2023
- Louisiana to Extend COPPA-esque Parental Permission Requirements for Social Media Use, Louisiana Law Blog, June 9, 2023
- No Free Use in the Purple Rain – U.S. Supreme Court Finds License of Andy Warhol’s “Orange Prince” Infringes Photographer’s Copyright, Intellectual Property Law Blog, May 19, 2023
- It’s 10PM—Do You Know Where Your Personal Data Is?, Association of Corporate Counsel Energy Network Legal Update, May 17, 2023
- Panelist, The Opportunities, The Rise of the Augmented Attorney CLE, New Orleans Bar Association, New Orleans, LA, March 9, 2023
- Speaker, Ethical Considerations for Technology Innovations in the Legal Practice, Lafayette Bar Association CLE by the Hour, December 19, 2022
- Panelist, Data Management and Security for Courts and Litigators, Judicial College and LADC Joint Meeting, December 2, 2022
- New Allen Toussaint Legacy Act Creates a Right of Publicity in Louisiana, Intellectual Property Law Blog, June 28, 2022
- Attorney Ethics in the Hybrid-Work Age, Stay Out of Hot Water, A Kean Miller CLE, Houston, TX, April 21, 2022
- Panelist, Law & Tech Talk: Preparing Business for the Fallout from Cyberwarfare, New Orleans Bar Association Technology Law Committee CLE, March 8, 2022
- Russia – Ukraine Conflict Likely to Impact U.S. Businesses, Louisiana Law Blog, February 28, 2022
- Satanic Panic? Trademark Law's Collision with the First Amendment, Intellectual Property Law Blog, April 9, 2021
- The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 Adds New Tools to Fight Unused Trademarks and Implied Presumptions for Trademark Infringement Plaintiffs, Intellectual Property Blog, January 15, 2021
- A Work from Home or In Office Essential: Cyber Insurance, Louisiana Law Blog, July 7, 2020
- When Pivoting Your Business, Don't Leave Your Privacy Policy Behind, Intellectual Property Law Blog, May 1, 2020
- People are Seriously Trying to Trademark "Coronavirus", Intellectual Property Law Blog, April 23, 2020
- Cybersecurity Considerations for an Increasingly Remote Workforce, Louisiana Law Blog, April 6, 2020
- Construction Interrupted: COVID-19's Legal Impacts and Considerations for the Construction Industry, Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel Newsletter, April 2020
- HIPAA Privacy Rule Regulatory Response to COVID-19, Louisiana Law Blog, March 22, 2020
- Co-Presenter, Protecting Your Business & Employees From the Impact of COVID-19, Kean Miller Webinar, March 19, 2020
- The court of data security, Baton Rouge Business Report Daily Report, January 7, 2020
- First Steps in Starting Your Data Privacy Law Practice, For the Defense, October 2019
- Texas Updates Its Data Breach Notification Law, Texas Law Blog, August 9, 2019
- Data Breach One Year Later: Louisiana's Database Security Breach Notification Law 2.0, Louisiana Bar Journal, August/September 2019
- Texas Supreme Court: Appraisal Awards Not a Bar to TPPCA Delay Damages, Louisiana Law Blog, July 25, 2019
- Sixth Circuit Opinion Highlights the Importance of Indemnity Clauses and Consequential Damages Waivers in Data Vendor Agreements, Louisiana Law Blog, June 17, 2019
- 2019 Data Security and Privacy Law Update, IAPP and New Orleans Bar Association CLE, May 30, 2019
- Using Social Media Influencers or Employees to Tout Your Business? Make Sure They Follow the Rules, Louisiana Law Blog, December 26, 2018
- New Canadian Breach Notification and Reporting Requirements are Now in Effect, Louisiana Law Blog, November 12, 2018
- Data Breach Notification 2.0: Updates to Louisiana's Breach Notification Laws, Kean Miller Hospitality Forum, New Orleans, October 2018
- Louisiana Governor Signs Significant Changes to Louisiana's Database Security Breach Notification Law, Louisiana Law Blog, May 29, 2018
- Eastern District of Louisiana: Total Work Stoppage Not Necessary for Eichleay Recovery of Extended Home Office Overhead, Louisiana Law Blog, December 28, 2017
- Information Security, Data Privacy and Liability Issues, Business Attorney's Guide to Information Technology for the National Business Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana, December 18, 2017
- The Defend Trade Secrets Act at Year One, In-House Quarterly (DRI), Fall 2017
- Standing on Shaky Ground: Methods Used By and Roadblocks Facing Data Breach Litigation Plaintiffs, Kean Miller Business Briefing, April 28, 2017
- Crossroads of Technology & Law, April 20, 2017
- Kean Miller Data Security Alert: W-2 Phishing Scam Returns for Tax Season, Louisiana Law Blog, February 22, 2017
- Unwelcome "Walk-Ins": Data Security Concerns for Hotels, HFTP New Orleans Chapter Meeting, February 15, 2017
- If You Build It, They May Hack: Data Privacy & Cybersecurity FAQs for the Construction Industry, Louisiana Law Blog, December 15, 2016
- HHS OCR: Ransomware Attacks Usually Qualify as a HIPAA Breach, Louisiana Law Blog, August 10, 2016
- The New Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 Provides Federal Remedies for Trade Secret Misappropriation, Louisiana Law Blog, May 11, 2016
- New Federal Regulations Seek Federal Contractor Assistance with Preventing Human Trafficking, Louisiana Law Blog, April 20, 2015
- Got a “Blank Space” Next to Your Slogan? Try a Trademark, Louisiana Law Blog, February 8, 2015
- Buying Generic for Louisiana Public Works Act Projects, Louisiana Law Blog, January 16, 2015
- Judicial Troll Hunting, Louisiana Law Blog, June 3, 2014
- Faculty Member, LSU Law Apprenticeship Week, 2023
- Chair, IAPP KnowledgeNet New Orleans Chapter
- Member, Junior League of New Orleans
- Young Lawyer Liaison Chair, DRI Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Committee